Dales Way

The Dales Way is generally an easy walk with little in the way of steep gradients and long sections of it follow river banks. Although I have never actually walked the Dales Way as an entity, I have covered most of it, especially the Yorkshire Dales sections, as parts of other walks over the years. It is a very popular walk.

The official Dales Way route runs from Ilkley in West Yorkshire to the shore of Lake Windermere at Bowness, in Cumbria. The overall length is about 80 miles. Various feeder routes link into it from West and North Yorkshire but Ilkley is a good place to start because it is easily accessible by bus, train and car from West and North Yorkshire.

During the course of the walk, you pass through some fine Yorkshire Dales country, as it travels through Wharfedale, Dentdale and skirts the edge of Blea Moor with views of the famous Ribblehead Viaduct.

How long you spend on the walk really depends on whether you want a "route march" or a more civilised approach but I would say you need to spend 5/7 days on the task, to get the most enjoyment out of it. Because of its popularity, you should plan your accommodation well in advance.

Navigation is relatively easy as it is mostly well marked but to help, I have produced these Memory Map and .gpx files to download into your GPS receiver or mobile phone. Please note there are 480 waypoints, so whether your particular machine will accommodate this many depends on its memory. Most modern GPS receivers can accommodate up to 500. Click the appropriate icons below to download.

The definitive guide to the Dales Way has to be the one below by Colin Speakman. This was the original guide to the route and it is regularly updated.

There is no dedicated map from Ordnance Survey for the walk but a couple of alternatives are:

There are various other books and guides

All information on this site is given in good faith and no liability is accepted in respect of any damage, loss or injury which might result from acting on it.