Yorkshire Dales: The Proper Guide (Not Another Itinerary)

Author: Sophie Brennan
First visit: 2019
Most recent: February 2026
Times I've fallen into the Ure: Twice (both intentional, once regretted)

The Truth About the Dales

The Yorkshire Dales doesn't need seven days. It doesn't need an itinerary. What it needs is curiosity and decent waterproofs.

I've walked these valleys through every season, and here's what I've learned: the Dales rewards wandering, not scheduling. You don't tick off Pen-y-ghent like a shopping list item. You climb it at 5 AM when the mist is still in the valley and the only sound is your boots on limestone. You sit on the summit with a flask of tea and watch the sun burn through. That's the Dales. Not "Day 6: The Three Peaks Challenge."

But you want practical guidance, so here's what I'd actually do if you had a week. Not day-by-day — that's not how real travel works. Instead, five approaches to this landscape, each with depth enough to fill your days.

When to Go (And When to Avoid)

June through September are the obvious choices. The hay meadows around Muker and Gunnerside bloom in mid-June — purple clover, yellow buttercups, eyebright white as snow. Farmers cut them in July, so catch them before then. August brings village shows: Reeth, Kilnsey, Dentdale. These aren't tourist spectacles. They're agricultural shows where local pride is on the line and the beer tents fill by noon.

October is my secret season. The summer crowds vanish. The bracken turns copper on the hillsides. You can walk Whernside and see nobody between the summit and the pub. The Dales suddenly belong to locals again.

Avoid: Bank holiday weekends in summer. The A65 becomes a parking lot. Malham Cove is shoulder-to-shoulder. Every B&B within twenty miles books out six months ahead. Come midweek or don't come.

The Limestone Country: Malham and Beyond

Malham Cove is famous for a reason. That amphitheatre of white limestone, 70 metres high, with the strange clints and grikes of the pavement on top — it's genuinely extraordinary. But the experience depends entirely on timing.

The real move: Stay in Malham village the night before. The Lister Arms has rooms from £120, or there's a YHA if you're budgeting. Set your alarm for 5:30 AM. Walk to the cove in the blue hour before dawn. You'll have the place entirely. The RSPB doesn't even set up their peregrine viewing station until 10 AM.

The climb up those 400 stone steps is steep but short. On top, the limestone pavement stretches like a frozen sea. The gaps between the clints — the grikes — are deep enough to lose a leg in, so watch your step. I've seen confident hikers go down hard here.

The loop nobody tells you about: Everyone does Malham Cove → Gordale Scar → Janet's Foss → back to the village. It's 7.5 km and fine enough. But if you continue past Janet's Foss on the path to Malham Tarn, you'll leave 90% of walkers behind. The tarn itself is underwhelming — a small lake with a field studies centre — but the walk there, through sheep-scattered meadows with views back to the cove, is the real reward.

Gordale Scar deserves more than a passing mention. The narrow gorge with its waterfall cascading through limestone walls feels almost hidden until you're in it. In wet weather, the falls become impassable without getting soaked. In dry spells, you can scramble up through the waterfall itself — exhilarating and not as dangerous as it looks, though you'll need steady feet and no fear of getting wet.

Janet's Foss is smaller, gentler, almost fairy-tale in its setting of birch woods. The pool at the base is cold and clear. Legend says Janet (or Jennet) was a fairy queen who lived in a cave behind the fall. Whether you believe that or not, the place has an atmosphere — damp, green, quiet even when the car park is full.

Where to eat in Malham:

The Buck Inn (01729 830317) is the honest choice. It's a traditional pub with beams, a fire in winter, and garden seating when the sun's out. The steak and ale pie (£14.95) is proper — thick gravy, actual chunks of meat, pastry that holds together. They serve Timothy Taylor's Landlord, brewed just down the road in Keighley. The landlord remembers regulars and treats strangers with the same unfussy courtesy. That's rare in a village this popular.

Lister Arms (01729 830330) is the upscale option. Pan-roasted duck breast, sticky toffee pudding, that sort of thing. Expect £25-35 for a main. The garden has views toward the cove. It's good food, well-executed, but it lacks the character of the Buck.

Skip: The visitor centre café unless you're desperate. It's overpriced and charmless.

Wensleydale: Cheese, Waterfalls, and the Right Kind of Tourist

Hawes claims to be England's highest market town at 850 feet. This is the kind of fact that matters to locals and nobody else. What matters to visitors is this: Wensleydale Creamery is here, and the cheese is actually worth the pilgrimage.

The Wensleydale Creamery (01969 667080) runs cheese-making experiences at £12.50. You watch the process from milk to finished product, taste the range (there are more varieties than the Wallace & Gromit connection suggests), and leave with a wedge of the good stuff. The museum (£5) is skippable unless you're genuinely interested in the 700-year history. The café, though, does a cheese toastie (£6.50) that will ruin all other cheese toasties for you.

The real Wensleydale is nothing like the mild, mass-produced version in supermarkets. Proper Wensleydale is crumbly, slightly sour, with a texture that falls apart on your tongue. The mature version has bite. The smoked version divides opinion — I love it, others find it overwhelming. Try before you buy.

Aysgarth Falls sits 20 minutes east of Hawes on the A684. Three tiers of waterfall on the River Ure, famous from Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves. In summer, when the water's lower, you can explore the rock pools and the ancient woodland of Freeholders' Wood. The National Park Centre car park (£2.50/2 hours, £4 all day) is reasonable, and National Trust members park free.

The Upper Falls are the most dramatic — a broad curtain of water cascading over limestone shelves. The Middle and Lower Falls are smaller but no less beautiful, each with their own character. The path between them winds through woodland where bluebells carpet the ground in spring and dappled shade provides relief in summer.

The walk that matters: Don't just do the falls trail and leave. Continue downstream to Redmire Force, another waterfall most visitors miss. The old railway viaduct looms over the scene — the Wensleydale Railway runs heritage trains here in summer, steam on some days, diesel on others. It's £18 return from Leeming Bar, and yes, it's touristy, but there's something genuinely moving about crossing that moorland in a vintage carriage.

Where to eat in Hawes:

The Stone House (01969 667392) is the best restaurant in town and one of the best in the Dales. It's a proper gastropub — not fancy for fancy's sake, but serious about local ingredients. The lamb comes from farms you can see from the window. The Wensleydale cheese board is obvious but necessary. Mains run £18-26. Book ahead, even midweek.

The White Hart Inn (01969 667321) is the traditional alternative. Steak pie, real ales, beer garden. About £14 for mains. The sort of pub where farmers gather on market day and the conversation is about sheep prices, not sightseeing.

The Three Peaks: Why You Probably Shouldn't

Pen-y-ghent, Whernside, Ingleborough. The Yorkshire Three Peaks Challenge — all three in twelve hours — has become a bucket-list item for weekend warriors in expensive hiking gear. I've done it. It's a slog, not an adventure.

The problem isn't the distance (24 miles) or the ascent (1,600 metres). It's that you're racing against the clock, checking your watch every half hour, eating energy gels on the move. You don't see the Dales this way. You endure it.

The better approach: Pick one peak and do it properly.

Pen-y-ghent from Horton-in-Ribblesdale is the classic. The path starts at the Golden Lion pub, climbs steeply up the southern nose, then follows the ridge to the plateau summit. The trig point sits at 694 metres. On a clear day, you can see the Lake District fells to the northwest and the North York Moors to the east. The descent down the north side adds Hull Pot — a collapsed cavern where a waterfall disappears into the ground in wet weather — and Hunt Pot, a deep shaft that's killed enough people that you're required to view it from behind a fence.

Whernside is the highest at 736 metres. The walk from Ribblehead is longer but gentler, following the railway line before climbing the long ridge. The viaduct — 24 arches, 400 metres, built by navvies who died in their hundreds — is worth the trip alone. Steam trains run some summer weekends; check the timetable and time your summit to watch one cross.

The view from Whernside on a clear day is the best in the Dales. The Lake District to the west, the Howgill Fells to the north, the North York Moors to the east, and the whole spine of the Pennines stretching south. You understand the geography of northern England from up there.

Ingleborough is the most dramatic. From Clapham, you walk through a gorge, past a waterfall, and emerge onto a massive whaleback plateau. Gaping Gill, one of Britain's largest underground chambers, opens near the summit. In summer, local caving clubs run winch descents (£20) — you drop 110 metres into the darkness. I've done it once. Never again, but I'm glad I did.

Where to stay for the peaks:

Horton-in-Ribblesdale has limited options. The Golden Lion (01729 860228) does rooms from £90. River House (01729 860250) is a B&B at £90-130. There's a basic campsite at the edge of the village. The Pen-y-ghent Café does bacon sandwiches and serves as the official Three Peaks checkpoint — they'll stamp your card if you're doing the challenge.

The Valleys Nobody Writes About

Swaledale sits north of Wensleydale and gets a fraction of the visitors. The road from Hawes to Muker winds through the wildest hay meadows in England — flower-rich grassland that's survived because the valley is too steep for modern farming machinery. In June, it's a carpet of colour. The village of Muker has a pub (the Farmers Arms), a shop, and a famous series of dry stone walls climbing the hillside in geometric patterns.

The Farmers Arms is worth the trip alone. It's a proper Dales pub — flagstone floors, open fire, no music, just conversation. The beer is Black Sheep, brewed in Masham just down the road. The food is simple and good: ham and eggs, steak pie, that sort of thing. About £12-15 for mains.

Arkengarthdale is wilder still. The road from Reeth to Langthwaite passes through former lead mining country — spoil heaps, ruined buildings, a landscape that looks almost post-industrial until you notice the sheep grazing among the ruins. It's bleak and beautiful in equal measure.

The CB Inn (formerly the Charles Bathurst) sits at the head of the dale. It's remote, atmospheric, and has rooms if you want to escape completely. The drive there — single track in places, passing places every few hundred metres — is an adventure in itself.

Dentdale is the quiet valley in the western Dales. The village of Dent itself sits at the head of the valley, all cobbled streets and stone cottages. It's famous for the "Dent knitters" who once produced stockings for royalty, and for Adam Sedgwick, the geologist who first mapped the Devonian period. The heritage centre (£4) tells these stories well. Dent Brewery has a shop where you can taste their range — try the Aviator, a classic bitter.

Wild swimming in the Dales:

The River Wharfe at Burnsall has deep pools below the five-arched bridge. The water is cold even in August — probably 15°C at best — but on a hot day, it's perfect. The Dee in Dentdale has quieter spots. The Ure near Aysgarth is swimmable below the falls when the water's low. Always check depth before jumping, never swim alone, and avoid after heavy rain when currents run strong.

I've swum at Burnsall dozens of times. The trick is to go early morning — before the families arrive with picnics and inflatables — and to bring a thermos of tea for afterwards. The shivering is part of the experience.

Practicalities Without the Boredom

Getting here:

Train is the civilised option. The Settle-Carlisle line runs from Leeds to Carlisle, stopping at Skipton, Settle, Horton-in-Ribblesdale, Ribblehead, Dent, and Garsdale. The scenery between Settle and Ribblehead is some of the best railway landscape in England. Fares from Leeds to Settle are £15-25. Buy in advance for cheaper seats.

The line is famous for a reason. Between Settle and Carlisle, it crosses Ribblehead Viaduct, passes through Blea Moor tunnel (the longest on the line at 2,629 metres), and stops at isolated stations like Dent — the highest railway station in England at 1,150 feet. Even if you don't walk a single mile, the train journey is worth making.

Car gives you freedom but brings crowds. The A65 from Leeds to Skipton is the main artery, and it bottlenecks badly at peak times. Summer Saturdays can add an hour to your journey. Once in the Dales, roads are narrow, winding, and frequently blocked by sheep.

Bus services exist but are patchy. The DalesBus network runs Sunday services in summer connecting major villages. Route 72 (Skipton to Grassington) runs year-round. Most fares are £2. Don't rely on buses for serious walking — routes are designed for shoppers and day-trippers, not hikers with early starts.

Where to base yourself:

Grassington is the most convenient village. Cobbled square, decent pubs, National Park Centre, regular buses. It gets busy — this is where they filmed All Creatures Great and Small — but the infrastructure is good. The Devonshire Inn (01756 752656) does solid pub food. Caffé Cottage (01756 752201) has better coffee and homemade cakes.

Hawes is quieter and more working-Dales than tourist-Dales. Good for exploring Wensleydale and the northern valleys. Tuesday is market day — worth experiencing if you're in the area.

Kettlewell is smaller, prettier, and less practical. Good if you want peace and don't mind driving everywhere.

Settle is a proper town with a market, supermarkets, and the railway. Less charm than the villages but easier for supplies. The market runs on Tuesdays, and there's a good cheese shop (The Cheese Shop, naturally) on Duke Street.

What to pack:

The Dales weather changes fast. I've had hail in July and t-shirt weather in October. Bring layers. A light waterproof is essential even in summer. Proper walking boots — not trainers, not fashion hiking shoes — for anything off tarmac. The limestone is slippery when wet, and it gets wet frequently.

Sun cream in summer. The UV at 700 metres is stronger than you expect, and there's no shade on the moorland tops. Insect repellent — midges are bad in June and July, especially near water.

A physical map. Phone signal is patchy to nonexistent in the valleys. The OS Explorer maps (OL2 for Yorkshire Dales Southern & Western, OL30 for Northern & Central) are essential for serious walking. GPS is useful but batteries fail and signals drop. Paper doesn't.

Food worth seeking out:

Wensleydale cheese — obvious but necessary. Buy from the creamery in Hawes, not supermarkets. The "real" Wensleydale is crumbly, slightly sour, nothing like the mild stuff mass-produced elsewhere.
Yorkshire Dales lamb — properly grass-fed, hung for flavour. Any decent gastropub will source locally. The Stone House in Hawes does it particularly well.
Yorkshire pudding wraps — a recent invention where the pud becomes a burrito-style container for roast dinner fillings. The Buck Inn at Malham does a good one. Ridiculous and delicious.
Timothy Taylor's Landlord — the local ale, brewed in Keighley. Available in most pubs. Proper bitter, not the over-hopped nonsense that passes for craft beer these days.
Black Sheep Best Bitter — brewed in Masham, available everywhere. Slightly sweeter than Landlord, very drinkable.
Parkin — a ginger cake made with oatmeal and treacle. Traditional in Yorkshire, especially in autumn. Hard to find in summer but worth asking.

The Last Word

I've been coming to the Dales for seven years now. I've walked every peak, swum in every river pool, drunk in most of the pubs. What keeps me returning isn't the checklist of sights — it's the feeling of being somewhere that hasn't been smoothed out for visitors.

The Dales is still a working landscape. Farmers still cut those hay meadows by hand where the slopes are too steep for machines. Sheep still wander the roads. The pubs still serve locals, not just tourists. There's grit here, and damp, and the occasional day when the cloud sits at 200 metres and you walk in grey nothingness.

But then the sun breaks through, and you're on a limestone ridge with views across three counties, and you understand why people have been walking these fells for centuries.

Come prepared. Come curious. Don't come with an itinerary.

Sophie Brennan writes about food, history, and the places where they meet. She's based in Manchester when not walking uphill somewhere.

Last Updated: March 2026