Gunnar Saetr

The contrast in scenery on this walk is superb. It begins with luxuriant woodland and sparkling streams, then the devastation of the lead mining period is encountered. Many of the paths were once used by miners as they trudged wearily to and from work.
Gunnerside, like many villages in Upper Swaledale, is of Norse origin and supposedly takes its name from a Viking warrior who settled in the valley at the beginning of the eleventh century. The name means ‘Gunnars saetr’ - a summer pasture, or shieling, belonging to Gunnar.
The village has a working smithy, founded in 1795. Today it also serves as a museum and a collection of artefacts amassed over the years is on display, all of which were made at the smithy. Stephen Calvert, who runs the
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 undergone careful consolid­ation by English Heritage to help 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 much more appealing as we begin to cross Feetham Pasture, and the descent to the hamlet of Blades is 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. As we descend 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