Stepping back in time in Swaledale

Beverley Rymer reports on IAG's summer outing in Swaledale.

The ring cairn

Defying the doubtful rain forecast, Yvonne Luke led us on a fascinating walk to view the amazing archaeology in a relatively small area of Swaledale.

Starting near Grinton Lodge we walked uphill on the south side of the valley and branched right towards Harkerside Moor. Here we first crossed an embankment or dyke running west-east along the hillside, then came to a ring cairn and finally a long barrow. We were walking through a prehistoric coaxial field system concealed from view by the flowering heather and high bracken.

Next we approached Maiden Castle from above, giving us an excellent view of this huge enclosure and the twin stone banks leading away from its entrance on the far side. At this point we stopped for lunch so that we could contemplate at length the awe-inspiring scale of this site and explore its impressive surrounding ditches and banks. 

Now heading downhill and back along footpaths towards Grinton we crossed two of the Grinton-Fremington dykes that run downhill to the river and also admired the Swale Hill tumulus.

The wealth of archaeology and the many questions remaining to be answered about each site were intriguing. As we returned to Grinton for a quick visit to the church and refreshments in the pub we felt the day had been a great success.

Some photos from the day:

Heading up out of Grinton

The long barrow

Lunch at Maiden Castle

Bank and ditch at Maiden Castle