Reeth Low Moor

For us, 2025 started with a brisk cold snap, with temperatures plummeting and our first icy windscreens of the year. The plus side to this was that it was accompanied, as very cold weather often is, by clear blue skies perfect for getting out and about. With the Christmas holidays drawing to a close, I was desperate to get out for a dog walk somewhere other than our local village, where we’d been trapped by the weather nearly every day (lovely day trip to Budle Bay aside).

That being said, I’m not a fan of driving in icy conditions, so we stayed reasonably local with a walk around Reeth Low Moor in Swaledale. We both love Swaledale and should really walk here more often than we do, given that it’s only a half hour drive for us to get to Reeth. Fancying a quieter walk on this occasion, we carried on out of Reeth and parked up at the bottom of the bridle path leading onto Reeth Low Moor.

Although there wasn’t much wind, it was still rather chilly up on the moor, with the temperature hovering somewhere around 1 degree Celsius. A good day for a hat and scarf! We had a mooch around the moor, linking up two of the bridleways which traverse the moor for a circular walk of around 4 miles. While this walk doesn’t have any ‘show stopper’ views, it’s pleasant Dales scenery which in the summer puts on a very good show of heather – not that we got any of that in January.

The walk starts out on a good moorland track, before taking a left onto a grassier bridle way which is easily missed if you’re not looking out for it. Usually this track is fairly boggy, however happily it had almost completely frozen, making for a much pleasanter walking experience. The path climbs steadily, passing the top of Calver Hill without detouring to the summit, before dropping downhill to an indistinct cross roads. Here, a right turn takes you along the side of the hill, before a short, gentle climb leads you to the junction with the original bridle way at Fore Gill Gate.

From Fore Gill Gate, it was a straightforward walk back across the moor on the clear bridle way – at least, as straightforward as it could be with patches of ice everywhere. We both had a few wobbles throughout the walk! Looking back on my photos after the walk, it looked prettier than I remembered it being at the time – or perhaps I was too cold to properly appreciate my surroundings. Either way, it certainly did the job in blowing away some winter cobwebs.

Dog friendly rating: 3/5. While this walk uses public rights of way, your dog will need to stay on the path as the moor is an area of access land with a dog ban. It’s not a great place for off lead anyway, with more grouse than you can shake a stick at and grazing sheep roaming throughout. You also need to keep your eyes peeled for adders if you do this walk in the warmer months. The big plus is that the route is completely free of stiles, and if you have a reactive dog like we do, it’s very quiet.

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