Dales Way

Lower Wharfedale: Ilkley to Burnsall

The route starts at Ilkley, an old market town marking the eastern edge of the Dales and heads upstream along the banks of the River Wharfe. Enroute you pass Addingham and Bolton Abbey, an impressive 12th century ruin set in the parkland of the Duke of Devonshire’s estate. The path enters Strid Wood, where the River Wharfe is forced through a narrow chasm and can be particularly spectacular after rain. More riverside walking leads to Appletreewick, the first in a string of delightful limestone villages, and on to Burnsall which is idyllically situated on a large meander in the river.

Classic Dales: Burnsall to Beckermonds

From Burnsall the route carries on along the Wharfedale valley and enters the small market town of Grassington, the last town before Sedbergh, on the eastern fringes of the National Park. After Grassington the route leaves the valley for a few miles and climbs up to a plateau of limestone pavement. Here, millions of years of rainwater have dissolved deep crevices in the limestone, splitting the surface spectacularly.
The Wharfe is rejoined at Kettlewell, one of the honey pot villages of the Dales and the path follows the river gently upstream past the villages of Starbotton, Buckden and Hubberholme. This is where Wharfedale officially finishes and the route continues along the beck side up the narrow vale to Beckermonds.

Cam Fell and Dentdale

The character of the route changes markedly here as the path climbs out of the cosy confines of Wharfedale over the wild moorland of Cam Fell. An altitude of 450m is reached at Cam Houses giving dramatic views of the Yorkshire Three Peaks, before the route descends towards Ribblehead and its famous viaduct. Moor fell sides soon lead to the gentler countryside of the River Dee and Dentdale. Riverside paths meander downstream to the village of Dent, with its narrow cobbled streets and on to Sedbergh, a small market town nestling under the steep Howgill fells.

Sedbergh to Bowness on Windermere

After Sedbergh, the walk skirts under the Howgills and along the River Lune for a few miles, where the character of the route changes again. The riversides of the Dales are left behind, as the route passes through the rolling countryside separating the National Parks of the Yorkshire Dales and the Lake District. Views of distant Lakeland mountains become more impressive as Windermere is approached.

Easy to Moderate

The route, which is waymarked over its entire length, is relatively straightforward. The paths usually follow valley systems but rises up to 450 metres at its highest point. A good route for regular walkers.

Terrain: The route generally follows rivers and valley bottoms. Crossing from Wharfedale to Dentdale (after Buckden & Hubberholme) the route rises over the moorland, up to a height of 450m.

What’s it like underfoot? On the whole the paths are well defined and maintained, but at times it can be rough underfoot with some muddy paths, so good footwear is essential.

How much up & down? Most days are rolling with gentle ascent and descents. The climb from Buckden to the high point on the route is the biggest at about 150m.

Signposting: Generally good, but use your map and guidebook as well.

Navigation: Pretty straightforward. You may encounter hill fog on the highest day, but route is pretty well defined.

Weather: You may be lucky enough to encounter warm, dry weather over the whole route and enjoy dry paths and tremendous views, but you must be prepared because the weather can change quickly. Good clothing and waterproofs essential!

Good accommodation and friendly hosts are an essential part of any holiday. We understand this and go out of our way to find the best. We put a great deal of effort into hand picking our accommodation and matching it to individual customer requirements. As well as visiting the accommodation ourselves, we ask all our customers to complete a short evaluation on each night’s accommodation, which then gives us an insight into the day-to-day operation and lets us spot any potential issues before they become a problem.

We use a variety of accommodation. Over the course of your trip you might stay in a village inn, a bed and breakfast in a converted barn, a Victorian guest house, or on a working farm. In selecting the accommodation we look for helpful, friendly hosts with good quality, characterful accommodation close to the trail. Occasionally we may use a chain hotel.

We always try to arrange en suite accommodation, i.e. rooms with their own bathrooms for each night of your stay. However, in some of the more remote locations accommodation is limited and occasionally we may have to book rooms with shared bathrooms for one or two nights of your holiday, (especially if the booking is made at short notice), but we will always let you know if this is likely to be the case.

We are happy to book single rooms on our holidays but cannot normally book more than two for any one group. Single room bookings include a supplement.

Here are some examples of the accommodation we use along the Dales Way:

The Burnsall Manor House has comfortable, modern bedrooms, most of which have lovely views of the River Wharfe and village of Burnsall. A real fire welcomes you in the residents lounge and you will find the staff very friendly and attentive. Visit their website

The George and Dragon is a characterful and welcoming pub in the centre of the little village of Dent, this offers everything an English pub should – real ale, great food and a very comfortable place to spend the night. The cobbled street outside and the obvious age of the building give the place a very special atmosphere. Visit their website

General travel information on the Dales Way area will be in your holiday pack including train and bus timetables where available.

Detailed instructions on getting to your first night’s accommodation by car, or on foot from the nearest train or bus station, will also be included in the holiday pack on individual accommodation maps.

To view train times please visit trainline where you can also purchase tickets in advance. For information on bus timetables please visit traveline

If you require secure car parking whilst walking this route, please contact us for detailed information – we can usually arrange car parking in Ilkley and you can return to your car by public transport or taxi transfer.

Getting There:
By Air: The nearest airports are Manchester International (MAN) and Leeds Bradford (LBA). There are frequent buses or trains from the airports to Ilkley (Manchester to Ilkley is 53 miles, and Leeds to Ilkley is 17 miles).
By Public Transport: The nearest main railway station is Leeds, where there are rail connections to Ilkley.
By Road: Ilkley is situated in the Yorkshire Dales. The nearest city is Leeds (17 miles).

Returning from Bowness on Windermere:
By Air: There is a railway station in Windermere, where you can catch trains to airports: Manchester (approx 2 hours) and Leeds (approx 3 hours).
By Public Transport: There is a train station in Windermere for travel to Oxenholme on the west coast mainline. You can also travel by bus on the National Express coach service.

Bowness on Windermere

The linked towns of Windermere and Bowness at the heart of the Lake District have been an attraction for visitors since Victorian times. With the lake shore of Windermere so close, there is always something to do whatever the season - walking along the lakeside, enjoying panoramic views of the lake and mountains from several viewpoints, experiencing a whole host of water-based activities, luxuriating in the pleasures of travelling around the area by steamer, open-top bus or steam locomotive or discovering the lake for yourself by hiring a rowing boat, dinghy or cruiser. Away from the lake shore is a varied choice of heritage sites, historic houses, colourful gardens and other visitor attractions.