Norber Erratics and Crummack Dale from Austwick

Oxenber Wood, Feizor and Smearsett Scar

Five and a half miles and about three hours through the hazel and ash of Oxenber and Wharfe Woods, over the little hamlet of Feizor and up the short sharp pull to the trig point on Smearsett Scar, which is a proper viewpoint for the effort. Start on the green in Austwick; there is free roadside parking, and Feizor at the halfway point has a tea room that keeps water bowls outside. Oxenber is wood pasture rather than a fenced wood, so stock can be in among the trees and the lead stays on all the way round; there is a beck at Feizor for a drink but nothing on the scar, and the wall crossings between Wharfe and Feizor are the classic Dales squeeze stile - two upright slabs a hand-span apart, impassable for a broad dog without lifting.