Route diagram, drawn from the recorded track — for the shape of the walk, not for navigation. Carry OS Explorer on the hill.
Five gentle miles in two and a half hours along the floor of Langstrothdale on the Dales Way, past Hubberholme's Norman church to the Bronze Age stone circle at Yockenthwaite, returning on the opposite bank of the infant Wharfe. Almost flat, on grass and stone paths, and one of the few upper Wharfedale walks that stays sensible on a hot day; start at the National Park car park in Buckden. The Wharfe here is broad, shallow and clean with gravel bars every few hundred yards, which makes it the best dog-swimming water in the dale, but the fields are grazed by sheep the whole way and the wall crossings are Dales stone stiles, several of them tight squeezes without a dog gate.
Seven miles and some 500 metres of ascent, five hours or so, up Buckden Rake and the old lead mine track to the 702-metre summit, south along the wall to the Polish airmen's memorial cross, then down to Starbotton and back on the Dales Way. The top is peat bog and can be genuinely wet and featureless in cloud; start from the National Park car park in Buckden, the last reliable parking in upper Wharfedale. This is fell walking with sheep on every part of it, and the summit plateau is open access land where dogs must be on a short lead from 1 March to 31 July; there is no water on the ridge at all, so carry your own for the dog and top up at Buckden Beck on the way up.
A handsome Georgian inn sitting below Buckden Pike at the head of Wharfedale, straight on the Dales Way and Lady Anne's Way. Dogs are welcome throughout the pub, from the contemporary bar to the snug seating, provided they stay on a lead. Dog-friendly rooms must be booked ahead and carry a charge.
One short email when we add places or a council changes its beach rules. No noise, easy out.
NO SPAM · UNSUBSCRIBE ANY TIME · WE NEVER SELL THE LIST
Wagfinder Members · Coming soon
NO PAYMENT NOW · FIRST IN WHEN DOORS OPEN · EASY OUT