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INTRODUCTION

The Yorkshire Dales is like nowhere else in England, a place of intrinsic and striking beauty that owes its scenic qualities both to Nature and to Man. Bestriding the central Pennines, that broad range of hills erupting along the middle of the country and known to generations of schoolchildren as the ‘backbone of England’, it boasts a diversity of landscape and character that is hard to beat. Walkers trudging up the Pennine Way from the south into Craven leave the sombre mill valleys fragmenting the desolate, weather-beaten moors of West Yorkshire and East Lancashire to be greeted by a brighter, more intimate scene of interwoven horizons. Rolling green hills, broken here and there by rugged scars of white limestone, rise to a distant, higher ground dissected by deepening valleys. Further east and to the north, the wild moors dominate, but even here a varied geology of underlying rock breaks up their melancholic uniformity.

It is perhaps perverse that, as an upland region, the Yorkshire Dales is named after its most low-lying elements. But, like the neighbouring Lake District, it is this complementary feature that determines its endearing uniqueness. Just as the Cumbrian mountains would be the less without scintillating tarns and lakes to reflect their awesome ruggedness, the character of the Dales hills relies on the gentle beauty that rises up from the long, deep and twisting valleys emanating from the core. Devoid of the dramatic impact of soaring peaks, knife edge ridges and great hanging valleys, the mountains here might otherwise be regarded as unremarkable with little to distinguish them from the other hills of the Pennine range, but their intimacy with the gentle valleys that they enclose is what truly sets them apart.

A feeling of remoteness in the Valley of Desolation (Walk 3)

Despite the steep gradients that act as boundaries between the upper moors and the lowlands, it is often hard to define where the one begins and the other ends. Stroll in rich water-meadows beside a serpentine river flowing in a flat-bottomed valley or stride upon an airy plateau beneath vast, open skies and there is little doubt where you are. But walk from one to the other and the transition is often quite subtle. In many places, the neatly walled grazing pastures of the lower valleys climb high up the slope, sometimes intermingled with variegated woodlands that soften the craggy steps. In their higher reaches, the valley bottoms can often feel utterly remote from the rest of the world and have an untamed complexion that is more akin to the uplands. On the wildest of the tops, great morasses of peat hag and bog might stretch for miles, but even here the tendrils of ubiquitous stone walls are never far away, encompassing bleak tracts of land and signifying a belonging to some farm settlement in the valley far below.

Ancient trackways and paths ignore these geographical divisions and connect this dale to that or lead up to small mines and quarries that were often as integral to a farming income as the cows’ milk and ewes’ wool. Although the contours of the land mean that summits are rarely visible from the valley floor and vice-versa, for much of the way in between, the wider views encompass them both. And it is from this perspective that the two really do come together to be appreciated as a single entity – The Yorkshire Dales.

Set between the Stainmoor and Aire gaps north and south, the Lune Valley in the west and running out onto the great expanse of the Yorkshire Vale to the east, the Dales cover a relatively compact area of upland plateau fragmented by a number of main valley systems. The tumbling rivers of the Swale, Ure, Nidd, Wharfe and Aire all unite in the River Ouse, which, meeting the Trent, becomes the Humber as it runs into the North Sea. The Ribble, together with those streams gathered by the peripheral Lune, find their freedom to the west in the Irish Sea, while Mallerstang alone drains northward along the Eden Valley to Carlisle and the Solway Firth. Feeding them is a multitude of lesser rivers that gnaw deep into the heartland, creating a maze of smaller valleys and dales each proclaiming its own subtly different character. This variance is rooted in underlying geology, positional geography and the product of elemental forces, but important too is the way man has settled and exploited them over millennia. Farming, husbandry, woodland management, quarrying and mining have all left their mark upon the slopes; and, here at least, it can be said that the accumulative effort of successive generations has unconsciously helped in the creation of one of the loveliest landscapes in the country.

The River Wharfe above Grassington at Ghaistrill’s Strid (Walk 5)

Although numerous lanes and tracks wind deep into the heart of the Dales, it is only the leisurely freedom of pedestrian exploration that truly enables an appreciation of its unique charm. This, the first of two volumes, is a wanderer’s guide to the southern and western parts of the area, savouring its ups, downs and endless in-betweens. The various walks seek out spectacular viewpoints, dramatic landforms, curious natural features and attractive hamlets and villages, but more than that, simply delight in the subtly changing scenery. There is something for everyone, from gentle valley and hillside walks to more demanding upland romps that take in the high hills and remote moors of the hinterland. For the newcomer, this is an invaluable companion. In addition to the route descriptions there is background information to many of the features encountered along the way. While some routes are inevitably popular, many others take you off the beaten track to less oft-visited spots, and even those who know the Dales well may find new corners.

EVOLUTION OF THE LANDSCAPE

Geological history

The unique character and unquestionable charm of the Yorkshire Dales has its roots in the underlying bedrock, much of which was created during the Carboniferous period 300 million years ago. At a time when, in other areas, massive coal, gas and oil fields were being laid down in the accumulating detritus of humid forest swamps, the area which has become the Dales lay beneath a shallow tropical sea. Here, the broken shells of countless marine creatures settled to form a bed of limestone over two hundred metres thick. Known as the Great Scar Limestone, it dominates the scenery of the south western corner of the park and underlies its central core.

Eventually, river deltas encroached from the north, washing mud and sand across the coastal shelf. But this was a period of cyclically changing sea levels, creating sequential strata of shale and weak sandstones, repeatedly topped off by limestone as lagoon conditions intermittently returned. Each band is only around twelve metres thick, but the build-up over aeons formed a kind of layer cake over three hundred metres deep. Known as the Yoredale Series, because of its appearance in the valley of the River Ure – Wensleydale – it forms the basis of the northern portion of the park and extends further south as the higher peaks and ridges. The upper levels of this layering culminate in a hard, impervious sandstone known as millstone grit reflecting one of its uses and the remnants of this form the southern hill tops and the high ground of the northern fells.

The dramatic rock wall of Malham Cove (Walk 20)

Neatly laid down in horizontal bands, the whole area, known as the Askrigg Block, was subsequently uplifted by earth movement, putting the Carboniferous strata of the block far above the younger rocks that lie to the south. The block tilts gently backwards, and whereas weathering has exposed the older limestones in the south west of the area, the more recent Yoredale rocks remain on top to the north east. The lines of fracture are dramatically evident in the three main Craven Faults, which cut across the southern part of the National Park. Giggleswick Scar – the line of towering cliffs overlooking the B6480 west of Settle – is part of the South Craven Fault, which continues its line south east towards Skipton. The Mid-Craven Fault is marked by a long line of cliffs of which Malham Cove and Gordale Scar are a part, while the North Craven Fault runs parallel to it at the southern lip of Malham Tarn. In a few places, the limestone of the block has been worn away to expose rocks from an even earlier era, known as the Ordovician, which, unlike the even, Carboniferous formations, are extravagantly crumpled and consist of slates, grits and mudstones. They can be seen in the quarries of Ribblesdale and around Ingleton, and are also exposed as an impervious basement layer in the southern valleys, perhaps most vividly in Thornton Force and along the Ingleton Falls.

The character of the Howgills clearly sets them apart from the rest of the Dales and, with the Middleton Fells, they are separated from the Askrigg Block by another fracture line – the Dent Fault. This runs in a rough north–south line east of Sedbergh, but here the displacement has been in the opposite direction, elevating the older rocks that lie to the west. Geologically these hills are part of the Lake District and are composed of much-folded metamorphosed slates and grits from the Silurian period, about a hundred million years older than the Carboniferous rocks making up the Askrigg Block. Their grassy flanks sweep steeply upwards from deep ravines to broad rounded tops, whose long interconnecting ridges, once attained, offer immensely satisfying walking.

Some of the most spectacular scenery of the park is to be found in the areas dominated by the Great Scar Limestone – Malham Cove, Gordale, Kingsdale, Twisleton, Lower Ribblesdale and the middle reaches of Wharfedale. Towering lines of white cliffs and scars, shake holes, sinks, potholes, caves, disappearing and resurgent streams and rivers, dry valleys and waterfalls, clints and grikes are all features of this remarkable karst landscape. Overlooking the fault lines, the cliffs result from the upward movement of the Askrigg Block, but the terraces along the valley side are due to the relative resistance of different layers to erosive weathering. A similar picture is seen in the Yoredale Series, where the successive bands of limestone are comparatively harder than the intervening strata of sandstones, producing a stepped profile such as that vividly presented above Buckden. It is this same process that gives rise to the many spectacular waterfalls of the region, the water cascading over a lip of hard limestone, but undercutting into the softer rock which lies below.

The most intriguing features of karst landscapes are those that result from the solubility of the bedrock in rain water. Its slight acidity dissolves the stone, exploiting crevices and vertical stress fractures and ultimately creating the awe-inspiring potholes and caves for which the area is famous. Whole rivers are swallowed into the ground, either in abruptly sensational falls such as Gaping Gill or merely ‘evaporating’ before your eyes as does the stream emanating from Malham Tarn or the River Skirfare in its passage through Littondale. Just as magical is their reappearance further down the valley, the river having coursed between the two points deep underground in dark and constricted passages and fissures that are the province of intrepid potholers and cave divers. In places, some dramatic passages are sufficiently accessible to have been opened as show caves, allowing visitors to marvel at the fantastic stalactites, stalagmites and other formations created as incessant drips of the lime-rich water have evaporated over millennia leaving the lime behind. Occasionally, similar deposits are also seen on the surface in the form of tufa, where calcite is precipitated from the cascading water.

While streams, even after rain, are something of a rarity on the limestone uplands, dry valleys are not. Like Trow Gill and Conistone Dib they can be stunningly spectacular, deep, narrow ravines, stepped with the walls of ancient waterfalls. Occasionally following heavy rain, rivulets might briefly cascade through, but these bear little resemblance to the overwhelming torrents of meltwater that created them, as the last ice age came to an end. Where rivers flow uninterrupted today, they have usually worn the valley down to a bedrock of impervious stone or else flow over deposits of clay dumped by retreating glaciers.

The extensive clint fields or limestone pavements also have their origins in the last ice age. Initially levelled to a bedding plane and stripped clean by glacial action, they were re-covered with clay debris when the ice finally retreated. Seeping rain water subsequently picked out vertical lines of weakness to form the grikes, fragmenting the pavement into blocks – the clints. Eventual erosion of the thin soil cover, perhaps as a result of woodland clearance or grazing by early man’s livestock, has once more revealed the bare pavements that are now such a striking feature. Accumulating soil in the base of the grikes holds moisture, and their shelter creates micro-habitats that are home to an astonishing variety of plant life, rare on an otherwise quite barren landscape.

Heading into Trow Gill (Walk 41)

Also composed of limestone, although of a different formation to the Great Scar, is a striking line of small hills between Malham and Grassington. Termed reef knolls, they are the remnants of a coral barrier reef that marked the edge of a shelf in the shallow sea. Erosion of the later, overlying softer deposits has revealed these submarine hillocks once more, distinctive because of their conical shape.

Away from the Great Scar, the scenery is no less stirring – a great plateau of high ground fragmented by deep valleys to create long, broad-backed ridges. The level bedding of the rocks has resulted in an almost uniform height at around 610m, with just a few mountain tops daring to poke their flat heads above the rest. Most famous amongst these are the Yorkshire Three Peaks – Whernside, Ingleborough and Pen-y-ghent – planted well apart around the head of Ribblesdale. Although not one of the Dales peaks culminates in a dramatic pinnacle summit, their flanks climb steeply out of the surrounding valleys, rising in terraces through the Yoredale Series. Alternating bands of springy grass and lines of sink holes, heather heath, and then marsh reflect the nature of the changing geology underfoot, culminating in an undulating upland bog held upon the sandstones and gritstones capping the northern hills. It is this layering too that is responsible for the impressive waterfalls in Wensleydale, in particular the falls on the River Ure at Aysgarth and the great cascade of Hardraw Force above Hawes.

While geology and subterranean force may have laid the foundation for the Dales landscape, it is the natural elements that have been responsible for moulding it. And nothing has been more dramatic in its effects than the action of ice. During the last half-million years of its history, Britain has been subjected to at least three major ice ages, when vast glacial sheets many hundreds of feet thick, inexorably fanned out from the mountain areas across much of the country. Although the general topography of the area had already been set before the ice ages began, each new advance scoured the land back to the very bedrock, gouging valleys ever deeper and straightening their erratic fluvial courses.

When the thaws came, boulder and clay debris were dumped far from their origin and unimaginable volumes of water were released. What we see today are just the finishing touches left by the latest glacial period, whose icy tendrils left these valleys 12,000 years ago.

Dropping off the steep southern snout of Pen-y-ghent (Walk 35)

The legacy of the ice can be traced throughout the Dales in characteristic rounded hills, straight U-shaped valleys and the dramatic cliffs of truncated spurs. The moving ice carried boulders far from their origins and moulded underlying clay into distinctive egg-shaped hills called drumlins. With the thaw, the unstable sides of overly steep valleys slumped in landslide, and layers of boulder clay were dumped along the base of valleys allowing surface rivers to flow over limestone. Some dales were dammed with terminal moraines that held back lakes, but all but two of these – Malham Tarn and Semer Water – have subsequently silted up or drained away. The deluge of meltwater cut spectacularly narrow ravines through the rock and created majestic waterfalls. Some of these still carry water today – although mere trickles by comparison with the former torrents of their creation – and are well worth looking out for.

Human settlement

Homo sapiens appeared in Europe some 40,000 years ago and, during the warm interludes between glaciation, wandered into Britain. But with each ice age driving them back south and wiping the archaeological slate almost clean, those early incursions of people and the beasts which they followed for food have left few traces. Stone Age peoples eventually returned to the Dales around 9000 years ago, small bands of hunter-gatherers eking a nomadic existence in a steadily warming climate. Although artefacts are thin on the ground, they left their mark by beginning the clearance of primeval woodland, a process which gathered momentum with the later development of agriculture and the transition to a more settled lifestyle. The many caves and crevices in the limestone hills served as shelters for living and burial, a fact which perhaps explains the relative absence here of the constructed internment chambers, cairns and henges found elsewhere in the country. By the time of the Bronze Age, large areas had been cleared for grazing and agriculture, but a deterioration in climate led to the spread of extensive blanket bog across the upper plateaus.

While habitation sites and field systems of earlier eras are known, their more prominent traces have been largely obliterated by later settlement, and there is little visible evidence pre-dating the Iron Age. The area fell within the territory of a British tribe known as the Brigantes, and many settlement sites and earthwork structures have been identified. Maiden Castle above Reeth and the extensive fortification surrounding the summit of Ingleborough are amongst the most spectacular examples. Although the Romans did establish a permanent fort at Bainbridge around 80AD, they never really subjugated the hill tribes. In fact, there appears to have been a relatively peaceful co-existence with lowland farmers, who would have found ready markets for their produce in the Roman economy until the eventual withdrawal of the occupation forces a little over three centuries later. The enigmatic patterns of those small Celtic fields still survive in several places, most notably above Malham and Grassington.

Looking back past Winterburn Grange to the tiny hamlet (Walk 23)

The early years of the seventh century saw the arrival of Angle settlers, who continued a tradition of arable farming along the dales, reserving the higher, less productive ground of the valley sides for woodland and grazing. The lynchets (ridges) of their open field systems, created by ploughing with teams of oxen along the slopes of the valley side, survived through the medieval period and are still visible above Malham and around Clapham. The process of sporadic settlement continued throughout the Dark Ages as further waves of successive immigration brought the Vikings, their presence reflected in place names such as Yokenthwaite, Hawkswick, Appletreewick and indeed the word ‘dale’ itself.

The next millennium heralded the new age of the invading Normans. After he had won the day, William the Conqueror consolidated his position by beating the northern part of his kingdom into submission with a heavy and cruel hand. The overlords ruled from peripheral fortress towns such as Skipton, Richmond and Barnard Castle, exploiting the remoter reaches of the Dales as hunting forests and establishing markets that thrived to serve the larger centres of population. During the succeeding centuries much of the region was gradually encompassed within vast monastic estates. Fountains Abbey and the priory at Bolton Abbey became the greatest landowners, but houses such as Furness on the Cumbrian coast and Bridlington far to the east also held significant tracts of land here. Under the careful administration and watchful eyes of the abbots and priors, the farms made their money from wool as well as growing a range of staple crops. The monasteries also exploited the mineral resources of the region, mining for coal, lead and other metals.

After the Dissolution of the Monasteries in the 16th century, ownership of much of the land eventually fell to individual freeholding farmers, and by the 17th century a climate of growing personal prosperity brought a new confidence that was translated into building in stone. It is from this era that the earliest domestic buildings survive, sturdily constructed from rough stone, with dressed blocks being reserved for corners, lintels and window openings. They reflect the local geology, in limestone, gritstone and heavy roofs of stone flags. Although largely utilitarian and without ornate decoration, individualism is expressed in the carvings of dates and initials added to the lintels above doorways. Grouped in compact villages, often overlooking a green or spread as individual farms along the valley, they are one of the endearing features of the Dales countryside. Long and narrow, the farmhouses often included an attached barn or laithe for the animals and, in some areas, notably Swaledale and Wensleydale, isolated barns were built in the valley fields to store summer hay and house livestock over winter.

Industry and enterprise

The relative inaccessibility of the region protected it from the burgeoning development of the Industrial Revolution, for, even though it held abundant raw materials in stone, coal and metal ore, the difficulties of transportation often rendered large-scale growth uneconomic. Yet, despite its comparatively small scale, mining and quarrying did become important local money-making activities, sometimes worked on a part-time basis to supplement income from farming. The abandoned ruins of pit-head buildings, smelters and disused quarries are to be found scattered throughout the region, often in the most inhospitable of places.

Veins of lead ore occur in the limestone throughout the eastern half of the Dales and have been mined sporadically since the arrival of the Romans. The industry peaked during the middle 18th and early 19th centuries, but then fell into decline because of high transport costs and competition from foreign imports. Where there is lead, there is often silver too, and the Duke of Devonshire’s Cupola Mine above Grassington produced a significant amount of silver as a by-product before it closed in 1885. In the area further west, around Malham, copper and zinc ores were also discovered, and more recently deposits of baryte and fluorspar have been worked in the Dales.

To the north and on the high ground, the Yoredale rocks contain thin seams of coal of varying quality. These were intermittently mined from the beginning of the 14th century until the railway age, often from small workings called bell pits. The coal supplied domestic needs as well as being used on a larger scale to fire smelt furnaces and lime kilns. On the bleak top of Fountains Fell, coal was even processed in an oven to produce coke, a trouble worth taking to reduce the weight of the product to be carried down the hill. Another important source of fuel both for the home and the mines was peat, cut from turbaries (places where turf or peat is dug) on the upland bogs.

All these activities have long since finished, but not so the extensive stone quarries around Horton in Ribblesdale and at Linton, which serve the chemical industry and provide aggregate for building, roads and railways. Sadly, these massive workings are a scar on the landscape, a far cry from the earlier small-scale operations that produced stone for local building, walling and to produce lime fertiliser. At first glance, these old abandoned workings are now hardly distinguishable from the natural backdrop, something their modern-day equivalents might find harder to achieve once they have been worked out.

What other enterprise developed was only ever on a limited scale. Fast-flowing streams in the main valleys powered grist and, later, other mills, with textiles becoming significant in some corners such as Grassington and Aysgarth. Just as important was the widespread cottage textile industry carried out in individual farms and cottages, not least in the north west where gloves and stockings fell off clattering needles wielded by woman, child and man alike in such prodigious quantities that they become known as ‘terrible knitters of Dent’.

18th-century lime kiln at Braida Garth (Walk 43)

The major inhibiting factor to industry was a lack of suitable transport to the main industrial centres. Turnpikes through the Dales were few, and the canal age touched only the southern portals at Gargrave and Skipton. The engineering determination of the Victorians served them better as their entrepreneurial spirit pushed the railways deep into the heart of the region along Wensleydale and into Wharfedale. Ambitious plans conceived for links into the lesser valleys never came to fruition, although a crowning achievement was realised in 1876 in the Settle–Carlisle line. It was forced through by the Midland Railway at great financial and human cost, ironically not to serve the Dales but to compete with existing mainline routes to Scotland. For a while, the railway sustained trade along the western fringes and into Wensleydale, enabling rapid transportation of dairy products to satisfy the markets of industrial towns. But the boom was short-lived and now only a mineral railway track and the famous Settle–Carlisle line remain, and that won only in 1989 at the end of a long and hard-fought battle after it too was threatened with closure in the 1980s.

The Ribblehead Viaduct from Ivescar (Walk 38)

But, while railways and main roads are few, innumerable paths and tracks criss-cross the whole area. Some may have their origins in prehistoric times, others follow the lines of Roman roads, while many more were trodden by the monks and lay workers of the great medieval abbeys and priories as they administered their far-flung estates. Dating from pre-industrial Britain, the pack-horse trails and cattle drove roads were once the main arteries of trade, while others connected small settlements to the market towns around the periphery. Some of the tracks appearing on today’s maps now appear rather pointless, ending abruptly on the slope of a bare hillside or winding onto the moors to finish in a barren wilderness. But follow them on the ground and you will come across abandoned turbaries or disused mine and quarry workings. Other tracks, called coffin routes, served a more sombre purpose. Even if a chapel existed in an upper valley, burial rights were generally reserved to the parish churches down below, and so the dead had to be brought down for interment. Indeed there are hardly any routes you can follow in the Dales that do not have some story to tell.

Farming in the Dales

The beauty of the Dales landscape is the culmination of its history and it is one of those few places where human influence can be said to have improved upon Nature, albeit unintentionally. Even the ravages left by historic mining and quarrying have faded, and the grassed-over spoil heaps, collapsed hollows and moss-grown ruined buildings have now assumed an almost natural quality. Working life in the Dales seems naturally to have evolved to run largely in accord with its environment, to create a balance that could be sustained through the passing seasons and from year to year. For example, primeval forest was originally cleared for crops and grazing, but some woodland was always retained to provide fuel and timber. And although the bare upland fells eventually returned little more than rough grazing, they freed lower land for arable farming and the production of hay.

By and large, the farming here has always been relatively unintensive, working within the limits of the generally poor-quality land and traditional boundaries. Getting on for 5,500 miles (8,851km) of stone walls divide the valleys into a mosaic of small fields and fan out up the steep hillsides to define far-reaching territories that meet along the watersheds on the high moorlands above. The walls are everywhere, except around Dentdale, where hedges prevail, and on the Howgills, where boundaries are few. Although some walls only date back a couple of hundred years to the Enclosure Acts, a few are truly ancient and hark back to the time of the first tentative farmers. Together with the tidy villages, compact farmsteads, isolated field barns and sporadic lime kilns, they create a built environment that has a visual harmony completely at one with its setting.

Field laithe (barn) below Birks Wood (Walk 10)

But nothing remains static, not even in a farming landscape, and change is inevitable to meet ever evolving demands. Arable farming disappeared with the arrival of the railways in the later part of the 19th century, when fresh food could easily be ‘imported’ from the more productive market garden areas of the country. Dairy farming, beef cattle and sheep rearing are now the main activities, cattle predominant on the lower farms with sheep ubiquitous elsewhere. Indeed, so much do they reflect the character of life in the Dales that the Swaledale sheep has been adopted as the emblem of the park. It is only such hardy breeds with thick dense fleeces that are able to survive the harsh conditions and poor grazing of the upper fells, and they are generally only brought down for lambing and shearing, or when deep winter snow blankets the sparse vegetation upon which they otherwise manage to survive.

Although wool was once an important element of the local economy, that of the hill sheep is now used only for carpet manufacture, and low prices often mean that its value is less than the cost of shearing. The lambs are generally sold on to lowland farms for fattening, with the strong ewes being valued as breeding stock. On the moors, the sheep are ‘heafed’ or ‘hefted’ to the land, an instinct that keeps them within their own territory. The ewes somehow pass this instinct on to their lambs, which makes the job of the farmer immeasurably easier when it comes to rounding up the flock. The number of sheep is determined by what the grazing can sustain. Too small and the land will become overrun with scrub, but too much will kill off the heather and denude the grass slopes. Maintaining that delicate balance over the centuries has created the open aspect of the countryside that we so value today.

Long before Wallace and his indefatigable companion Grommit revealed their attachment to Wensleydale cheese, dairy farming in the lower dales had been an important element in the local economy. Prior to the arrival of the railway, milk itself could only be used to supply local demand, but the coming of the railway meant that cheese and butter made on the farms could be ‘exported’ for sale in distant towns, even as far away as London. Cheese is still produced in a small factory at Hawes and, although the milk trains no longer run, road tankers make the daily round of farms to supply the bottling and processing plants. Higher up the valley, the pastures are not as rich and the cattle are bred for meat, being sold on for fattening before finally going to the butcher. Traditionally the cattle were set out to graze the riverside meadows in spring before being moved onto the higher pastures. During the summer, the meadows were left to produce hay, the herd being brought back after the harvest to graze the late growth. Individual field barns or laithes removed the need to cart the hay and meant that cattle could over-winter in the fields rather than be brought back to the farm.

Counting sheep at Lee Gate Farm (Walk 21)

Managing the meadows in this way allowed them to develop a rich herbage of spring and summer flowers, which in turn encouraged a diversity of both insects and birds. In some areas they remain a delight to behold, but such practices do not sit well alongside pressures to improve productivity. Reseeding and the use of fertilisers and herbicides might double the yield of grass, but the wild flowers that once grew there all but disappear within a season. Many farmers are trying to redress the balance between efficiency and environmental conservation, but the overriding concern must still be the need to earn an income.

PLANTS AND WILDLIFE

Despite the human influences, the environment of the Dales supports a great diversity of habitats whose individual characteristics are broadly governed by altitude and the underlying geology.

Much of the upland is underlain by grits and other impervious rocks and covered by wet blanket bog, where cottongrass, sphagnum and purple moor grass pervade, with heather, bilberry and heath rush dominating where the ground is drier. Many of the better-drained upland heaths are actively managed as grouse moors, where the old growth of heather is periodically burnt off to encourage young shoots. The moors are perhaps at their most attractive during late summer when the heather blazes in a rich swathe of purple. The limestone grasslands on the other hand are best in spring, when an amazing variety of small flowers such as buttercup, vetch, rock rose, cranesbill and campion speckle colour across the landscape. The small patches of woodland too are also most appealing in the springtime, when bluebells, ramson and wood anemones abound.

While the limestone pavements themselves are almost devoid of vegetation, the deeper clefts between the clints offer soil, moisture and protection from grazing. Ferns are amongst the most common plants here, but very occasionally a hawthorn might just escape the attentions of sheep into maturity. On the floors of the dales, the unimproved hay meadows contain a rich mixture of grasses as well as an abundance of flowers and are at their best around June. And even if you do not venture off the lanes, you will be charmed by the mass of flowers that sprout from the crevices of walls and underneath hedgerows.

Such an abundance of flowers supports many insects, of which butterflies and moths are most likely to attract attention. The relatively cool climate of the uplands precludes an abundance of species, but amongst those commonly seen are tortoiseshell, peacock, green-veined white, common blue and green hairstreak.

Birds are the most obvious wildlife throughout the dales, and even the most unobservant bird watcher cannot help noticing them from the highest fells to the depths of the vales. Red grouse, golden plover and curlew are common across the moors, with merlin and even peregrines hunting for food. Skylarks hover high above the upland pastures, and lapwing, snipe and fieldfare are all to be found. The woodlands, too, harbour many small songbirds, and you will often hear – if not actually spot – a woodpecker. The streams and rivers attract dippers and wagtails as well as sandpipers and oystercatchers.

Apart from the rabbit, which seems to appear just about wherever there is grass, and the grey squirrel, which is earning for itself an increasingly bad press, other mammals are more timid and less easy to spot, although, be assured, they are very much there. Roe deer, hare, fox and badger are amongst the larger animals likely to be encountered, and occasionally the native red squirrel might be seen in woodland. The woodmouse, vole and mole are common but shy, and there are several species of bat, which are most in evidence at dusk. Frogs, toads, lizards and even adders also live in the Park.

With such a tremendous variety of landscape within a relatively small area, the Dales offer some of the most satisfying walking to be had in the whole of the country. Its thousands of miles of pathways, tracks and quiet lanes offer endless possibilities for personal exploration, whether it be in gentle riverside strolls or demanding upland treks. The area is criss-crossed by several long distance trails and is also home to the Yorkshire ‘Three Peaks Challenge’, the 23-mile (37km) ascent of Pen-y-ghent, Whernside and Ingleborough completed in less than 12 hours. But equally, the charming villages and hamlets strung along the valley bottoms make ideal bases for both short and full-day walks. There are also many opportunities to combine a walk with a visit to one of the local attractions, such as the fine gardens at Parcevall Hall or one of the spectacular show caves, but the greatest appeal for many who come here is undoubtedly the intrinsic natural beauty of the countryside.

Walking along Green Lane to Hanlith (Walk 18)

THE SOUTHERN AND WESTERN DALES

This volume covers the southern- and western-facing catchments of the Yorkshire Dales – Wharfedale, Littondale, Malhamdale, Ribblesdale and Dentdale. It is an area of dramatic and contrasting landscape, for it is here that the main outcrop of Great Scar Limestone is revealed. To the north, and in the higher reaches of the hills, this gives way to the overlying distinctive stepped terraces of the Yoredales, while to the south east the darker millstones and sandstones of the South Pennines fringe the National Park.

Each valley has a character subtly different from that of its neighbours, and although none can be said to be truly representative, Wharfedale, together with its tributaries, perhaps more than any other, encapsulates the spirit of the Dales. From the source of the River Wharfe high on Cam Fell to Bolton Abbey, where it leaves the park behind, is a distance of some 30 miles (48km), and it is possible to walk close by the river’s banks for much of the way. Born out of an evocative wildness, the Wharfe tumbles in youthful exuberance between the steep and narrow flanks of Langstrothdale, but then, turning a corner, seems to find a different and more considered purpose. The hills step back to indulge its meandering course through an increasingly bucolic landscape of neatly walled pastures dotted with laithes and small steadings. The high ground encompasses the abrupt and arresting scenery of karst and the wild expanses of the open moors, both encroaching across an indeterminate boundary with the pastoral scene below. Its fickle tributary, the River Skirfare, can bubble boisterously at one point and then disappear completely within a few metres, while the Wharfe itself can swell from an innocuous stream to a thundering torrent after heavy rain.

That same diversity is repeated further west in the hills that give rise to the River Aire, from the gritty moors above Winterburn to the awesome limestone scarps of Malham and Gordale. Like Grassington, the village of Malham must be amongst the most visited of the whole park, and its popularity stems simply from the grand beauty of its setting. The accessibility of Malham Cove, Gordale and Janet’s Foss has put them within reach of almost everyone, and their natural charm has no doubt awakened a love of the countryside in many a child visiting as part of a geography field trip. But, even on the busiest summer weekend, you need not wander far to experience a sense of quiet and freedom.

The River Skirfare sometimes tumbles along its bed at Litton (Walk 16)

With working quarries and a railway that runs its full length, Ribblesdale appears the most workaday of the Dales. Yet even here, it is the loveliness of the scenery that makes the greatest impression. Of all the dales, it is the one that most obviously proclaims an identity in the mountains that enclose it, for here they stand well back and can be viewed with anticipation. And this is the dale intimately linked with the Three Peaks Challenge, which begins and ends at the famous café in Horton. So much is said of them that you might be forgiven for thinking them the three highest in Yorkshire – and while Whernside and Ingleborough most certainly are, Pen-y-ghent, barely 30m lower, only ranks eighth in the list. Despite this handicap, it is perhaps the most striking of all, and, if approached along the Pennine Way from the south, arouses all the expectancy and sense of achievement of a real mountaineering peak.

Dentdale is subtly different from the rest, a valley of hedgerows and occasional trees that lend a greater feeling of warmth and intimacy than the grey stone walls defining the field patterns elsewhere. West-facing, it looks out not onto lowland plains, but the mountains of Cumbria, and there is a sense of seclusion from the rest of the world not experienced in the other dales. This perception is heightened in the approach from whichever direction, for the lanes are narrow and twisting right from the start. But, in common with its neighbours, it is grand walking country and every route is enjoyable from the very first step.

THE YORKSHIRE DALES NATIONAL PARK

Centred upon the core of this unique area is the Yorkshire Dales National Park, created in 1954, the seventh of the UK’s national parks. The then omission of Nidderdale, Mallerstang, the Howgills and the western outlying hills was heavily criticised, for although beyond the bounds of Yorkshire, they are geologically and geographically connected and equally deserving of protection. Forty years were to pass before Nidderdale was finally designated an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) and it was not until August 2016 that the National Park’s boundaries were extended to include the remaining areas.

Fishing on the River Wharfe as it passes through Strid Wood (Walk 1)

The additional areas increased the park’s size by almost a quarter to 2178 square kilometres (841 square miles) to make it the country’s third largest, with the Nidderdale AONB adding a further 600 square kilometres (233 square miles). Somewhat less than half of this is actively managed as agricultural land while the rest consists largely of open country and moorland. Historic land use, geography and climate mitigate against extensive areas of woodland and little more than three per cent is covered by trees, the largest single area being the coniferous plantations encircling the higher reaches of Langstrothdale. Because of the geology, extensive bodies of water are also notable by their absence and, in fact, only two natural lakes of significance occur in the whole of the Dales, Malham Tarn and Semer Water. However, the gritstone valleys in the south and east harbour a number of manmade reservoirs, built to sustain the industrial towns of West Yorkshire.

The park’s resident population is below 24,000 – less than 30 people per square mile. But this figure is swelled by an estimated 9.5 million visitors each year, on average more than doubling the resident population. And while most people live in one of the three small towns lying wholly within its boundaries – Sedbergh, Hawes and Grassington – few of even the remotest dales are totally devoid of habitation. Picturesque villages and hamlets are scattered along the major valleys, with small steadings to be found everywhere, right up into the highest reaches. This all might seem like rather a lot of people, but wander away from the main centres, even on a bank holiday weekend, and you can spend a day on the tops with hardly a soul about.

Almost all of today’s roads follow ancient lines of travel, as do many of the paths and tracks that lie away from the tarmac. There are few main roads, however, and the majority of the narrow lanes are relatively traffic free and a delight to walk, cycle or ride. In addition, there are in excess of 3200 kilometres (2080 miles) of designated footpaths, bridleways and tracks, which contour the dales, climb the intervening hills and criss-cross the open moors. And, following the implementation of the CROW Act in 2000, around 1087 square kilometres (about 420 square miles), including the majority of the upland area, is now designated open access land.

Much of the countryside encompassed within the legislation is upland moor and heath and is identified on OS Explorer Maps by peach-coloured (open land) and light green (woodland) tints. Access points on the ground are usually identified by a circular brown and white symbol of a walking figure. Within these areas you have a right to wander (but not cycle), even where there is no path, but there are responsibilities too. These are generally common sense, such as following the Countryside Code (see www.openaccess.gov.uk) and being careful not to cause damage. Dogs are generally permitted too, but should be on a close lead near livestock and during the bird breeding season (1 March to 31 July). However, on some grouse moors, specifically those around Barden Moor and Barden Fell, dogs are not allowed at any time other than on designated public footpaths. Landowners are entitled to suspend or restrict access for short periods, for example during the grouse shooting season or while heather and gorse burning takes place. There may also be restrictions for conservation purposes. Such closures are notified in advance and should be respected, but do not affect any public rights of way that may run across the land.

PRACTICALITIES

Although none of the routes described in this book is technically demanding, many venture onto upland moors where paths may be vague or non-existent and conditions can be very different from those experienced in the valleys. Conditions can rapidly deteriorate at any time of year, and inexperienced walkers should be aware that it is easy to become disorientated in mist. However, taking a few simple and common-sense precautions will help ensure you get the best out of the day.

Navigation and maps

The mapping extracts (1:50,000) accompanying each walk are provided to indicate the general outline of the route and are not intended as a substitute for the map itself. The context of the wider area will not only add to the enjoyment of identifying neighbouring hills and other features, but is vital should you wander off course or need to find a quick way back. The area is covered by Ordnance Survey maps at both 1:25,000 and 1:50,000 scales, the larger scale showing a greater detail that is often invaluable. Learn how to read the map and use it on the ground with a compass. A GPS receiver can be a useful additional aid, but you should know how to use it, be aware of its limitations and ensure you have spare batteries. The key maps for the walks in this guide are: Explorer OL2 – Yorkshire Dales (Southern & Western areas); Explorer OL30 – Yorkshire Dales (Northern & Central areas).

Careful planning

Plan your walk in advance, bearing in mind your party’s capabilities and the anticipated weather conditions for the day. The times given for each walk are based on Naismith’s Rule and are given merely as a guide. They make no allowance for stops along the way and in practice, your time may be significantly more, since it will depend upon your own level of fitness, ability to cope with the particular terrain and other factors such as weather.

The upper reaches of Ings Beck from Fell Lane (Walk 24)

The amount of height gain, poor conditions underfoot and lousy weather can add considerably to both the time necessary and the effort needed, and it is a good idea to make your own estimate adapting Naismith’s Rule to match your own performance. The basic rule takes into account distance and height gain, allowing one hour for every five kilometres (three miles) and a further half hour for each 300m ascended. By monitoring your own performance over a period to determine appropriate personal times for each element of the calculation, you can achieve a reasonably reliable formula that suits your own level of capability. Having said that, particularly if you are out alone, it is also a good idea to leave a note of your intended route and return time with someone, not sitting on the dashboard of your car as an open invitation to a thief.

Clothing and footwear

Wear appropriate clothing and footwear and carry a comfortable rucksack. The variability of British weather can pack all four seasons into a single day – sun, rain, wind and snow, with the temperature bobbing up and down like a yo-yo. All this makes deciding what to wear for a day on the hills potentially worse than picking out a new outfit for a wedding. The comprehensive advice is to be prepared for everything and with today’s technical fabrics, this is not as daft as it may seem.

Lightweight jackets and trousers can be both effectively wind and waterproof without being too cumbersome should the weather improve. Efficient underlayers wick away the damp to keep you warm and dry, and throwing in a fleece takes up little extra room. Good quality socks will help keep feet comfortable and warm, and don’t forget gloves and a hat. In summer, a sun hat and lotion offer necessary protection against UV, but shorts aren’t always a good idea, particularly where there are nettles and brambles.

Whether you choose leather or fabric boots is a matter of personal preference, but you should ensure that they are waterproof rather than merely water resistant. They should, of course, be comfortable as well as offering good ankle support and grip underfoot. Finally, note that mobile phone coverage is at best patchy.

Food and drink

A number of these walks take you past a pub or a café at some stage, but if you intend to rely on them for a snack or meal, do check in advance that they will be open. It is, in any case, always advisable to pack emergency rations, in case your walk takes longer than anticipated. Also carry plenty to drink, particularly when the weather is warmer, as dehydration can be a significant problem. Drinking from streams is not always a good idea, and in limestone country they can be something of a rarity in any case.

Taking your car

If you travel to the start of the walk by car, remember that the roads, never intended for today’s traffic volumes, are generally narrow, have many bends and several very steep hills. Extra care is needed as slow-moving farm vehicles, animals, pedestrians, horse riders and cyclists may lie around any corner. And, while you might be enjoying a leisurely drive soaking up the beauty of the countryside, the car behind could contain a local just going about his daily business, so be a courteous driver and pull over as soon as it is convenient to allow faster-moving traffic to safely pass. Wherever possible, use the official car parks. This helps to reduce congestion, avoid obstruction and protect verges, and gives a measure of protection against car crime. The revenue from National Park car parks is used to improve services for visitors to the park. If there is no car park available, please park considerately and ensure that you do not obstruct field or farm accesses or cause damage.

The distant Howgills beckoning from Barkin Top (Walk 30)

Leaving your car behind

However, leaving the car behind not only helps the environment, but opens a wealth of other opportunities for your visit. Instead of confining yourself to circular walks, which most of us accept as the norm for a day out, you can broaden your horizons in walking from one dale to the next. Combined with an overnight stay or two you can truly become a traveller and begin to appreciate the relationships between the different valleys. The Dales offers several real alternatives to using the car. There is a frequent rail service along the Settle– Carlisle line serving the upper Ribble Valley, Dent Head and Garsdale. Regular bus services run into most of the popular dales, with additional services at weekends and during the summer. Full details are available from the Travel Dales website (www.traveldales.org.uk).

Cycling is another environmentally friendly way of getting about. Take your own bike, perhaps leaving the car at one of the fringe car parks, or hire a machine when you get there. You will find useful information on the Cycle The Yorkshire Dales website (www.cyclethedales.org.uk). If you have the time, spend a couple of relaxing days in the area rather than stressfully travelling back and forth on day visits. There is a wealth of inviting bed and breakfast, hotel and inn accommodation available as well as campsites, and the area has a wonderful reputation for its food. Check out www.yorkshiredales.org/accommodation.

USING THIS GUIDE

The walks in this book are for everyone, from novices to experienced ramblers, although newcomers to walking are advised to develop their abilities and confidence on the shorter walks before progressing onto the more demanding routes. However, none of the walks in this book are technically difficult and, in good weather, pose few navigational problems. Simple skills such as the ability to use a map and compass will help keep you on the right track, and are essential in poor visibility. The network of public footpaths and tracks is extensive and signposts and waymarks are generally well positioned to confirm the route. On the upper moors and indeed across many of the valley meadows, the actual line of the path is not always distinct, but the way is often discernible along a ‘trod’. Defined as a ‘mark made by treading’ a trod, by its nature, becomes more obvious the more it is walked, and indeed may develop over time as a path. But on the upper slopes, it is a less tangible thing, a slight flattening of the grass or reeds punctuated with an occasional boot print. It may differ from a sheep track only in that it has purposeful direction and requires an element of concentration to stay on the right course.

With the exception of famous The Three Peaks walk which is 23 miles long, the walks described in detail here range in distance from three and a half to 13 miles (5.6 to 20.9km), with a few suggestions for devising longer walks by combining those walks. While the longer walks require an appropriate degree of physical fitness, none demand more than an ability to walk. The Dales are hilly rather than mountainous and, with gains in altitude during the walks of between 190m (623ft) and 730m (2395ft), climbs are generally moderate with any steep sections usually brief. And in any case, the captivating scenery so begs attention that frequent pauses for retrospective admiration are almost mandatory.

Almost all of the walks are circular, most beginning from recognised car parks, most of which are furnished with public toilets. However, public transport in the Dales, particularly during the summer months and at weekends now offers a real alternative for reaching many of the more popular locations and increases the opportunity for adapting and devising many satisfying ‘one way’ walks around the routes described in the book. Yorkshire’s hospitality is renowned and you’ll find welcoming pubs, cafés and tea shops throughout the area, although it is always a good idea to check opening times in advance if you are relying on a somewhere for a meal. Details of the terrain and nature of the walk together with the local facilities available are given in a box at the start of each walk.