A Dales High Way

Fantastic Route

From: Andy Stone.
Date: 15 August 2023

I recently completed this fantastic walk. Beautiful scenery, some familiar, other parts long awaited, some unknown. 

I walked the 6-day schedule at the end of the June heatwave (13-20th), so no rain except a splattering on my back near Sunbiggin Tarn and glorious views throughout.  

I stayed at pubs, B&B's or Airbnbs. I would especially recommend the King William IV guesthouse at Settle, lovely owners, breakfast and superb showers! This worked well but is a challenge at Newbiggin/Ravenstonedale where there are now only two (very good) pubs that are expensive for single walkers. The other accommodation there has closed.

I stayed at the Station Inn at Ribblehead. I'm really pleased I did as, although it meant a mile of road walking at the end of the day, you avoid the steep descent to Chapel le Dale and instead follow the spectacular route along the north escarpment of Simon Fell and Park Fell, looking across to Whernside and back to Ingelborough. A real highlight.

The route was clear and straightforward throughout, except for some very overgrown paths on the last day, and the combination of maps/OS app and the DHW guide were great.

With the exception of Malham and Three-peaks cross overs it was very quiet, meeting only half a dozen people each day, and no other DHW walkers.

Make sure you carry sufficient/extra food and water as on the first two long days. It is largely open moorland and shelterless hilltops and so in hot weather you need it. There are no places to restock (even water) other than start and finish - on day 3 Gordale Hause had an ice-cream van, so that was OK!

Will do to again some time!

Alternative route?

From: Linda B.
Date: 11 July 2023

I'm wondering if you can help?  I've booked accommodation at Ashes Farm following the suggestion on your very helpful site.  I'm just struggling to find the alternative site referred to?  Could you let me know where I can access this?  

Tony Replies: Hi Linda, If you are walking A Dales High Way and have a copy of the Route Guide, the alternative route avoids Ingleborough Peak and is on maps 13 & 14b. Ashes Farm is on the Gauber Rd., not far from Ribblehead Station. You can find it by zooming in on the detailed map here: https://www.daleshighway.co.uk/detailed_route.htm .

You can also get to it quite easily from Ribblehead. I hope this helps.

I completed the Dales High Way with my dog Nero.

From: Lewis and Nero Gawthorpe
Date: 17 June 2023

Hi I completed the dales high way from 26th to 2nd June over 8 days with my dog Nero.

I clocked up 101 miles, what a brilliant walk with breathing taking scenery, historic places and waterfalls. I camped and backpacked the full walk. 7 nights camp, 6 days on back and 2 days Sherpa. When I got to Appleby i planing to get train back saltaire but unfortunately they was on strike. (Was absolutely devastated as we was both ready for home by them) had to get a hotel and lift the next day. Best walking day- the howgills Best stay - malham (Gordale scar campsite)

My artinary Day 1 saltaire to addringham (ghyll house camp site)

Day 2 addringham to hetton (threapland house farm) 2 miles past hetton in Cracoe)

Day 3 hetton to malham (Gordale house)

Day 4 malham to Stainforth (Stainforth Hall)

Day 5 Stainforth to chapel Le dale ( philpin farm)

Day 6 chapel Le dale to dent (high laning campsite)

Day 7 dent to newbiggin ( high greenside pop up campsite in ravensdale)

Day 8 newbiggin to Appleby

Also brilliant camp at phipins farm every you need for backpacking charger lockers, vending machine and cooked food available.

Please could you follow my instagram page https://instagram.com/lg_rambles?igshid=NTc4MTIwNjQ2YQ== I have reels and highlights from the walk on there.

Thanks

Lewis and Nero Gawthorpe.

Just finished

From: Kevin Ball
Date: 21 May 2022

Just recently finished the Dales Highway and really enjoyed it apart from the last section going into Appleby ,possibly more to do with the weather and all the wet undergrowth than the actual route . The highlights for me was meeting Chris at the start in Saltaire , I don't think I introduced myself or not , perhaps I should of got a selfie with you , that's what people seem to do these day but I think I was a bit taken a back . But it was still great to meet you all the same .

The other highlights along the trail in no particular order were the Swastika stone , Gordale Scar, Malham Cove , Attermire Scar , the section from Settle to Chapel- le - Dale having good weather helped . I camped the whole way two wild camps on the first and last nights and two campsites in Malham and at Philpin campsite at Chapel - le - Dale both good sites just off trail . The Philpin site is a excellent site with all the facilities you will need and on both sites you don't need to book.  I think the trail is a great trail and would recommend it to anyone. 

Fixed place accommodation?

From: Catherine Temple
Date: 12 May 2022

Hello, I am having trouble finding accommodation. Has anyone published an itinerary where one could stay in a fixed place and connect each day to the path by rail? So one could for example stay in skipton and do several legs from there? Of course i could sit down and research it.....but pressed for time. So asking before i settle down with maps and timetable,
Regards, Catherine

Chris replies: Hi Catherine It is possible to do a lot of the route like this. We did the whole thing using public transport for the 10th anniversary of the route and you can see how we did it here A Dales High Way Anniversary Walk 2018

It will depend partly on how far you can walk in a day but you can do 4 days from Skipton:
Day 1 Get the train to Saltaire and walk back. To finish in Ilkley or Addingham you'd have to use the bus back to Skipton.
Day 2 Walk to Settle and get the train back to Skipton.
Day 3 Train to Settle. Walk to Ribblehead. Train back to Skipton.
Day 4 Train to Ribblehead. Walk to Sedbergh. The only way from Sedbergh back to Skipton is by bus to Dent station on a Saturday only so: Day 4 could you stay in Sedbergh then
Day 5 walk to Ravenstonedale (no accommodation in Newbiggin on Lune at the moment but plenty in Ravenstonedale) and
Day 6 walk to Appleby and the end! Hope this helps. Let me know if you have any more questions.
Regards Chris Grogan

DHW Completed this week

From: Jacqui Freeman
Date: 19 September 2021

Just completed the wonderful Dales High Way – our first long distance walk. Opted to walk it over 9 days and used the company Wandering Aenges Treks to book accommodation and move our bags from place to place. Really efficient and would recommend them. Our route was Saltaire – Ilkley – Skipton – Malham – Stainforth -  Ribblehead – Dent – Sedburgh – Newbiggin on Lune – Appleby.

We stayed the preceding night at the Abbey Lodge Hotel in Shipley and they let us park there for 9 nights and charged £30.

We followed the DHW Route Guide and also had the OS App on the phone – so plotted the route and used this only when we needed a bit of reassurance with the path ( it drains your phone if you use it all the time ). In 9 days we only came across 2 groups doing this walk, which really surprised us.

The only adjustment we made was to take the alternative path round Ingleborough as the weather was bad that day and we also didn’t want to miss the viaduct at Ribblehead.

The highlights for me were the ever-changing scenery – so varied and no two days felt the same. Particularly loved the walk through Dentdale and the walk over the Howgills in perfect conditions. Least favourite part was the walk over Addingham Moorside into Addingham which seemed to go on forever! And my knees didn’t enjoy the very steep hill down into Settle.

Some things to note…

The Craven Heiffer pub in Stainforth is no longer doing B+B and it now closes on a Monday

We planned a stop at the Angel in Hetton (from Skipton to Malham), but hadn’t realised it’s a Michelin Star restaurant and not a pub! They did serve us a coffee outside.

The café in Feizer was very welcome – and it’s open every day from 8:30am

There’s nowhere to eat in Newbiggin on Lune – but we stayed at Tranna Hill B+B and the host gave us a lift to/from a local pub.

An advantage of staying in Malham was that you can be at the Cove really early in the morning and have the place to yourself. Stayed at the River House and would highly recommend.

The Greyhound pub in Great Asby was a great stop for lunch – he has a reasonably new bunkhouse (sleeps 6 I think) and looked great.

The tourist office in Appleby was closed at 4pm so we arrived too late to sign the book or buy a badge which was a shame.

The 10:09 train on a Saturday from Appleby to Shipley was rammed – was hoping for a peaceful journey back, but was full of football fans and hen parties heading to Leeds!

In September, after a dry period of weather none of the possible muddy tracks were muddy.

Walked through a few fields with cows, but had no problems – they were usually far enough away to avoid.

Thank you to Tony and Chris for the excellent route guide and companion book. Loved the route and the variety so much. Wondering where to go next.

Jacqui and Mark

Chris replies: well done Jacqui and Mark - it's a tough challenge for a first long-distance walk! Badges are in the post.

Take 2

From: Gerard Whittle
Date: 27 August 2021

Recently completed my first iteration of this fabulous walk.  Well done for to everyone - especially Tony and Chris - involved in great planning, promoting and supporting this amazing journey across Yorkshire.  Walking alone means that I was able to choose route, distance and where to camp. I hadn't enjoyed the section down Addingham Moorside, nor from Skipton to Gordale Scar so I was happy to make adjustments.

My first go, July 2021, was a ramble in the lowlands: missing all of the tops and several lowland paths - dictated by late arrival in Saltaire, personal navigational incompetence, broken glasses – and Montezuma extracting the most severe Revenge on days 2, 3 and 4! 

This time I decided to include all 3 Peaks and Howgill Fells - missing  the Tea Wagon at Gordale, also Settle, Stainforth, Feizor - all highlights of the previous trip.  My route this time was: (Reflecting the 'high' intentions of the walk and opportunity for short or long days.) Saltaire - Ilkley - Addingham (Dales Way) - Skipton - Gargrave (Canal towpath) - Malham (via Pennine Way) - Malham Cove - Malham Tarn - Fountains Fell - Penyghent - Horton - Ingleborough - Chapel le Dale - Whernside - Dent - Sedburgh - Howgills - Appleby.

My days: 1. 190 mile drive to Saltaire.  Walk Saltaire to Gargrave (Eshton Road campsite).

2. Gargrave to Horton (Holme Farm Campsite)

3. Horton to Dent (High Laning)

4. Dent to Great Kimond (quiet camp).  (I would have gone to the Three Greyhounds in Great Asby - to make a shorter final day - but indications were that it was shut due to Horse Fair.) 5. Great Kimond to Appleby.  Train back to Shipley and walk back along the canal.  (I highly recommend this - it just feels right to complete the walk by walking back to the start.)  Drive 190 miles home. Unfortunately, the weather was a bit mucky on Ingleborough, Whernside and across the Howgills but this added to the sense of achievement!  Enough breaks in the weather to stop it from being a slog!

I met many interesting people: DofE, Pennine Way, Three Peaks, canal cruisers - and others on their own routes - not a single DHW!

Next: I'll be back! I need to do the walk and visit Appleby TIC - to sign the book and buy the badge! To note: Canal path to Gargrave has been remade, at great expense, and is wide, level - and pretty hard on your feet (Brilliant cycle path!)  and closer to 6 miles than estimates I had seen!  (Also, the towpath then from Gargrave and the Malham Tarn paths are hard and unforgiving - if easy on navigation!)

Saltaire parking: not an issue but suggest the app is uploaded and tested on good Wi-Fi before setting out. Pay for a day or two less than planned – and you get a reminder/update. I didn't and paid for time I did not need.  My car was fine on Caroline Street Carpark in Saltaire.

Dales High Way for 3rd time

From: Mags
Date: 24 July 2021

Hi - completed walk in reverse - Appleby to Saltaire - on 19th July so a very warm walk.  We stayed b and bs for accommodation, which had been arranged by Brigantes, together with luggage transportation.  An excellent service.

It was lovely to see D of E participants out on the fells.

First time we have walked the Howgills without mist - great views.  The only adjustments we made to the walk were a) walked round Ingleborough via Selside and b) caught the bus from Skipton to Ilkley after walking from Cracoe to Skipton.  Both alterations were rational risk assessments considering our age and the heat/humidity.  The third adjustment was to take The Pennine Bridleway from Stainforth to Malham - just to add variety this being our third time.

We may have walked the High Way 3 times, but each time has been a different route and under differing conditions.

Agree with previous walker about cattle near reservoir - able to avoid by skirting the path and the path at Dent - rocky, tree roots but unable to see footing as very overgrown.

Another enjoyable week in the countryside.

Thank you again for devising this walk.

Chris replies: Well done, it's certainly been hot conditions for walking. It's lovely to read about people personalising the route with variations to suit themselves and the conditions.

It's my fault...

From: Gerard Whittle
Date: 18 July 2021

Hi - Just completed a version of the highway over 4+ days.  A limited window meant rapid progress was essential!

I used the guidebook as my sole guide.  Mistake!  As clearly stated, OS maps are essential!  I'd checked and compared before setting off and all looked okay... but ultimately I was often frustrated!  I did not do some of the high stuff - age and current fitness played a part!

I did however come across a number of gems that added to my enjoyment of the walk:

Level grass camping spot on Roman road near woodland before Skipton

Tea Wagon in layby at Gordale Scar

Knights Stainforth Campsite

Feizor Cafe

Crummack Dale - Limestone Dale, Limestone pavement and access to PWB with 2 ways to Ingleborough.  (Selside and the additional diversion has nothing to commend it unless Ribblehead and beyond are your option.)

Fat Lamb Inn, above Ravenstonedale, did the best burger ever! (Came from Cross Keys - Whilst taking low-level route due to mist.  Completely missed the normal path! Probably whilst directing walkers from Temperance Inn car park!) 

Greyhound Pub, Great Asby (see below)

Bad bits:

Very few!

Trail running shoes mean wet feet!

Cattle on the path from Hetton at the head of the reservoir.  (Cows, calves, bulls and bullocks! )

Riverside paths around Dent and Great Asby are overgrown.  After rain - or even early morning- full wets are a must.

Day 1: Travelling to Norwich station dropped glasses - frame damaged, lens out - for a walk that demands attention to the view!  08.55 Train cancelled.  Arrive at Saltaire 14.15.  Camped above Skipton on Roman Road - highly recommended.  (Originally intention before Sharp Haw also looks good.)

Day 2: Stayed at Knights Stainforth Hall campsite.  Backpackers will always be accommodated without needing to book. (£7).  Meals and bar on site.

Day 3: Stayed in Dent - Laneside Campsite.  (£10) Loads of families and 3 motorbike groups... no issues.  Met young ladies doing LEJOG and teenage cyclists doing JOGLE.

Day 4: Greyhound Bunkhouse, Great Asby.  Attached to the pub... I thought that there was a site - it in Little Asby!  An amazing find!  (£20) I had sole occupancy as well as good food in the pub.

Day 5: 8 miles to the station and a long journey home... 10.05 from Appleby, Norwich 20.15, Home 21.00

Would I recommend it?  Not as is.  Would I do it again? Yes, with different adjustments. (And maybe slower...)  I love ridge walking - get high and stay high!  I understand the rationale of the original walk;  people living locally and planning a linear walk.  There are climbs I see as pointless - Addingham Moorside and out of Addingham, then Sharp Haw,  Tedious paths  - Hetton to Gordale Scar, the Selside link, Great Asby to Appleby.

Tony replies: Wow, that's quite a pace, especially carrying camping gear. We would normally suggest at least a week, but sometimes you have no choice. You definately need an OS map if you are going to vary the route. I didn't know about the bunkhouse at the Three Greyhounds at Great Asby - that's very useful to know. Well done, and many thanks for the feedback.

Incorrect topic on forum: Week long parking at Saltaire 19 Aug 2018

From: Annemieke
Date: 2 September 2020

Hello,

I am about to start my Dales Highway and was looking for a place to park my car. I phoned the nr mentioned in the topic from 19 Aug (Week long parking at Saltaire) to arrange my parking for the week.

It turns out that this service no longer exists. At that car park on the corner of Carline Street and Victoria Road, you can no longer park your car for a week for £15. You can park your car there, but you have to pay via RingGo and pay the normal tariff.

IIs it possible to place a note on the forum to rectify this parking topic? Many thanks in advance.

Kind regards, Annemieke

Chris & Tony reply:- Hi Annemieke, many thanks for letting us know about this, as we were unaware of the change, which came into force a fortnight ago.

You would now need to book using the RingGo App and pay the full rate for the week, or by phoning them if you don't have a smartphone. The charges are £5 per day, so that will cost £35 for the week! I understand the App is failrly easy to use, and you can book for the duration, and you can add time later if and when needed..

Wild Camp

From: Jacob
Date: 16 August 2020

Me and a friend wild-camped the Dales High Way over a period of eight days, nine nights. This allowed for a moderate pace with time to stop and enjoy the view, take pictures and find decent camp sites, and also to start the long return journey to south England early in the morning. We very roughly followed the 8 day itinerary in the guide, obviously stopping well short of the villages or towns mentioned.

This was true wild camping – leaving no trace, lightning no fires, staying out of sight of buildings. Setting up late and leaving early. We used bivvy bags, and also a tarp once or twice. We met a few others doing the same route, but none doing it like us.

A few key things that might be helpful to others doing a low-impact through-hike

 - We stocked up at shops in Skipton, Settle and Sedbergh, carrying enough food for 2-3 days from each one. While it's hardly ultralight camping food, at our moderate pace the extra weight was fine. Pockets of ready-cooked lentils and cous cous, peanut butter and pittas etc were all easy enough to find. The worst we had to do was get some cans of beans at Settle. Again, this isn't the Cape Wrath Trail so no real problem there. (List of shops plus distances between them here). We marked each major shop in the route guide (possibly something to consider adding to future guides?) Dent also has a small shop that is not readily Google-able, but it has limited stock and I wouldn't rely on it.

 - Settle has camping gas available at both the outdoors shop and Practically Everything. Settle in general had everything we needed – a Boots, a Co-op, an outdoors shop, a cafe – in a small area on or just by the route.

- The moorland and fells tended to have freshwater becks; the limestone areas tended to have springs near the lower reaches. Check your OS Map. We ran everything that looked safe through a Sawyer Micro water filter (very slow but reliable!) to be sure and came to no harm. Occasionally we stocked up on water lower down for a more discreet and breezier (=few midges) campsite higher up.

 - We found the OS maps OL2 and OL19 indispensable for navigation, finding places to camp and water sources. (Obviously this misses a significant part of the beginning of the route!) If you're used to map reading you may find it easier than following written descriptions. The waymarking is helpful, but it's impossible to rely on it.

- While midges generally weren't a problem, don't camp on the lower reaches of moorland unless you want to risk Highlands-level midge hell! We got totally eaten alive one night.

- Beware of lightning and read up on it. Check the weather forecast. There are huge wide areas throughout the route where you can easily be the tallest thing around (especially in the Howgill Fells and on the huge limestone pavements), and being caught walking or in a shelter when lightning is striking nearby can be much more unnerving and objectively dangerous than you think.

- You can do this vegan; Cafe Sopra in Settle cooked me up a delicious vegan breakfast on request; we also stopped at Steep&Filter in Skipton. Otherwise I found enough in the shops en-route.

- Walk the Ingleborough area on a weekday to dodge most of the three peaks crowds

We did camp at the High Laning campsite in Dent for one night; their washing and drying facilities were invaluable for giving us fresh stuff for the final legs. Get some 20p, 50p, & £1 coins.

Thanks for your work assembling this beautiful trail; you get a real sense of the trail unfolding into new and wondrous landscapes. It kept everything feeling fresh and new.

Many thanks, Jacob.

Missing Path

From: Mary Hockaday
Date: 10 August 2020

A friend and I greatly enjoyed the Dales High Way a couple of weeks ago, via Brigantes. We did Ilkely to Appleby in six days walking, stupendous.

The route guide was excellent and indispensable. But I thought I'd pass on the one problem we had, on p.28 of the 2013 edition (but no different in the more recent edition which my friend had). After Crummack we climbed up to the brow and turned right – box 3. But for love nor money we could not find the major left fork  in box 4. We went back and forth between Long Scar and the PBW waymark. We saw the crumbled wall but no unmarked 'easy, clear, dry track' was to be found.  In the end we went on and up to Ingleborough via the alternative route via Sulber Pot.

I hope this may be useful. Meanwhile, thank you for establishing such a wonderful route, it's a wonderful mixture of everything the Dales has to offer. 

Chris & Tony reply:- Hi Mary, Very glad to hear you had a good time on the trail.

With regards to the "missing path", you will not be surprised that quite a few people have found this spot tricky, mainly because there are numerous crossing tracks and little signage.

I can assure you that the "missing track" does exist (see photo attached). If you come up from Crummack along the Dales High Way track, you reach the crossing bridleway (called Long Lane, part of the Pennine Bridleway) by a Pennine Bridleway (PBW) marker post. Turning right, after 200 metres or so, there is a 2nd PWB marker post and the Dales High Way track forks off left here. It is actually an old turbary road (peat-cutters road).

If you continue instead along Long Lane you eventually pass a 3rd PWB post at a point where another track from Crummack joins Long Lane. This forks off from the Dales High Way track just above Crummack. Is it possible you might have followed this one? Easily done.

None-the-less, you did exactly the right thing and joined the track which runs up from Horton towards Ingleborough (the Yorkshire Three Peaks route) and got back on A Dales High Way, so well done!

The PBW marker posts are the only signage at this point, and these have a habit of disappearing on occasion, so can't be relied upon. That's why we've added the GPS references to these points in the latest edition of the Route Guide.

Many thanks for letting us know about this.

Dog friendly stiles?

From: Marie
Date: 18 January 2020

Hi. Can you advise on how dog friendly this trail is?  My Labrador is too heavy to lift over styles and I wonder what manner of styles we might encounter, particularly along the Feisor to Malham stretch. Many thanks for any info you can provide.

Chris replies: There are a variety of stile types on A Dales High Way and the Route Guide shows you where the stiles/gates are located.

In some areas - the Howgill Fells for example - there are none but in other sections, although they are gradually being replaced by walkers' gates,some remain. These include steep ladder stiles, squeeze stiles, wooden step stiles and step stiles in the dry stone walls.

In the section you mention there are a couple of ladder stiles that you won't be able to get over with your dog I'm afraid and some tricky step stiles on the riverbank between Settle and Stainforth.

Return Visit

From: Margaret Whitehead
Date: 1 September 2019

We walked the Dales High Way for the first time in July 2018. It was a great experience - lovely scenery in great weather.

We enjoyed it so much that we returned in July 2019, that is literally returned.  We walked from Appleby to Saltaire.  

This return journey also gave us an opportunity to try some of the alternative routes.  The cloud was down over the Howgills so we took the lower level route from Ravenstonedale to Sedbergh.   We still saw many great views.  

Also we stayed at Ribblehead rather than Chapel le Dale and approached Ingleborough from Park Hill and the Simon Fell Ridge.  A lot less adrenaline inducing than the steep ascent/descent of Ingleborough with time to enjoy the fantastic panorama.

Would like to add the route guidebook was excellent.  Also there seemed to be more way markers on our second trip.

Thank you.

Walking the Way

From: Dave Harrison
Date: 29 May 2019

Hello,

In company with a group organised by HF Holidays, I recently walked the Dales High Way. There were a couple of hail showers on the first day, but the weather was otherwise excellent. The result was a highly enjoyable nine days worth of walking. To see my photos, visit http://djh1.webfactional.com/html/walking/Yorkshire_Dales/Dales_High_Way

Regards

Dales High Way - July 2018 Blog

From: Ian
Date: 10 Feb 2019

Hi, In July 2018 I completed my DHW trek, a truly magnificent walk

Thank you to all who work hard to create, maintain and promote this path, including of course those running the dedicated website, which was an endless source of knowledge and inspiration during the planning stages

I am happy to share my diary/blog of the trip on your forum and if this in any way encourages others to undertake this wonderful walk then great – they will not be disappointed!

The link to my site is:  https://hikerdude.dudaone.com/dales-high-way

Happy reading