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WALK 1 - Melbecks Moor and Surrender Bridge The
contrast in scenery on this walk is superb. It
begins with luxuriant woodland, sparkling streams
and limestone scars before the devastation of the
lead mining period is encountered. The paths were
once used by miners as they trudged wearily to and
from work. Gunnerside
Gill Old
Gang Smelt Mill Like
many of the villages in Upper Swaledale, Gunnerside
is of Norse origin, supposedly taking its name from
a Viking warrior called Gunnar who settled in the
valley at the start of the eleventh
century. The
early part of the walk follows lovely beckside and
woodland paths to the ruins of the Sir Francis
crushing mill. Spoil heaps and a water-wheel pit
are all that remain of the crushing mill. The row
of bunkers seen here were known as bouse teams and
were used for storing the ore prior to crushing and
washing. Each of the bunkers held the ore of one
partnership of six to eight miners. The number of
bunkers in a bouse team gives an indication as to
the size of the mining operation and the number of
miners who worked there. From
the crushing mill our path climbs high above the
beck. Across the valley Jingle Pot Edge, Black Hill
and Botcher Gill with its attractive waterfalls,
make their contribution to this deep, confining
valley. Many
of the huge gullies on the valley sides are the
result of an early open cast mining technique known
as 'hushing.' This involved the construction of a
turf dam above the suspected vein. When sufficient
water had been collected, it was released so that
the sudden torrent swept down, tearing away the
soil and exposing the vein. The miners then used
picks and crowbars to loosen and remove the ore.
This operation was carried out repeatedly, creating
deep fissures in the hillside. At
Bunton Hush we join the Coast-to-Coast footpath
and, after a scramble onto Melbecks Moor, the
landscape becomes very bleak and austere. The
ground is completely covered by gravel from the
spoil heaps of the mines in the area. This is
gradually being reclaimed, so the odd tractor may
be seen. Continuing through the spoil heaps, we
descend to cross Level House Bridge, and then
follow the stream to the Old Gang smelt
mill. The
remains of the smelt mill are impressive and well
worth exploration. One prominent feature is the
large intact chimney. The long building nearest the
track is where the smelting took place. It used to
have four ore furnaces, producing 2000 tons of lead
per year. Much of the stone from these buildings
was removed in the 1930s to build a new Methodist
chapel at Muker. On
the moor above, the double row of pillars belonged
to the peat store. This was an immense structure
some 390 feet (119m) long and 21 feet (6.5m) wide,
capable of storing enough peat for up to three
year's smelting. The mill has recently undergone
careful consolidation by English Heritage to
prevent it from deteriorating further. Our
route continues alongside the stream to Surrender
Bridge, and after a short climb on the road, the
devastation caused by the mines is left behind. The
scenery becomes less austere as we begin to cross
Feetham Pasture, and the descent to the hamlet of
Blades is quite stunning. John
Wesley preached at Blades on his first visit to
Swaledale in 1761. In his journal Wesley wrote,
"The Society is one of the most lively I have met
in England." The area soon became a Methodist
stronghold. Further along the hillside is the
turning for Smarber, where the Puritan sympathiser
Philip Lord Wharton allowed his shooting lodge at
Smarber Hall to be used for Nonconformist worship.
We
continue along a green bridlepath above the
limestone terraces of Barf Side Scar. Looking
towards the head of the dale there are excellent
views of Great Shunner Fell and Muker. During our
descent to Gunnerside, we have a bird's eye view of
the field barns and walls in Gunnerside Bottoms.
This patchwork of enclosures dates from the
sixteenth century. |
