This weekend in the Yorkshire Dales is from Skipton which is considered the gateway to the Yorkshire Dales and is a delightful market town with plenty of pubs, cafes and nice shops.
The wonderful walking in the Yorkshire Dales has a wide variety of scenery and everything you would expect from the area; stunning views, riverside meadows, dry stone walls, open moorland with ‘views for miles’ to name a few.
As with all our weekends we can tailor them to appeal to both social walkers who want shorter walks and more serious walkers who want longer ones as some of the walks will have the option of a longer or shorter walk. The walks in the area are easy to moderate.
There is also plenty to do for non walkers or if you want to mix & match walking with social / touristy stuff. Skipton is a happy marriage of olde-worlde charm and the bustle of a thriving market town. There is a stunning castle, boat trips, a canal basin and further afield is the Embsay & Bolton Abbey steam railway, Bolton Abbey itself and the towns of Ilkley and Keighley are a short drive away.
Social activities As with all our walking weekends we can run a number of social activities for your group in the evening. These can range from a simple quiz to skittles or a Race Night. One of the hotels we use has a programme of tribute nights that we can include as part of a package.
The Detail
Variations:
A Sample of the walks available in this area
Grassington Figure of Eight This will offer a choice of a longer 11 mile or a shorter 6 mile walk. Either way you will have some time to explore the lovely village complete with its cobbled square and many charming features, pubs cafes etc
The morning walk sees us heading east to the small but pretty village of Hebden which lies in an upland valley surrounded by rocky crags. We initially make our way towards Hebden Moor and Hole Bottom and follow the course of Hebden Beck into the village. After a look around we head to the River Wharfe as carves its way through Wharfedale, passing Linton Falls as we head back to Grassington.
The afternoon walk heads in the opposite direction and explores the lovely Grass Wood which was once a prehistoric settlement, now a nature reserve and should be coming back to life at this time of the year. We return following a different part of the Ricer Wharfe passing through a succession of waterside meadows and the wonderful Ghaistrill’s strid, a fast flowing section.
Bolton Abbey With its priory ruins, riverside walks and woods. The walk will be around 5˝ miles and follows the river Wharfe as it cuts its way through the valley, passing The Strid, a section where the river squeezes through a six foot gap through rock and makes an impressive sight.
Embsay and Bardon Moors Just north of Skipton these moors have great views of Skipton itself and Bardon reservoirs. This walk has a couple of options; Either a 7 mile circular walk up on to and around the moors or we could get the steam train from Embsay to Bolton Abbey and walk back past the spectacular ruins of the abbey and over Embsay Moor, around 8 miles.
Skipton Moor This walk starts from the hotel so no need to use our cars. We start by walking up to High Bradley Moor and then onto Skipton Moor. This also has some great views of Skipton. The 7 mile walk ends up in Skipton where you can either get the bus back to the hotel or walk back along the canal adding a further mile and a half.
