There is an old path dating back to at least Medieval times that runs from the village of Keld in the upper part of Swaledale in the Yorkshire Dales, to St Andrew’s church at Grinton about 12 miles away. The first part of the path is on the narrow tarmac B-road running out of Keld, but then you soon turn left on to a gravel farm track that leads upwards becoming a green lane on the well cropped rabbit and sheep grazed grassland at the top of Kisdon Hill. 

Apart from overgrown stonework of long abandoned lead mines, the scenery on top of the fell has probably not changed much since the 16th century when the path was used by those carrying bodies of the dead in light wicker coffins from the upper part of the dale to be buried in what was then the nearest sacred ground at Grinton. This gave the path the name ‘Corpse Way’ and this association attracts attention even now, though it is more than 400 years since it was used.

From the summit of Kisdon Fell the views over the dales are spectacular. At this time of year the grassland is full of flowers, lapwings, skylarks, and curlews. But in other seasons the weather can be harsh, and carrying a coffin over the tops during rain and snow must have been hard work. A tribute to the need to take the bodies of friends and relatives for a consecrated burial.

In the valley further down the dale at the beautifully arched Ivelet Bridge, there is a stone beside the path to rest the coffin on. I was taken to Ivelet Bridge as a child and shown the coffin stone. But curiously, when I went back there recently in my memory the stone was a large prominent plinth on the side of the bridge by the woods where Oxnop Beck comes down to the River Swale. But I was wrong. The actual stone is on the other side of the bridge, is fairly inconspicuous and set at ground level. My memory must have been from a vivid dream that had made the coffin stone bigger and more imposing, and the dream had installed itself as reality. 

This got me thinking. First of all, about our veneration for the dead and the efforts we make to do our best that they have a peaceful resting place. To be reductive about it, if someone is dead they are dead and so does it really matter? Well, obviously it does. Perhaps it matters to the person who has passed to the other side, which likely is something we won’t know until we get there ourselves. It certainly matters to those who are still alive. We may no longer carry a wicker coffin 12 miles over fell and dale in all weathers, but this level of effort and commitment is maybe needed in our grieving journeys. I know I’m still on that journey. Secondly, memories change with time and are influenced by dreams. This is something I need to work on. My therapist said that I needed to see things from my father’s perspective in order to be able to let go of my negative feelings for him.

Do you have any thoughts on grieving journeys or changing memories of the past?

Rowan on the Moor

A Moodscope member

Here is one of the many blogs about the Corpse Path with some pictures:

https://stuartdunn.blog/2023/07/14/the-swaledale-corpse-path/