Walking in the Yorkshire Dales: South and West

Part of a 2-book set, this guidebook describes 44 walks in the southern and western Yorkshire Dales, including the famous 23 mile Three Peaks circuit over Pen-y-Ghent, Whernside and Ingleborough. The other, mostly circular routes of 3½ to 13 miles cover the scenic region between Sedbergh, Kirkby Lonsdale, Settle, Skipton and Grassington.

Seasons

Year round walking in the Yorkshire Dales, but be properly kitted out on the tops in winter.

Centres

Skipton, Settle, Grassington, Kirkby Lonsdale, Sedbergh, Dent, Grassington, Clapham, Malham

Difficulty

From gentle two-mile walks to more strenuous day-long routes

Must See

The individual character of each dale, wild fells, cosy villages, the traditional farming landscape, the Yorkshire Three Peaks route, Malham cove

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Overview

A guidebook to 44 circular walks in the south and west of the Yorkshire Dales National Park, with bases including Sedbergh, Malham, Grassington, Skipton, Settle and Kirkby Lonsdale. The walks cover the valleys of Wharfedale, Littondale, Malhamdale, Ribblesdale and Dentdale - each with its own distinctive landscape and character. Also included is the Yorkshire Three Peaks, a 23 mile (37km) challenge to bag three summits - Pen-y-ghent, Whernside and Ingleborough. The walks range between 3.5 and 13 miles in length and showcase Yorkshire's diverse landscapes, beautiful views and rich heritage. With the exception of the Three Peaks walk, they are designed to suit most abilities: steeper sections are rare and usually short-lived. Detailed route description and 1:50,000 OS mapping are provided for each route, along with information on nearby points of interest and facilities. Highlights include delightful riverside walking in Wharfedale, spectacular views of the distant Howgills and Lake District Fells, and the arresting limestone cliffs of Malham Cove providing a wonderful introduction to this magnificent area.

Contents

Contents
Introduction
Evolution of the landscape
Geological history
Human settlement
Industry and enterprise
Farming in the Dales
Plants and wildlife
The Southern and Western Dales
The Yorkshire Dales National Park
Practicalities
Navigation and maps
Careful planning
Clothing and footwear
Food and drink
Taking your car
Leaving your car behind
Using this guide
1 Lower Wharfedale and Barden Moor
Walk 1 Bolton Abbey
Walk 2 Barden Moor
Walk 3 Simon’s Seat
Walk 4 Burnsall and Trollers Gill
Walk 5 Grassington and Grass Wood
Walk 6 Conistone
2 Upper Wharfedale
Walk 7 Great Whernside
Walk 8 Kettlewell and Arncliffe
Walk 9 Buckden Pike
Walk 10 Old Cote Moor Top from Buckden
Walk 11 Buckden and Yockenthwaite
Walk 12 Horse Head and Langstrothdale
Walk 13 Oughtershaw Side
3 Littondale
Walk 14 Arncliffe and High Cote Moor
Walk 15 Old Cote Moor Top from Arncliffe
Walk 16 Pen-y-ghent Gill from Litton
Walk 17 Litton and the River Skirfare
4 Malhamdale
Walk 18 Airedale and Weets Top
Walk 19 Gordale, Malham Tarn and the Cove
Walk 20 Malham Cove and Pikedaw Hill
Walk 21 Mastiles Lane
Walk 22 Fountains Fell
Walk 23 Winterburn Reservoir
Walk 24 Cracoe Fell
5 Dentdale and the Western Outliers
Walk 25 Great Knoutberry Hill
Walk 26 Wold Fell
Walk 27 A Walk into Deepdale
Walk 28 Great Coum
Walk 29 Dentdale
Walk 30 Calf Top and Middleton Fell
Walk 31 Barbon Low Fell
Walk 32 Gragareth and Great Coum
6 Around Ribblesdale
Walk 33 Attermire Scar and Victoria Cave
Walk 34 Langcliffe and Catrigg Force
Walk 35 Plover Hill and Pen-y-ghent
Walk 36 Upper Ribblesdale along the Ribble Way
Walk 37 Ingleborough from Ribblehead
Walk 38 Whernside from Ribblehead
Walk 39 Gayle Moor and the Source of the Ribble
Walk 40 Clapham and the Norber Boulders
Walk 41 Ingleborough from Clapham
Walk 42 Ingleton Falls
Walk 43 Kingsdale
Walk 44 The Yorkshire Three Peaks

Appendix 1 Route summaries and suggestions for longer routes
Appendix 2 Where to find out more

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Reviews

I thoroughly enjoyed this book

This book contains 44 walks from Wharfedale, Littondale, Malham dale, Dentdale and Ribblesdale and follows on from their previous book of walks in the North and East of the Yorkshire Dales. It includes seven walks that I know but there are many others that I have walked in these areas over the last 50 years that Dennis and Jan have also included.

They are seasoned walkers, writers and photographers and the 44 walks that they have selected range from 3.5 miles around Attermire above Settle to 23 miles for someone who wishes to tackle the Three Peaks in one day in the Ribblehead chapter. The book is divided into six chapters; Lower Wharfedale, Upper Wharfedale, Littondale, Malhamdale, Dentdale and Ribblesdale and range from four walks in the Litton dale chapter to eight in the Ribblesdale one.

As well as the walks themselves, the book also contains chapters on the evolution of the landscape, Plants and Wildlife, the area covered by the walks, the Yorkshire Dales National Park, practicalities and how to use the guide. The text, maps and photographs are all very concise and my only criticism of the book is that some of the walks start or finish partway down a page and the next walk carries on from there on the same page. By enlarging or reducing some of the photos or realigning of the text these could have been made to fit so that each walks started on its own separate page. 

Apart from this minor blemish,  I thoroughly enjoyed the book and will be using it to cover some of the walks I have either not done before or where it has been several decades since I last trod some of these "broad acres" of Yorkshire.

John Burland, Yorkshire news

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