Dales Way
Highlights:
Heart of Yorkshire Dales
Peaceful riverside walking
Great hospitality on offer
Finish on Lake Windermere
Brief:
⏱ Duration: 6 - 8 Days
🗺 Distance: 126 km
⛰ Difficulty: Easy to Moderate
🗓 Best Time: March - October
🛏 Accomm: Bed & Breakfast; hotels
Walk Overview
The Dales Way provides the perfect means to explore the great natural beauty and historic limestone villages of the Yorkshire Dales. It follows a route through an idyllic swathe of English rural countryside where the present seems not too distant from the past and life follows a pace of its own.
The bulk of the Yorkshire Dales lies in the Yorkshire Dales National Park. This is limestone country where the lush green valleys are topped with limestone cliffs and the local pastures are enclosed by an intricate network of distinctive dry-stone walls.
The walk takes a diagonal route from the south-eastern corner to the north-western corner of the Yorkshire Dales National Park and then crosses into the Lake District National Park, finishing on the shores of the renowned Lake Windermere.
The Dales Way follows a scenic route alongside the Wharfe River and the Dee River. These rivers meander unhurriedly through two long valleys - Wharfedale and Dentdale. Between the valleys, and in a couple of other places, there are short excursions up to the high, harsh moorland but generally the path prefers the more hospitable lower country.
The well-preserved market towns and villages along the way are very picturesque and offer great Yorkshire hospitality. The historic Bolton Abbey estate on the Wharfe River incorporates photogenic ruins of a twelfth century monastery. Another highlight is the charming village of Burnsall with its unique five arched stone bridge.
An appealing aspect of the Dales Way is that it offers the contrasting scenery of the Yorkshire Dales and the Lake District. The Yorkshire Dales offer quintessential English rolling countryside through steep sided valleys. By contrast, the final stage of the Dales Way passes through a wonderfully quiet corner of the Lake District incorporating the gentle foothills that lead to England’s largest lake, Lake Windermere.
From the conclusion of the Dales Way at Lake Windermere, you are rewarded with memorable views of the distant Lakeland mountains and the lakeside attractions of Bowness-on-Windermere.
The complete walk covers 126 kilometres (78 miles) and generally takes between six and eight days. Your total trip duration then depends on whether you incorporate rest days into the walk and, if so, how many.
Assistance and further information:
For assistance in walking all or part of the Dales Way, click the button below:
For more information on walking in the Yorkshire Dales, click the button below:
A seven day itinerary for the Dales Way is described below.
Itinerary
The walk takes 6-8 days to complete. A typical 7 day itinerary is shown below.
Day 1
Ilkley to Grassington
Distance: 26 km
Time: 7 hours
Accommodation: Bed & Breakfast; hotels
Day 2
Grassington to Hubberholme
Distance: 19 km
Time: 5 hours
Accommodation: Bed & Breakfast
Day 3
Hubberholme to Ribblehead
Distance: 19 km
Time: 5 hours
Accommodation: Bed & Breakfast
Day 4
Ribblehead to Dent
Distance: 16 km
Time: 4 hours
Accommodation: Bed & Breakfast; hotels
Day 5
Dent to Howgill
Distance: 16 km
Time: 4 hours
Accommodation: Bed & Breakfast
Day 6
Howgill to Burneside
Distance: 21 km
Time: 6 hours
Accommodation: Bed & Breakfast
Day 7
Burneside to Bowness on Windermere
Distance: 16 km
Time: 4 hours
Accommodation: Bed & Breakfast; hotels
Walk Options
Guided
There are several tour operators offering part or all of the Dales Way as a guided trip. You can choose to do the entire 126 kilometres (78 miles) walk or opt for shorter versions. The tour operators that offer the full walk generally follow the seven day walking itinerary described above.
Tour operators that offer guided trips generally operate on the basis of scheduled departure dates during the walking season.
Some guided tour operators offer accommodation at one central base (usually spacious and comfortable) and walkers are transferred to a section of the walk each day. Others utilise the available accommodation along the route, meaning the accommodation is more variable.
Typically, the package offered by the guided tour operators includes:
8 day tour with professional guides, 7 days of walking
7 nights accommodation
All meals
Transfers between the track and the accommodation (where applicable)
Assisted self-guided
A substantial number of tour operators offer the Dales Way as a self-guided trip.
Typically, the service includes:
Track notes, maps and information pack
Accommodation, usually with ensuites (the range and quantity of accommodation available in some villages is limited; also, the basic package offered by some tour operators might not always extend to ensuites)
Luggage transport between accommodation (and sometimes, where necessary, vehicle transfers between track and accommodation)
Breakfasts and optional packed lunches
24/7 support
The duration of the self-guided options varies depending upon how far you wish to walk each day. Accommodation options range from comfortable through to luxury, again depending upon the size of the village or town and the purchased package.
Independent
There are camping grounds along the route that make camping on most nights a possibility. It’s also quite feasible to book accommodation along the route yourself and, if you require luggage transfers, to arrange that independently.
For those considering this option, it’s worth noting that the self-guided tour operators often have preferred rates with accommodation providers and luggage transfer companies. They also often have reserved allocations at the best-located/most suitable accommodation for the particular walk, so sometimes when accommodation shows no availability to an independent inquiry there’s still availability through a self-guided operator.
Essential Information
Access
The starting point for the Dales Way is Ilkley, Yorkshire.
The finishing point is Bowness-on-Windermere, Cumbria.
Ilkley and Bowness are readily accessible by public transport:
There are regular trains from London’s Kings Cross to Ilkley;
Similarly, there are regular trains from Windermere to London’s Euston (with Windermere being a short walk or a 10 minute bus trip from Bowness).
Best time
The best time to do the walk is March to October.
Difficulty
This walk is rated at a difficulty level of easy to moderate. It is waymarked and is generally well-defined and maintained.
Accommodation
There are many accommodation options at either end of the walk and, generally, plenty along the route. Accommodation options include camping, hostels, B&B’s, guesthouses, inns and hotels.
Many of the accommodation providers, particularly those near to the route, are attuned to walkers’ needs or offer amenities suited to walkers.
We can assist walkers in choosing the accommodation options which best suit their needs.
Dining
We can assist you in choosing special dining options along the route or at the end.
Other activities
As a popular tourist destination, the Yorkshire Dales offers many attractions in addition to the Dales Way.
Many walkers choose to add extra days to their trip so that they can explore these other attractions. Some will do that through rest days along the trail; others prefer ‘add-ons’ at the end of the walk. Some do both!
We can assist walkers to explore the many attractions of the Yorkshire Dales.
Assistance
We can assist walkers with various aspects of their walking holidays.