Dales Way

OVERVIEW

The Dales Way starts in Ilkley and passes through the southern end of the Yorkshire Dales, before cutting across and into the Lake District. And it is a pretty route that favors easier routes along river valleys, instead of punishing routes over hills.

And if you would rather do a more challenging walk it has a bigger brother - the Dales High Way - which follows a similar route, but over more challenging terrain.

This is a repetitively easy trail to do in one go, although I did it in two chunks - splitting the route at Dent (just above Ribblehead). That said, instead of finishing at Bowness-on-Windermere - I opted to extend to give the route a better ending, heading across Windermere, and up to Ambleside.

Although it is a relatively easy walk to complete, it cuts through very pretty countryside - with peaks looming over the trail. This makes it extremely good value for money in terms of views to effort.

The path also heads through Grassington, which might be a bit of a treat for those who have been watching the newer series of All Creatures Great and Small - as a lot of the filming for that series was done in that village.

PRACTICALITIES

The walk never strays too far from civilisation and so is a fairly easy walk to plan and execute.

The start and end points both have train stations - and although from Ilkley the next train station comes along at Ribblehead - the walk does pass through Grassington, which has both accommodation and bus links.

From there it passes close to Dent train station, and then passes through the town of Sedbergh, which is an option for accommodation (and or bus links). 

The next train link is at Burneside - just outside of Kendal - and I opted to use this train link to stay over in Kendal whilst completing the eastern end of this trail.

From here there is another train link at Staveley and then at Bowness-on-Windermere itself.

STAGES

Ilkley to Grassington

Planned to walk in 2026...

Grassington to Cowgill

Planned to walk in 2026...

Cowgill to Burneside (★★★★★) 

From Cowgill (where you find Dent train station) the path follow the River Dee to pass by Dent - and then continues on along this river to Lenacre. Here the path crosses over the river and climbs up the ridge on the far side, before curving round the edge of this ridge and dropping down into Sedbergh.

From here the path follows the River Rawthey, before turning off to head against the flow of the River Lune to Beck Foot - passing magnificent viaducts that used to carry the Ingleton Branch Line railway.

At Beck Foot the route changes direction to follow the M6 and west coast mainline (which is nicer than it sounds) - with view out across hills that bridge together the Yorkshire Dales and Lake District. After a mile or so it is time to cross both the M6 and west coast mainline and head on through Hairdrigg and Patton Bridge to Burneside.

This section included 26.0 miles of walking (of which 24.8 miles was on the Dales Way) - and just under two thousand feet of ascent.

Burneside to Bowness-on-Windermere (★★★★★) 

From Burneside the path follows the River Kent through Bowston and on to Staveley - where you have reached the Lake District. From here the path cuts up over quiet roads and then across open fields to reach the outskirts of Cleabarrow.

From here the path winds past Home Farm and on to finish at a bench above Bowness-on-Windermere.

This section totals 9.5 miles (9.0 miles on the Dales Way) and just over one thousand feet of ascent.

An Extension - Continuing to Ambleside

Rather than finish the day's walking at the busy lakeside town of Bowness - I figured it would be nicer to head over the lake, and finish up with a quiet walk along the western shore of Windermere.

With this in mind, I headed down to Ferry Nab - and took the ferry over the lake to the far side. From here I had a long walk up the quieter far edge of the lake, to just shy of Wray Castle - where I cut in along a cycle route.

From here I continued along a road, before joining a footpath that runs parallel to this road - and that takes you round to Clappersgate. Here there is a short section along a fairly busy road - before following the A593 into Ambleside.

The full day's walking from Burneside to Ambleside totaled 17.9 miles (still 9.0 miles on the Dales Way), with over one and half thousand feet of ascent.