Independent Trails: Fact File

Independent Trails: Fact File.DW2

Yorkshire Dales - Dales Way

Trail Facts

Total distance: 78 miles (125km)
Duration: 8 nights, 7 days walking
Minimum/maximum daily distances: 9 miles (14.5km)/13 miles (21km)
Waymarking: The trail is waymarked with Dales Way symbols and is very easy to follow.
Season: March to October
Starting point of holiday: Ilkley
End of holiday: Windermere
Code: DW2

Itinerary

Day 1: Travel to Ilkley, where your first nights accommodation has been booked.

Day 2: Ilkley to Burnsall. 12 miles (19km)

Day 3: Burnsall to Kettlewell. 10 miles (16km).

Day 4: Kettlewell to Cam Houses. 12 miles (20km).

Day 5: Cam Houses to Lea Yat. 9 miles (14.5km).

Day 6: Lea Yat to Sedbergh. 10 miles (16km).

Day 7: Sedbergh to Grayrigg. 12 miles (19km).

Day 8: Grayrigg to Windermere. 13 miles (21km).

Day 9: Depart from Windermere after breakfast.

Extra nights/Rest days

Burnsall has an idyllic setting; heather covered hills look down upon a village green complete with maypole bordering the River Wharfe, a sturdy bridge with massive breakwaters, an inn, church, school and ancient mullioned windowed cottages. St Wilfrid's church has many fascinating features; a tapsel gate - a lychgate with a revolving 'turnstile' entrance, a medieval Adoration of the Magi, a Norman inscribed font and Viking 'hog-backed' gravestones. The school next door was one of the countries earliest grammar schools. Kettlewell is a good choice for a rest day. It is an attractive village, with miners' cottages lining the banks of the stream trickling through the village, a church, shops and no less than three inns reflecting its former importance as a river crossing on the old Wharfedale coach road. If you prefer somewhere quieter, consider Cam Houses. Many people have an extra day in Sedbergh, it is a very pleasant market town. Windermere at the end of the trail is a good choice for an extra night if you would like to explore the southern Lake District.

What's included

8 nights accommodation in en-suite rooms with private bathrooms (where available) in selected hotels, inns and guesthouses and farmhouse B&B's.
Full English breakfast.
Door to door luggage transfer along the trail.
A set of maps with the route marked on and a guidebook describing the trail.
An information pack containing an itinerary, detailed instructions on how to find your accommodation each night, town plans, information about facilities and places of interest along the trail and a kit list.
Detailed travel instructions on how to get to the start of your holiday and back from the end of it.
Emergency assistance

Travel Information

Detailed instructions on how to get to the start of the holiday and back from the end of it are sent to you on booking. A summary is given below.

Most convenient major city and International airports: Manchester. There is a regular train service from Manchester Airport to Ilkley (2 hours 20 minutes).

Outward journey from London to Ilkley: There is a fast and frequent service from London Kings Cross to Ilkley (3 ½ hours).

Return journey to London at the end of the holiday: Train from Windermere to London Kings Cross (5 ½ hours).