YHA Grinton Lodge - April 2023

Swaledale, viewed from a path along the south side of the valley.

There has been entirely too much gallivanting about in the South of late. Time for a little grounded Yorkshire reality, just in time for Christmas, in the unparalleled, unpretentious beauty of the Yorkshire Dales.

In April 2023, the time was right for a more local ramble. The weather was not in my favour, but neither wind nor rain (nor indeed heat, nor gloom of night) could stay me from my appointed rounds, as I might refer to my walks were I so inclined. Accordingly, I laced up my boots and set off to YHA Grinton Lodge. The journey there required a stop at the historic town of Richmond, which is the one with a castle atop an impressive cliff, lest you confuse it with the area of London of the same name. From Richmond, the little number 30 bus took me to the almost equally little village of Grinton, from which the hostel is a short walk up the hill.

The view down the hill on the road between the hostel and the village.

The hostel itself is quite a grand crenellated building - a hunting lodge dating back to 1817. I was in a dormitory for this stay, and it was a very suitable base camp for outward hikes.

YHA Grinton Lodge, looking east.

Having cast a dubious look over the forecast for the few days I was to stay there, I was pleasantly surprised to find that, although wet underfoot, the rain was not too frequent to prevent me from enjoying the walking, and the low sun on dark clouds made for some very atmospheric landscapes.

Walking south to Grinton How Smelt Mill, a remnant of the lead mining industry here, adds a touch of more recent historical interest on the way over the moors to Bolton Castle. There are plenty of circular hikes around these moors to the south of the hostel, all accessible right from the door. These include one round-trip through Whitaside Moor, which, along with two other circular walks in the valley, are detailed on the YHA Grinton Lodge page on self-guided walks.

Walking up south behind the hostel, in the low sun.

I also ventured north-west to Calver Hill, which offers commanding views back over Swaledale and northwards too, to Hurst and the wonderfully-named hamlet of Booze. However, perhaps due to the weather that day, it didn’t quite capture the magic of my evening walks I bookended it with - these last taking place on the sweeping moor above the hostel.

The view from Calver Hill, looking eastwards across to Hurst.

YHA Grinton Lodge verdict: Great!

Perfectly-situated for dramatically-framed hikes, with a sprinkling of historical locations to break up the walking for some good old-fashioned information board-based education.

A shot from an evening walk along a rocky moorland path south-west of the hostel.