Tracks and Trails

Walking in Yorkshire

Favourite Yorkshire Dales Walks- Wensleydale

Here three of the best walks in Wensleydale

1.Aysgarth Falls and Bolton Castle

Start and Finish: Aysgarth Falls National Park Visitor Centre
Approximate time for the walk: 4 hours
Distance: 7 miles
Landscape: Great scar limestone, good bird watching with lapwing, curlew, redshank
Map: Outdoor Leisure Map 30, Yorkshire Dales, Northern and Central areas
Description of the walk:

A. Start at Aysgarth Falls National Park Visitor Centre. From the visitor centre, turn right along the path to the Middle and Lower Falls. Cross over the road and go straight-ahead to enter Freeholders Wood. Continue straight-forward and follow the signs for Bolton Castle. This sign points away from the river and along a wooden fence. Continue along this path as you pass through Hollins House. After you have passed the house, take the path to the right and go across the meadow. When you reach a wall, don’t go through them. Instead go through two gates whilst keeping the wall on your right. Continue straight-ahead to reach Thoresby Lane. Continue along this narrow lane, will Bolton castle in view. Keep on this narrow lane until you reach Low Thoresby farm. After 50 yards passed Thoresby farm, turn left via a footbridge. Continue straight-ahead passing through two hay meadows to meet a road. Pass over the road with care and go straight-up the opposite road which leads to Bolton Castle. Continue straight-ahead on this road to emerge at Bolton Castle.
B. At Bolton Castle, go round the castle and past the parish church of St Oswald. Walk through a gate and follow the double farm track for next 2 and an half miles. When the farm road ends, continue straight-forward through a gate. Keeping the wall on your left, follow this track after crossing a stream first. Continue along this track for awhile before the path eventually descends to join a walled lane. Continue along this path which leads to a road and in Carperby.
C. Turn right onto the road and go as far as Wheatseaf. Turn right along the path. Continue straight-ahead to pass through a couple fields to emerge Freeholders’s wood. Just inside the wood turn right and then left to emerge once again on another road. Turn left on the road and pass over the railway bridge to emerge once again in Aysgarth Falls National Park Visitor Centre. This where the walk concludes.

2.Mill Gill

Start and Finish: Askrigg
Approximate time for the walk: 2.5 hours
Distance: 3 and a half miles
Landscape: Yoredale strata in the waterfalls, a coal seam, fossils, wood warbler, nuthatch, common spotted and fragrant orchids.
Map: Outdoor Leisure Map 30, Yorkshire Dales, Northern and Central areas
Description of the walk:

A. The walk starts at the church at the west of Askrigg. Follow the down road as you pass over the bridge. Immediately turn left down the left-side the beck to enter a woodland. Continue straight-ahead on path sign-post, ‘Mill Gill only’ to reach the falls.
B. Return to the path that leads up the side of the wood. At the top left corner, leave the wood. Go straight-ahead following the footpath sign for Helm, passing through fields to emerge on a road. Turn right up the road to emerge in Helm.
C. Reach the guesthouse in Helm. Turn right on the path to climb through fields to reach the gill.
D. When you reach the gill. Keep to left-hand of the gill and go up a path as you continue up it towards a footbridge and Whitefield Gill Force.
E. Go over the footbridge and go steeply up the other the other side of the gill to reach Low Straights Lane. Continue along this lane for about 1 mile until just before a ford. Turn right here passing a gate and head straight down through fields. Pass through two gate stiles as path eventually bears left to reach the next corner of the field to a smaller stile. From this stile, bear left at a barn with arched doorway. Continue on this path that leads back to village to village of Askrigg, emerging next to the Crown Inn in Askrigg where the walk concludes and finishes.

3. Penhill and Templars Chapel
Start and Finish: West Witton
Approximate time for the walk: 4 hours
Distance: 7 and a half miles
Landscape: Landslips, stepped profile of Penhill, moorland plants, raven, peregrine, curlew, brown hare.
Map: Outdoor Leisure Map 30, Yorkshire Dales, Northern and Central areas
Description of the walk:

A. The walk starts at the top west end of the village of West Witton. Turn left and go up the lane in the direction of the caravan site. After turn right on the path, take a steep left turn onto a path, ‘Moor Bank.’ Follow this woodland path as it goes up hill passing through a caravan. Carry straight on, passing over a stream and play area. After this, go diagonally across the field to barn and along a green and path through gated stiles. Continue along the lane and turn left to reach the road. At the road, turn right along the road. After a few yards, you come hairpin bend where you leave the road at this point. Turn sharply through a stile and continue straight-ahead towards Penhill Farm. Continue straight-ahead to reach the road once again. Continue straight-ahead over the road and up the hill. Continue straight-ahead until you see a cattle grid, then turn right through the metal gate. Go straight up the grassy slope which passes through a number of gates and then half right to reach the top of Penhill Beacon.
B. Go along the edge from the Beacon passing through to a wall and gate. At the gate opening in the wall, take the track which descends and zigzags until met the remains of wall near some tip heaps. From here, turn left diagonally heading for a good path and wall, coming down from your right. When you meet this track, turn left and follow the path down to meet a gate and a lane, High Land. At this point, you need to turn right and follow the lane then right to zigzag down a concrete section of the road. Now leave it an hairpin for a grassy and go along a grassy heading towards a small enclosure in the corner of the field.
C. Continue along this path, passing through several fields and over a lane heading towards a road. From near the road, turn diagonally up to a narrow stile and over it to continue straight-ahead which brings you out on the main road once again in the village of West Witton. This where the walk concludes and finishes.

Walking in Yorkshire: An Introduction | Walking in Yorkshire | The Yorkshire Dales | North Dales | Favourite Yorkshire Dales Walks- Wensleydale | Favourite Yorkshire Dales Walks- Swaledale | South Dales | Favourite Yorkshire Dales Walks- Wharfedale | East Dales | Heriot Country | Favourite Yorkshire Dales Walks- Nidderdale | West Dales | Favourite Yorkshire Dales Walks- Dentdale and the Howgills | Yorkshire Coastline | West and East Yorkshire | Favourite Walks in the Yorkshire Pennines | More favourite walks in the Yorkshire Pennines | North Yorkshire Moors | Favourite Walks in the North Yorkshire Moors | More favourite walks in the North Yorkshire Moors | Hope Cove Walk

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