Whitcliffe Scar, Richmond, Coast to Coast
More Articles in the Reeth to Richmond subsection
Lownerthwaite Farm, with the wooded Hudswell Bank beyond and Hudswell Village on the ridge.
Whitcliff Scar, Richmond, Coast to Coast
The Coast to Coast path passes below Applegarth Scar and Whitcliffe Scar, and through Whitcliffe Wood, on its way from Marske to Richmond. Applegarth Scar and Whitcliffe Scar, are vertiginous limestone cliffs located above the Coast to Coast path, and together comprise the southern wall of a double horseshoe of steep cliffs above the River Swale, which stretches north to the Feldom Ranges. Whitcliffe Scar begins at Deepdale Tree on Clapgate Bank and heads south, curving around to the east at High Applegarth. It passes above Whitcliffe Wood, after which it curves northwards, where it forms the east valley wall of Aislabeck.
Deep Dale is a valley that separates Applegarth Scar from Whitcliffe Scar. The valley floor is made up as a road and provides access to High Applegarth, Low Applegarth and East Applegarth. Willance's Leap is memorialised at the top edge of Whitcliffe Scar, and represents the miraculous survival of Robert Willance following a riding accident in 1606.
Whitcliffe Scar
Save for the south west corner of Whitcliffe Scar the rest of the Scar is thickley wooded, so that the limestone cliffs are only seen between gaps in the trees. The flat topped summit of the Scar rises to 302m.
Whitcliffe Scar
The limestone buttresses of Whitcliffe Scar are prominent on the south west corner of the scar, where they are seen clear of Whitcliffe Wood and clear of the woods at West Applegarth. Most prominent are the exposed stubby limestone buttresses that hover over Low Applegarth near to the Salmon Gill which flows from the valley.
Deep Dale Whitcliffe
Looking north along Deep Dale from the Coast to Coast path the deep fold between Applegarth Scar to the west and Whitcliffe Scar to the east is conspicuous. The Salmon Gill springs near the entrance to Deep Dale and runs south to the River Swale. For most of the time though, it carries little water.
Low Applegarth Whitcliffe Scar
The Coast to Coast path passes between Low Applegarth and High Applegarth before reaching Whitcliffe Wood. The exposed limestone of Whitcliffe Scar can be seen beyond High Applegarth.
East Applegarth Whitcliffe Scar
East Applegarth Farm is a colourful and tranquil site viewed in the autumn from the Coast to Coast path below Whitcliffe Scar. Beyond is Swaledale and rising up the south riverbank of the Swale is Hag Wood.
Whitcliffe Scar Whitcliffe Wood
In the autumn the vibrancy of the sunshine washed trees of Whitcliffe Wood is startling to observe. As the trees begin to encroach upon the path Whitcliffe Scar can still be seen. Out of site but below the Scar just beyond the nearby trees is the remains of a Romano-British Settlement.
Under Bank River Swale
From the Coast to Coast path below Whitcliffe Scar there is an intense autumnal view across the River Swale to Under Bank, below Hudswell.
Coast to Coast Trail Guide
Hiking the Coast to Coast
"Hiking the Coast to Coast" is a digitally enhanced eBook available from Apple Books for all people who have either a Mac, an iPhone or an iPad, and is designed to accompany you on your walk of the Coast to Coast path. The trail guide contains Ordnance Survey maps and other advanced mapping features, step by step directions, hundreds of colour photographs, details of the route, its conditions in different weather and research snippets relating to places of interest along the way.
