Yorkshire Dales: Keld to Tan Hill Inn

An 11 mile circular trek from Keld to the Tan Hill Inn, the UK’s highest pub

What a cracking day this was! We enjoyed every day of our week in North Yorkshire but this trek in particular had something of a wow factor!

The first point to note is to ensure you set up the correct Keld in your satnav… there is another hamlet called Keld a short distance away in Cumbria…

We arrived in the Richmondshire Keld and found a carpark which is part of a farm/campsite. The owners generously allow walkers to park their cars for just £2 for the whole day, which you pay into an honesty box.

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We set off out of the village and headed towards the waterfalls at East Gill Force a few minutes walk away. We crossed over a wooden bridge which spans the River Swale and made our way up a small hill with the river to our left.

We continued following the river taking the left fork at a signpost which took us away from the Pennine Way and followed a small, muddy but pretty footpath.

The Tan Hill Inn is the UK’s highest pub at an elevation of 528 m above sea level. This lonely pub is set in the midst of the Yorkshire Dales however it has road accessibility enabling customers to drive there.

We arrived at the Tan Hill Inn which was about 7 miles into our 11 mile walk and just in time for lunch! The pub was a welcome break with its log fires and friendly staff. We had a fantastic lunch in there too… Chris and I had vegan pie with roast vegetables and tasty thick gravy, absolutely delicious, one of the best ever pie meals.

This was a real treat, the wow factor of the walk after a week where most of our lunches meant cowering in the rain somewhere, eating soggy sandwiches! And by comparison we had fairly good weather without rain on this day too 🙂

After a couple of hours and not wishing to still be walking in the dark we managed to tear ourselves away from the comfort of the pub and set off back along the Pennine Way, one of Englands most famous long distance trails.

The Pennine Way starts in Edale in the Peak District and passes through the Yorkshire Dales, the Northumberland National Park and ends 268 miles later just inside the Scottish border.

We had 4 miles to walk back to the car and arrived just before 5 pm when it got dark. What a fab day finished off by late night pizzas and red wine in the holiday house, in front of the fire!