Squirrels are regular visitors

The scenery and atmosphere of the dale leave a strong impression even on those who just pass through and many who have discovered it return again and again. So beware! Like many others you may become so enchanted that you cannot bear to leave, and so join the long line of 'off-comers', stretching back to the Norsemen - who found these dales so much to their liking that they ended their wandering to settle here a thousand years ago. (They have left many reminders of their presence, for example in the names of many of the houses and the features of the dale).

Sunset opposite Ing Hill

The B6259 follows the course of the infant River Eden along the bottom of the dale. Higher up, on the western side, the railway makes its spectacular climb over Aisgill and along the flank of Wild Boar Fell. A third route, for walkers, which keeps to the high ground on the eastern side, is variously called the Roman Road, Lady Anne's Road or the Highway. A hoard of Roman coins was found near the Highway by a shepherd in the 1920's; at the common just south of Nateby you can see Bronze age burial mounds, known as 'Giants Graves'. It is an area steeped in history as well as natural beauty.

Where there are mountain streams you will find waterfalls. Hell Gill Force, the most impressive in Mallerstang, can be glimpsed from the road just north of Aisgill (and is worth a short walk to take a closer look) - but after heavy rain, white torrents cascade down the hillsides along the entire length of the dale - the one above Hanging Lunds can be particularly spectacular. Some of these gills seem to defy the law of gravity and, when caught by the wind, 'fall' upwards, looking like smoke from a chimney. One of these can often be seen on Mallerstang Edge behind Ing Hill Country House.

LADY ANNE CLIFFORD (1590-1675)
This 'Proud Northern Lady' was born 400 years ago. She was small in stature and came late in life to Westmorland but left an abiding mark on the area. After a long dispute she at last came into possession of the Clifford estates and in 1649 set out from London to visit her inheritance.

Upper reaches of Mallerstang

Although now 60 years old she started restoring and rebuilding her many properties and endowing many local charities. She lived most of the time at Brougham Castle but travelled regularly to Appleby and Skipton along the Highway, so Pendragon Castle was a convenient stopping place during these visits.

PENDRAGON CASTLE
This is now a peaceful and picturesque ruin but it has seen much activity and some violence in its eight hundred years of history. It was built in the 12th Century, as the local seat for the Lords of the Manor. Its first notable owner was Hugh de Morville, one of the knights who, in 1170, murdered Thomas a Beckett in Canterbury Cathedral. (The high point of Mallerstang Edge, Hugh Seat, is named after him).

The castle was burnt down by the Scots in two of the many border raids that made this an unsettled area right up to the 17th Century and was restored for the last time in 1660 by Lady Anne.

After her death Pendragon gradually decayed into the ruinous state we see today - a sad end to a long story. Its main attraction today is its special atmosphere and its glorious setting above a bend in the Eden, with superb views of the valley, the river and the fells.

Horses in the autumn mist

According to legend it is named after Uther Pendragon, King Arthur's father. It is said that he tried to divert the River Eden to form a moat, but without success. As an old couplet puts it: 'Let Uther Pendragon do what he can Eden will run where Eden ran'. There is no real evidence that there was any building here before the 12th Century but there is no reason to doubt that this spot has ancient associations reaching back into the dark ages. (The castle is on private farm land but access is permitted to the public through the front gate by the roadside).

THE SETTLE TO CARLISLE RAILWAY
Along the western side of the valley runs the Settle to Carlisle Railway, one of the last great engineering works to be carried out almost entirely by human muscle power. At its height there was a workforce of nearly 6000, living in temporary townships which moved along as the line progressed. Many hundreds died during the work; some of these are buried in Outhgill churchyard.

Settle Station