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Limestone landscape in the Yorkshire Dales

The Sedgwick Geological Trail

A walk through 300 million years of geology

One of the most unusual walks in the area follows the River Clough from Danny Bridge, tracing the dramatic Dent Fault through a landscape that tells a story stretching back nearly 300 million years.

The Walk

The Sedgwick Trail starts at Danny Bridge on the A684 between Sedbergh and Garsdale, at Longstone Common. It runs for about 600 metres along the riverbank, with information boards at intervals explaining the geology underfoot.

The trail crosses the Dent Fault, one of the most significant geological features in northern England. This ancient fracture in the earth's crust raised the rocks on the Lake District side by as much as two and a half kilometres relative to the Yorkshire Dales side. Walking along the trail, the change in landscape is quite visible as you move from Carboniferous limestone onto the older, fine-grained Silurian mudstones.

Care should be taken along the steep riverbanks, particularly after rain.

Water flowing over rocks in the Yorkshire Dales

Adam Sedgwick

The trail is named after Adam Sedgwick, one of the founders of modern geology, who was born in nearby Dent in 1785. The son of the village vicar, Sedgwick attended Sedbergh School before winning a scholarship to Cambridge, where he went on to become the Woodwardian Professor of Geology.

Sedgwick proposed the Cambrian period of the geological timescale and, together with Roderick Murchison, established the Devonian period. He was also a mentor to the young Charles Darwin, though he later disagreed with Darwin's theory of natural selection.

Sedgwick returned to Dent throughout his life. A memorial fountain carved from Shap granite stands in Dent's high street, and a museum at Cambridge bears his name. The Geological Trail was established in 1985 to mark the bicentenary of his birth.

Evening light over the fells near Sedbergh

  • Location

    Danny Bridge is on the A684 about four miles east of Sedbergh. There is limited parking.

  • Longstone Fell

    From the viewing point at Longstone Fell, you can walk down to Danny Bridge to join the trail. The views over the Howgill Fells are outstanding in their own right.

  • Take Care

    The riverbanks can be steep and slippery, particularly after rain. Sturdy footwear is recommended.