The Dales Way. Terry Marsh

until a suitable disposal point can be reached; and insulating dry socks from wet boots when walking.

      Take a notebook and keep a personal record of your experiences, or a paperback book to read.

      Near Holme Park Farm (Stage 5)

      Following the Dales Way up onto the moors above Grassington (Stage 2)

Dogs

      If you take your dog with you along the Dales Way, stick to the same rules that apply to walking them on public footpaths and bridleways. Do not, however, commit your dog to consecutive days of walking if it is not already used to it; you may take your dog for a walk every day at home, but walking the Dales Way is not the same, not least because it involves longer daily distances.

      Some accommodation providers accept dogs, but many do not. So, be sure to check in advance. There are also few veterinary services along the route. Be sure to check your dog’s condition and, especially, its feet, every day. You will need to keep your dog on a lead for quite long periods, and it will be more comfortable for it to wear a harness rather than a lead attached to a collar, which can cause rubbing.

      Keep your dog under proper control. You can do this by:

       never letting it worry or attack livestock

       never taking it into a field where there are calves or lambs

       keeping it on a short lead or under close control in fields where there are farm animals

       keeping calm if cattle react aggressively and move towards you, letting the dog go and taking the shortest, safest route out of the field

       keeping it on a short lead or under close control during the bird breeding season (usually April to July) in areas such as moorland, woodland and grassland

       picking up and removing any faeces if your dog defecates in a public open place

PLANNING DAY-BY-DAY

Using this guide

      Easy walking on the way to Outrun Nook (Stage 6)

      This guide offers a full step-by-step description of the Dales Way from south to north. Each stage description is also followed by a summary of the route in reverse for those who like to go against the flow. For ease of reference, the route is divided into stages, although these are not necessarily to be taken as day stages – that is for you to decide (see ‘Suggested itineraries’, above), but please be sure not to overstretch yourself. The Dales Way is immensely pleasurable, but not when you are weary. Keep it simple; keep it within your capability.

      Each stage starts with some key information (distance, ascent, walking time) and an overview to give you a feel of the terrain and the route. There then follows a route description that highlights in bold key places and features that appear on the 1:100,000 route maps that accompany the description, and also provides additional information on sites of particular interest, with historical, archaeological, sociological and other significance. In addition, the map booklet included at the back of this guide shows the full route of the Dales Way on 1:25,000 Ordnance Survey (OS) mapping.

      The Route summary table and Trek Planner at the front of the guide should help you get an overview of the whole route and plan your own itinerary along it, taking account of the facilities available. Finally, appendices provide some useful organisations’ contact details (Appendix A), details of accommodation along the route (Appendix B), and a list of both essential and supplementary reading, some or all of which will enhance your experience of the walk (Appendix C).

      Distances and height gain

      To ensure greater accuracy when giving distances, ascent and descent in the guide, detailed measurements were made using computerised mapping. Because of this, figures for distances, ascent and descent given in this edition may differ (in some cases significantly) from data given in earlier editions, which was produced by less accurate methods; any such discrepancy, however, is unlikely to cause distress to walkers accustomed to regular outings over mountain and moorland terrain. All figures have been rounded up or down since they are intended as a guide, and should only be used as such.

      Walking times

      How long it might take to walk 10 miles with a pack varies from individual to individual. Naismith’s Rule (1 hour per 3 miles, plus 1 hour for each 2000 feet of ascent) is purely a guide and needs adjustment to suit each walker’s personal abilities; not everyone can maintain Naismith’s targets over an extended day.

      For this reason, the walking times given are already an adjustment of Naismith’s Rule based on my own experience; they are intended just to give an idea of how long you may need to be walking. Of course, the times given make no allowance for any kind of stopping – photographic, refreshment or otherwise.

      Rivers

      Beside the Wharfe, near Cavendish Pavilion (Stage 1)

      Occasionally reference is made to the true right or true left bank of a stream or river; ‘right’ or ‘left’ refers to the direction of flow. So, if you are walking up the left-hand side of a river, with the river flowing towards you, then you are walking on the true right bank. Turn to face the way the river is flowing, and you’ll get the drift.

Maps

      This guide comes complete with its own 1:25,000 map booklet, and contains a separate 1:100,000 overview map, which is ideal for tracing the route.

      Should you want to explore more widely, perhaps while taking a day off, OS covers the route with three Landranger maps: numbers 97 (Kendal and Morecambe); 98 (Wensleydale and Upper Wharfedale); and 104 (Leeds, Bradford and Harrogate). These are to a scale of 1:50,000.

      To complete the Dales Way with OS Explorer maps, you will need numbers 297 (Lower Wharfedale and Washburn Valley); OL2 (Yorkshire Dales: Southern and Western areas); OL30 (Yorkshire Dales: Northern and Central areas); OL19 (Howgill Fells and Upper Eden Valley); and OL7 (The English Lakes (South-Eastern area)).

Weather

      Britain is meteorologically sandwiched between moist maritime air and dry continental air, a combination that creates large temperature variations and atmospheric instability. As a result, many (and sometimes all) weather variations can be experienced in just one day. That said, there are often prolonged periods of stable weather that make recreational walking an utter joy, and, being farther inland away from coastal influences, much of the Dales Way has an easier time of it. However, the proximity of high ground does tend to create local micro-climates at times.

      Weather forecasting has much improved in recent years, with the best forecasts on a day-to-day basis being provided by regional television channels. The Met Office has a downloadable weather app (www.metoffice.gov.uk), which is available from iPhone’s App Store (https://itunes.apple.com), and Android’s Google Play Store (https://play.google.com/store/apps). There are many very good non-Met Office apps also available for iPhones and Android devices.

Waymarking and paths

      Dales Way signpost

      The