National Trust

Malham Tarn and the Monks Road

Challenging

9.3 miles | 15.0 km | 392 m Ascent | 11.3 Naismith miles | Sandra Craggs
Malham is one of the great attractions of the Yorkshire Dales, and with good reason: Malham Cove is a spectacular sight – as are Goredale Scar, and Janet’s Foss. Slightly further north, and less crowded, is Malham Tarn – one of a very small number of bodies of water in the Dales, and it is from the car park at the Tarn that we set out on this walk.
We head up Great Close Hill for views of the Tarn and as far afield as Pendle Hill before picking up the Monk’s Road near Middle House Farm. We then head north toward Arncliffe passing a wonderfully atmospheric ruined farmhouse before pausing to look at some of the best limestone pavement in the Dales. From there we follow the Monks Road along the edge of the steep Yew Cogar Scar until we have a spectacular view over Arncliffe and the Littondale Valley. We take in the views over lunch then return along much of the same route but come back to the Tarn via a different path with a pleasant lakeside end to the walk.

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Tarn Hows

Easy

6.1 miles | 9.8 km | 261 m Ascent | 7.4 Naismith miles | Kate Rowe
One of the things that differentiates the Lake District from the Yorkshire Dales is the impervious nature of the rock, which means that lakes and tarns can form in valley bottoms – in the Dales water drains though the limestone.
This easy walk focusses on tarns rather than lakes: Tarn Hows was originally three separate tarns, which after landscaping by a former landowner became one larger tarn with water levels controlled by an overspill which feeds a spectacular waterfall.
Our route takes us up the side of that waterfall, round the tarns, then to the National Trust visitor centre before heading down through Tarn Hows Wood to Low Yewdale, then on to High Yewdale, over Shepherd’s Bridge, and then through Harry Guards Wood to Yew Tree Tarn. A lovely stroll around the tarn and then a short woodland section completes the walk.

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The Two Langdales

Moderate

8.8 miles | 14.2 km |462 m Ascent | 11.1 Naismith miles | Alison Kinder & Colin Stroud
The two Langdales referred to in the title are Great Langdale and Little Langdale – in effect two parallel valleys separated by Lingmoor Fell.
Starting from Elterwater, we head up the valley along the gentle woodland paths of Great Langdale with Lingmoor Fell on our left and Chapel Stile on the right across a surprisingly flat valley with very steep sides. We then follow the direction of the beck upstream to Oak Howe where we pick up the Cumbria Way enjoying fantastic views of Dungeon Ghyll Force as we follow the path round the back of Side Pike to cross over a short but steep ridge into Little Langdale.
Pausing at the top of the ridge we have great views up Langdale and Oxendale, before we follow the path round and descend into Little Langdale, passing Blea Tarn on the way. A short road section on the Wrynose Pass road takes us down to Fell Foot Bridge where we head across fields to Slater Bridge and Little Langdale Tarn before we pick up a track back to Elterwater.

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Arnside

Easy

6.4 miles | 10.3 km | 236 m Ascent | 7.5 Naismith miles | Don Cartledge
Arnside is a favourite with Bentham Footpath Group – this small and very accessible area provides a huge variety of interesting features such as The Knott, a tidal bore, estuary views, a Pele tower, a Marylin, a wonderful railway bridge, Victorian architecture, rare butterflies, atmospheric distorted trees, and a seaside promenade.
This walk forms a figure of eight shape, so there is a good opportunity to approach it as two smaller walks, or because there are so many paths in the area, there are many ways that it could be combined with other BFG walks in our library to make a more challenging route.

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Langcliffe to Stainforth Circular

Easy

4.7 miles | 7.6 km | 192m Ascent | 5.7 Naismith miles | Peter Lennard
The Bentham Footpath Group has a tradition of making the walk between Christmas and New Year an easier and shorter walk than usual, so that we can combine it with a meal at a local venue. Our aim is to make the walk accessible to all our members and to ensure that we can be at our venue by lunchtime.
Does that mean the route needs to be dull? Absolutely not – as this walk shows. We start from Langcliffe and then take the path up the western side of the river Ribble as far as Stainforth Force and the historic pack horse bridge. From there we cross the river and take the bridleway into Stainforth village and then over fields to the fascinating Hoffmann Kilns at the old Craven Lime Works. Finally, another short section of field crossings brings us back to Langcliffe.

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