Old Gang smelting mill to great pinseat
Date:
24 July 2025
Distance:
5.5 miles / 8.9 km
Time:
2 hours 45 mins

Another long, but very scenic drive to Surrender Mine car park and a walk along the beck to the Old Gang Smelting Mill and beyond.

The third Tiggy Tour involving Surrender mine, the first being Healaugh to Surrender Mine and the second being the short Surrender mine meander. As always parking close to Surrender Mine, here by Surrender Bridge.

This route follows the Surrender Mine route but carries on further, following the track clockwise around Reeth High Moor. Passing by some olf tips, past Great Pinseat and back to Surrender mine via the other side of the Moor.



Here is Tiggy at the car park, looking across the beck to Surrender Mine, this route visits the mine at the very end.



Crossing Surrender Bridge and heading onto the track, one last look back at Tiggy parked up.



This is the nice, easy gravel track the route follows for most of the hike.



Head west along the track with the Old Gang Beck on the lefthand side for around a mile and the Old Gang Smetling Mill appears on the horizon.



The track passes right by the ruins.







Leaving the ruins behind,continue to follow the track west.



Along the route are ruins of the mill and industry.





And a few little waterfalls.





One last look back at the mill ruins before the track turns north and heads over the moors.



Starting to head a little uphill, this sheep was quite happy to pose for a pic, which, as you'll see later wasn't always the case.



Follow the track north west and at the Level House Bridge take the right hand track.



More gravel track and ruins as the path heads uphill.



There are also a couple of fords on this part of the route, during this hike they were very easy to cross.



Just after this second ford, past the drystone wall, is where the track turns right and heads east to the tips.



The moors here are potmarked by lots of small tips.





A stone cairn near Great Pinseat.



This pic shows the next part of the track, now heading south east, with Calver Hill in the background.





Continue following the track in a pretty much straight line towards Calver Hill, but this route won't be going that far.





Unlike the earlier sheep that happily posed for a pic, this one was a bit "sheepish".



And these didn't care at all.



Finally the track gets to a tarmacked road. Here the route turns right, following the road back to Surrender Bridge.



Almost as soon as you turn right the car park is visible. The small white dot in the middle of this pic is Tiggy in the distance.



One last look to the right at the hill the route circulates.



Following the road to the bridge it'd be rude not to visit the Surrenner Mine ruins.







Final sheep pic, "What ewe looking at?".



One final look back at the ruins as I crossed the bridge back to Tiggy.




-- Other Wensleydale Tours --
Up and down penhill
Up, down and around Semerwater
Bolton castle to Aysgarth falls
Middleham Castle
Malham Cove
Cauldron falls
Jervaulx Abbey
Preston-under-scar
Healaugh
Keld Waterfalls
The Druids Temple
Easby abbey and Richmond castle
White Scar Cave
The Buttertubs
Fountains Abbey and Studley Royal Park
The Himalayan Garden & Sculpture Park