Last week we were lucky enough to go and spend a few days in the Yorkshire Dales, one of our most beautiful National Parks. If you fancy a break, but are stuck for ideas on where to go, the Dales are definitely worth a look, especially at this time of year. The days are getting longer (and warmer), the wild flowers are blooming and lambing is underway.
Spring lamb
There is absolutely tons to do in the Dales. There are lovely market towns and picturesque villages to explore, there are some great pubs, there are artisan cheese makers, there are open farms, there are waterfalls (including the biggest in England), there are award winning pies and all manner of other stuff, not to mention the beautiful scenery. There is also the incredible ruins of the Cistercian Fountains Abbey. Hugely atmospheric and in a beautiful setting, strictly speaking this is just outside the Dales park boundary, but is a definite ‘must see’ if you are in the area.
View of Ingleborough
The Yorkshire Dales also get to host the Tour de France Grand Départ 2014. On Saturday July 5th, Le Tour sets off from Leeds and travels through the hills and valleys of the Dales to finish in Harrogate. This is sure to be an amazing thing to watch, but if you can’t make it you can do your very own Tour de Yorkshire Dales, and my favourite way to do this is on foot. If you enjoy hiking, the Dales are a fabulous location. You can do anything from a short amble on a paved path and over relatively level ground, to the Yorkshire 3 peaks challenge which involves covering 23 – 26 miles and 5,429 feet of ascent and descent in under 12 hours.
Beck disappearing into Gaping Gill
There are so many great hikes in the Dales that identifying a few to mark out as especially good is quite hard, but I have given it a go. One of my all time favourites is Ingleborough from Clapham. I love the varied nature of the landscape from the nice easy riverside walking (if you take the nature trail) out of Clapham, the small scramble up Trow Gill, the spectacle of Fell Beck disappearing into the great hole in the ground that is Gaping Gill and then the hike up to the summit. Ingleton is a great base for exploring this part of the Dales. There is lots of accommodation and several pubs, restaurants and cafes. We are particular fans of Hazel’s Place – my husband says Hazel has the best potato and meat pies outside of Lancashire and in all fairness he has sampled a few to come to that conclusion. If you are after a slightly shorter hike, but with a great view, Pen-y-ghent from Horton-in-Ribblesdale is another fantastic choice. This is probably the easiest walk to the Yorkshire 3 peaks, but you can extend the circular walk to the head of Foxup Moor if you want a bit more of a challenge.
Thornton Force, Waterfalls Walk
Also in this area, the Waterfalls Walk out of Ingleton is fabulous, especially if it has been raining. It is an easy circular walk on private land so there is a charge for access, but it is well worth it. We tend to do it on a day when the cloud ceiling prevents any kind of view, or when we have overdone it a bit the day before and are suffering with weary legs. Another good option for waterfalls is to walk to Bolton Castle from Aysgarth Falls. This is a nice easy stroll along the riverside and across some field paths. The Castle is very well preserved and is well worth a visit. There are lovely gardens and all manner of events based on its medieval history.
Malham Cove
One of the most famous walks in the Dales is from Malham, to see the unusual limestone pavement at the top of Malham Cove. If you do nothing else, it is well worth walking out of the village and up the steps to the top of the Cove. My favourite route however is a longer hike, starting out along Gordale Beck to Janet’s Fosse (which again is well worth walking to, even if you go no further) and along to Gordale Scar. Gordale Scar is a deep gorge with 100 meter high limestone cliffs and a waterfall formed as Gordale Beck hurtles through the cliffs. You can scramble up Gordale Scar. In my view this is lots of fun if it hasn’t rained much and the waterfall is small, but less of a joy when there is a lot of water around when you can walk back to Gordale Bridge and cut across the fields. Either way, you can hike up to Malham Tarn and come back via the various sink holes and Ing Scar to Malham Cove. This is a very popular hike and in the summer parking can be difficult at weekends. Your best bet is to arrive as early as possible and ideally to avoid weekends.
Climbing up Gordale Scar
Another spot not to miss is Bolton Abbey (not to be confused with Bolton Castle, 2 different places). This is a great place to come for the day as there is so much to do. The ruins of the 12th century priory are lovely and stand beside a river with stepping stones and plenty of picnicking and paddling opportunity. You can walk along the flat riverside path on one side of the river, or the slightly more undulating path on the other, to view the River Wharfe pouring through the narrow confines of the Strid. If you fancy a longer walk, you can add in the hike up to Simon’s Seat which has fabulous views and a short rocky scramble to the top. My final favourite spot in the Dales for a hike is out of Gunnerside. There is a fabulous route through Gunnerside Gill up to the Blakenthwaite Smelt Mill. This area was mined up until the 19th Century for lead, and the remains of the old workings are fascinating. The countryside is beautiful and it is a lovely sheltered walk to choose on a very windy day.
Where to Stay
You have a huge range of places to stay in the Dales. Harrogate and Skipton are the larger gateway towns. Both are on rail lines and Harrogate in particular has a large number of hotel rooms. We have stayed in Ingleton and in Grassington a couple of times. Both places have great access to hiking – you don’t need to get in your car if you don’t want to – and plenty of amenity.
In Harrogate the Rudding Park Hotel is a great place if you are looking for somewhere special to stay. It has beautiful rooms, great food, a lovely spa and a golf course, along with hot and cold running just about everything. It is a little way out of Harrogate, set in large and very peaceful grounds.
If you are looking for somewhere in Harrogate itself, friends of ours really rate the Ascot House Hotel. I am (very) reliably informed that the rooms are lovely and very comfy, the service great and the breakfast fabulous. They do say its worth paying extra for a larger room if you are staying several days.
Just outside the Dales park boundaries, Thorney Hall near Leyburn is another great place to stay. Please note, if you are travelling with a family they do not accept children under 12. This is a great place to get away from it all and feel like a guest in a country house rather than a hotel. The house if full of character and period furniture and the views of fabulous. If you are dieting beware. Breakfast is vast and very, very good. It is a great start to a day of yomping.
In Grassington, we like the Grassington Lodge. This has comfortable rooms, some with lovely views and is in the village itself so you can walk to the pubs, shops and restaurants. There is free Wi-Fi and they serve a full Yorkshire breakfast every day which will fuel you until tea time.
Even though there are some lovely hotels, we tend to self cater when we go to the Dales. We have found a cottage, house or apartment is a much easier place to manage muddy boots and wet waterproofs as well as manufacturing picnic lunches. Booking.com is a good place to look for self catering, they often come up trumps
We also tend to use HomeAway.co.uk who have a great range to choose from.
Books and Maps
Our two favourite books for hiking in the dales are Yorkshire Dales (50 Walks Series) (AA 50 Walks)
Both have a good selection of hikes of different lengths, give clear route directions, distance, time, total ascent and decent and some idea of how difficult the path is.
The relevant Ordnance Survey maps for the area are Yorkshire Dales – Southern and Western Areas (OS Explorer Map Active)
For more info on what to take, check out our section on day hiking equipment and our handy printable checklists.
