Selside, Alum Pot and Birkwith from Horton

Nine and a half miles and about four and three quarter hours on the green lanes of upper Ribblesdale, using the Pennine Bridleway north to Selside and the Ribble Way back past High and Low Birkwith; the tracks are firm but the linking field paths hold water well into summer. Start from the Horton-in-Ribblesdale car park, or arrive by train - Horton station is on the Settle to Carlisle line and the walk begins at the level crossing. These are working farms with sheep in every field so the lead is not optional, and Alum Pot deserves particular care - it is an enormous open shaft inside a walled enclosure that a loose dog can walk straight into; the Ribble gives easy drinking and a shallow paddle near Birkwith, and most of the route is gated rather than stiled, though two stepped wall stiles near Selside are awkward for a heavy dog.