B6259

Pendragon Castle

The B6259 goes along the upper Eden Valley.

The road starts on the A66 to the north of Sandford and heads south and narrows almost immediately. This section of road was originally unclassified and only became part of the B6259 in 1935. After going under the preserved Eden Valley Railway the road bends sharply to the left, passing to the north of Sandford and meeting the River Eden for the first time. It then goes through Warcop before going over a hill and crossing a bridge over a dismantled part of the Eden Valley Railway. It then bends sharply to the right to pass to the west of Great Musgrave. The River Eden is then crossed four times in under two miles before the road runs alongside the river to reach a T-junction on the A685 just to the north of Kirkby Stephen.

There is then a multiplex south through the centre of town until the road regains its number by turning left at a three-way set of traffic lights, where a splendid old fingerpost gives distances in miles and furlongs. This is the original northern end of the B6259. The road narrows again almost immediately and quickly leaves town. It crosses the River Eden to get to Nateby, where the B6270 heads off to the east. The road continues up the Eden Valley but at present is not that close to the river. There are no more settlements of any size for some distance - although the road still passes a large number of scattered buildings, including Pendragon Castle, a Norman ruin built according to legend by Uther Pendragon.

As the valley narrows and the hills on either side get higher the course of the B6259 becomes chosen for it by the terrain. It starts to run along the valley bottom and eventually crosses the river again. Now the Settle to Carlisle railway line comes in from the right and the road zigzags to go over it, essentially leaving what remains of the Eden Valley behind. The road and the railway line continue to run parallel.

The summit is reached (although the road is fairly flat at this point) and, with it, the road widens to S2 and enters the Yorkshire Dales National Park. Half a mile on the road zigzags to go under the railway line. They then run adjacent for a while; at one point the road must climb over a spur whilst the railway line simply tunnels through.

The road and railway line then begin to diverge. The road starts to descend and presently reaches a T-junction by the Moorcock Inn on the A684. To the left is the valley of the River Ure leading to Hawes and Wensleydale; turn right to cross the Pennine Watershed into Garsdale.