iron age fort – Bentham Footpath Group

Middleham Circular

7.8 miles | 12.5 km | 298 m Ascent | 9.3 Naismith miles | Glyn Barnes
We enjoyed an excellent walk from Horsehouse to Carlton in Coverdale in March 2025, noting how quiet this lovely dale is in comparison to many of the others we have walked. That first impression is confirmed by this return visit where we explore the banks of the river Cover at Middleham, slightly downstream of our last visit – quite close in fact to the point where Coverdale and Wensleydale meet. Middleham claims to be the smallest town in Yorkshire, but it is a giant in the world of horse racing with its 15 professional stables earning it the nickname ‘The Newmarket of the North’.
As well as providing a particularly lovely riverside walk, this route, starting in Middleham, gives us much else of interest – Splendid Georgian architecture, all the horse racing infrastructure around the town, two (or perhaps 3) castles, a particularly lovely church and many good options for refreshment in the town centre. All with ample parking and well maintained toilets. Perfect.

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Oxenholme round

7.2 miles | 11.6 km | 271 m Ascent | 8.6Naismith miles | Alison Kinder & Colin Stroud
Kendal styles itself as “The gateway to the Lakes”, and it is indeed a good base for those wishing to explore the southern end of the Lake District. The surrounding countryside also has much to offer in its own right– as we see in this walk.
From convenient parking close to Oxenholme station, we start by climbing the Helm, gaining great views of the Lakeland Fells, the Howgills, and Morecambe Bay. From there we descend past an ancient fort, and a curious folly to pick up St Sunday’s Beck which we follow upstream to the delightful Bleasehall Wood. We note a syphon well before taking an isolated green lane to St Sunday’s Bridge and from there we head to Hawkrigg. The return leg involves a brief but quite steep climb up the aptly named Windy Hill, and then it’s a steady descent to the finish. We show this as an easy walk because it is (just) less than 12 km – but the consensus from the group was that it “feels more like a medium”.