Our drawing of the route, over road and path data from OpenStreetMap. It shows where the walk goes and what it goes through. It is not a survey and not a navigation aid — carry OS Explorer on the hill.
Eight miles and about four and a half hours, climbing the steep scree-strewn nose of Fremington Edge for the finest view in Swaledale, then along the moor top to drop into Arkengarthdale at Langthwaite and back over Calver Hill; the top is peaty and the climb is rough, loose and unrelenting. Start on Reeth Green, with free parking on the cobbles and the 30 bus from Richmond. This is grouse moor as well as sheep ground, so the dog stays on the lead and particularly between March and July when ground-nesting birds are on the heather - keepers here are not tolerant of loose dogs and they are within their rights; old chert workings and open shafts line the Edge a few feet from the path, there is no water between Reeth and Langthwaite, and the wall crossings on the descent include a ladder stile that a large dog cannot climb.
Cyclists' cafe and cakery at Fremington, a five-minute walk from Reeth across the Swale. The cafe is dog friendly and people friendly, with upwards of twenty-five home-baked cakes on display most days and seating inside, in the courtyard or on the lawn. Open daily; note dogs cannot stay in the accommodation pods.
Four miles and a little over two hours on the low-level Swaledale path, out through the hay meadows to the hamlet of Healaugh and back beside the river, with barely a contour on it and firm going most of the year. Start on Reeth Green; parking is free on the cobbles and the 30 bus runs from Richmond, so it works without a car. The Swale here is broad, shallow and shingly with several easy places for a dog to drink or swim and it is the gentlest walk in this stretch of the dale for an older dog, but it is also the walk where staying on the path matters most - these are the famous Swaledale flower meadows, cut for hay in July and grazed the rest of the year, and a dog off the lead in them will not be welcome; the walls are crossed by the narrow upright stone stiles Swaledale is known for, and the tightest will stop a Labrador dead.
Six and a half miles and around three and a half hours down the Swale on the Coast to Coast line to the Benedictine ruin at Marrick Priory, up the stone-stepped Nuns' Causey through the wood and back over the fields by Marrick and Fremington; the causey steps are slick with moss and leaf mould for most of the year. Start on Reeth Green, which has free parking on the cobbles and the 30 bus from Richmond. The Swale is easy to reach at Grinton Bridge for a drink and a shallow swim, though it rises fast after rain in the fells and should be treated with respect, and every riverside meadow is grazed with sheep on the climb so the lead stays on; the field boundaries here are crossed by the narrow Swaledale stone stiles, and several between Marrick and Fremington are too tight for a broad-chested dog.
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