BEST accessible walk in the Westmorland Dales | Smardale Gill Viaduct
Smardale Gill Viaduct is about 5 miles outside of Kirkby Stephen, and is a beautiful flat walk, which is an old railway road. The viaduct itself is 90ft high, with 14 arches, and was once part of the main route. This was one of our favourite walks back when I was little, and it was so nice to explore the walk as an adult, and take in all of its beauty.
Guide to the Smardale Gill Viaduct Walk
To get to the Smardale Gill nature reserve and viaduct walk, you need to drive through Kirkby Stephen, past the station and along the A685. There’s a hidden turning on the main road, where you follow a single track road (plenty of signs to help you on your way).
Once you’ve parked up, there’s a small walk through some woodland, as you cross a road to get to the start of the main walk.
The main walk is well pathed and flat, taking you under the new Smardale Gill Viaduct which is part of the Settle-Carlisle Railway.
As you walk, you’ll see limestone ledges, rolling hills and, at the right time of year, fields of bluebells – I’ll definitely be returning at bluebell season!
Then, in the distance, you’ll suddenly catch a glimpse of the old Smardale Gill Viaduct, which comes sooner than you think!
The accessible path carries on over the viaduct, but to get the best view of the 4 arches you can hop over a style and walk down a very narrow path. It’s gorgeous and totally worth it!
At this point, we headed back due to it starting to get dark. So from the car park to here, it is a really lovely 5k walk and I can totally recommend it!
Parking at Smardale
Parking is completely free for everyone!
The main car park is about a 3-5 minute walk from the start of the main walk
There is disabled parking, right next to the start of the walk.
This is part of my year of (micro) adventures project, where I take on 52 adventures during 2023.It’s been great to explore close to home, and do some really great walks. To see more of the micro-adventures I’m going on, click here. I’m also doing a weekly video (some are very short snippets!), and there’s a weekly newsletter to go along side which you should definitely subscribe to as well!
