Yorkshire Dales Hiking

Chapel le Dale and Ingleborough environs

Moderate

8.0 miles | 12.9 km | 226 m Ascent | 9.2 Naismith miles | Kate Rowe
Last week’s walk to the Old Man of Coniston from Torver was a real treat, but it’s not a walk that you could decide to do whilst eating your breakfast and be back in Bentham by mid-afternoon.
So, this week we offer a more local walk: For those of us lucky enough to be based in Bentham it is easy to get to, and despite being on the slopes of both Ingleborough and Whernside is generally quiet and peaceful.
We visit a lovely church, see a well-known statue, walk under the most photographed railway viaduct in the UK, have lunch in a nature reserve, before passing close to Viking settlements, seeing some wonderful limestone pavement, and the entrance to a cave. There are great views of the hills all the way along, and you could even have an ice cream or a pub lunch halfway round.

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Keasden Church Circular

Easy

4.4 miles | 7.0 km | 143 m Ascent | 5.1 Naismith miles | Kate Rowe
Being able to take a walk on a balmy summer evening is one of life’s treats, and its one that the Bentham Footpath Group try to enjoy a few times each year.
The weather is beyond our control of course, as our August 2023 evening walk from the same starting location showed. This time we were lucky and got good light with excellent views.
The later starting time means that a shorter walk is appropriate, so this walk falls well into our easy category. Easy does not mean dull though -there’s plenty to see with hay meadows in full flower and some great views across the valley to Ingleborough.

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Winster Valley

Moderate

8.3 miles | 13.3 km | 391 m Ascent | 10.2 Naismith miles | Kate Rowe
Spring is such an optimistic time of the year, and getting out and about on a walk with friends is a great way to experience it. So the Bentham Footpath Group have developed an informal habit of taking a walk each year that celebrates the season by picking a route that features the best of the new daffodils or bluebells.
So, here is a “daffodil walk”, and as all Wordsworth fans will appreciate, it really has to be in the Lake District to be authentic – which means of course that as well as the spring flowers we get great views of the fells, tranquil tarns and on this walk, links to Arthur Ransome.
Although our focus was the daffodils, this is a great walk at any time of the year. We rate it as “moderate” based on distance and elevation change but you should be aware that it can feel challenging under wetter conditions.

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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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Hampsfell from Grange

Easy

4.5 miles | 7.2 km | 350 m Ascent | 6.5 Naismith miles | Alison Kinder / Colin Stroud
A good number of Bentham Footpath Groups walks have centred on Silverdale, and on those we always enjoy views over the Kent estuary toward Hampsfell. In this walk we climb Hampsfell and look the other way, using the viewing platform at the Hospice as our highpoint.
We have walked in this area before, using Cartmel as our starting point offering a walk with moderate challenge, so this time we offer slight variation – we start from Grange over Sands and make the walk shorter and easier. The aim here is to give the opportunity to spend time in Grange exploring what this delightful town has to offer.

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Keasden Wander

Easy

4.5 miles | 7.3 km | 117 m Ascent | 5.1 Naismith miles | Kate Rowe
During the summer months, Bentham Footpath Group generally offers a walk in the evening – the aim is to take a short and easy stroll out of the heat of the afternoon sun, ideally with a brilliant sunset as a backdrop.
Things don’t always work out as we plan though – so although this is a great walk, the weather was not ideal, and our focus shifted to rainbows, brooding skies, unseasonably early fungi and unexpected streams – all equally beautiful in their own way.
Shorter walks mean that it makes sense to start nearer to home, so we set off from Keasden Church just 5 miles from Bentham, and then took a meandering route made up of three intersecting loops – hence the name “Keasden Wander”. Each of those loops offers an opportunity to shorten the route, or indeed to connect with other paths to extend it, so as well as being a good walk in its own right, this route can be the basis for a longer full day of walking.

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Hawes Mosaics (Part 2)

Easy

7.2 miles | 11.6 km | 261 m Ascent | 8.5 Naismith miles | Kate Rowe
In January 2023, Bentham Footpath Group enjoyed a fine walk from Appersett exploring parts of the Hawes 2000 Mosaic project. We saw about half of the 22 mosaics on that day, and we finish the task with this equally fine walk.
Starting from Hawes town centre, we head up to Burtersett, take Shaws Lane to Gayle, then head up Sleddale to see Aysgill Force. We return along a Green Lane back toward Gayle, before taking a final detour along Bands Lane and then the Cam Road.
A (very) brief section on the B6255 brings us to a path back over fields into Hawes. This is a great walk with fine views, add in the mosaics, a roman road, an impressive waterfall, and all the delights of Hawes, and we have a recipe for a perfect day.

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Roeburndale Bluebells

Easy

6.5 miles | 10.5 km | 351 m Ascent | 8.2 Naismith miles | Kate Rowe
The clue is in the name as they say . . . this walk features the woodland in Roeburndale, and the spectacular bluebells and other wildflowers that make the most of the spring light that reaches the woodland floor just before the trees get into full leaf. Timing is everything, as this phase of spring lasts for just a couple of weeks; we scheduled our walk for early May.
Is this a worthwhile walk at any other time? It absolutely is. Roeburndale, like the rest of the Forest of Bowland is quieter than the Dales or Lakes, yet this particular part of it is very accessible. The village of Wray has an interesting history, and an excellent tearoom. On the walk we pass an abandoned rope bridge, a hidden orchard, see slow worms, and there are great views over the three peaks. So, this is a great walk at any time, and or is perfect in early May.

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