Settle

Giggleswick Scar 3

Easy

6.9 miles | 11.1 km | 257 m Ascent | 8.1 Naismith miles | Peter Lennard

There are a number of walking groups that you could choose to join. The Ramblers alone have 500 groups, whilst also in our area there are independent groups in Settle and Lancaster. But surely none of them offer the same level of care to their members as the Bentham Footpath Group. We saw that last week when a last minute change of route was required to avoid flooding, and we see it again this week: When this walk was planned, our leader noticed that part of the route was obstructed by thistles and nettles. Rather than risk inconvenience to group members, he set about organising a clearance party, ensuring a safe and comfortable walk on the day.
This easy route is one we have walked a number of times – and there is no apology for that. It offers a convenient start, great views, enough of climb to get the pulse racing, and an opportunity to visit Settle town centre.

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Train to Horton-in-Ribblesdale then walk to Settle

Moderate

8.6 miles | 13.8 km | 429 m Ascent | 10.7 Naismith miles | Sandra Craggs
Most of the walks that Bentham Footpath Group offer are circular – that’s not a policy, just a practical constraint. However, the fact that one of the most scenic railway lines in the UK runs through “our patch” offers the opportunity to add linear walks where we let the train cover one half of a larger loop.
This walk does just that – we start from Settle and then take the train to Horton in Ribblesdale, before walking back.
There are many ways we could plan a walk from Horton to Settle, and in this case we opt to take a route via Brackenbottom and Dub Cote, before picking up the Pennine Journey and then Ribble Way paths to take us to Stainforth. We then climb Stainforth Scar past Lower Winskill, and then descend into Langcliffe before taking a quiet lane back into Settle. This involves a number of ascents – none of them too challenging, but together placing this walk at the top end of our “moderate” category.

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Giggleswick Scar 2

Easy

5.4 miles | 8.6 km | 249 m Ascent | 6.6 Naismith miles | Sandra Craggs
In recent walks we have travelled further afield and enjoyed some stunning scenery. Sometimes though, it’s nice to remind ourselves just how beautiful our own area is – and this walk is a perfect way to do that.
This easy route is a shortened version of our earlier Giggleswick Scar walk and makes an ideal half day stroll. We start from The Mains in Settle and then head up to Stackhouse via Lord’s Wood. We then take the Pennine Journey path round the back of the scar, as if heading to Feizor, but before we get that far we find a fingerpost which indicates the path returning to the front of Giggleswick Scar.
The top edge of the scar gives us great views to the south and lots of interesting limestone features including caves and cairns, before we arrive at the Schoolboy Tower. We then circle round the now disused quarry and then wrap things up by heading back down to Lord’s Wood and our cars. Two added benefits for this walk are that starting from Settle makes it accessible by Public Transport, and adding Elaine’s Tea Rooms would be an easy (2km) extension.

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Settle

Easy

7.1 miles | 11.4 km | 592 m Ascent | 10.0 Naismith miles | Bernie & Sheila Garrett
This excellent route showcases just what great walking country we have right on our doorstep. We start from Langcliffe, less than half an hour away from Bentham, and then fill the day with the kind of walking that you might see on one of those “celebrity buys some walking boots” TV shows.
We head out of Langcliffe on the Pennine Journey path, hop over to the Pennine Bridleway, and then take a footpath up to Victoria Cave, which we explore for a while before walking along the base of the wonderful Attermire Scar.
We follow that round, passing under the entrance to Horseshoe Cave, before heading over to Stockdale Lane with great views over to Pendle Hill, and Rye Loaf Hill. We then cut back along a footpath between High Hill and Sugar Loaf Hill to arrive at the base of the Warrendale Knotts. From here we retrace our outbound journey – although in this direction the views are surprisingly different -and then as a bonus treat, pop up to the smaller Jubilee Cave. The final part of the walk follows our outward route back to Langcliffe.

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Giggleswick Scar

Easy

7.4 miles | 11.9 km | 400m Ascent | 9.4 Naismith miles | Sandra Craggs
This walk starts from Giggleswick Village and then heads up through Lord’s Wood, past the quarry, to join the top of Giggleswick Scar at Schoolboy’s Tower where we get great views across the Ribble valley. From there we walk along the top of the scar until we meet the path coming up from Buck Haw Brow, when we head North to Feizor Thwaite.
A sharp turn back along the Pennine journey path brings us down to Stackhouse, and from there we stroll back to Giggleswick along the side of the Ribble at Settle.
Although this walk is classed as easy because it’s (marginally) less than 12 km, be aware that there is a steep climb and some terrain that can be wet and slippery in poor weather.

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Long Preston

Challenging

9.8 miles | 15.8 km | 462m Ascent | 12.1 Naismith miles | David Longton
Long Preston is a small village that many people drive through on the way to better known destinations in the Yorkshire Dales. It’s well worth stopping though to explore this village and the excellent walks that can be accessed from it.
The walk we present here is classified as challenging simply because it just exceeds our 15km limit for a moderate walk – but much of the route is on tracks, or minor roads, and there are no steep climbs, so if you feel comfortable with our moderate walks give this one a go too. There are some shortcuts highlighted.
As you can see from the gallery, we picked a wet day to walk it, but in better weather, the views over the Ribble Valley, and the flood plains south of Settle are well worth seeing, as is Scaleber Foss at the halfway point.

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