Our drawing of the route, over road and path data from OpenStreetMap. It shows where the walk goes and what it goes through. It is not a survey and not a navigation aid — carry OS Explorer on the hill.
Seven miles and about four and a quarter hours up the great whaleback that dominates Wensleydale, climbing steeply out of the village to the Templar preceptory ruins and then along the scar edge to the beacon cairn, with peaty, tussocky moor for the last mile. Start on the green at West Burton, where parking is free but limited to a dozen spaces on the verge; there is no useful bus, so arrive early. The northern edge of Penhill is a long unfenced drop of forty feet or more and in mist it is easy to walk a dog straight over it, so keep the lead on and stay back from the lip; sheep graze the moor all year with ground-nesting birds on it from March to July, the becks below the scar are the only water, and the wall crossings on the climb include two ladder stiles that a big dog will need lifting over.
A hidden gem painted by Turner: the falls tumble into a rock pool just two minutes' walk behind West Burton's village green, with free honesty-box parking. Dogs are welcome, and the walk can be extended up the Walden valley on field paths, but this is active farmland with sheep and sometimes cattle, so keep dogs under close control; several stiles and squeeze gates can defeat larger dogs. The dog-friendly Fox and Hounds sits on the green for afterwards.
Family-run village pub on one of the loveliest greens in the Dales, two minutes' walk from Cauldron Falls. Dogs are very welcome in the bar but not the dining room, and the courtyard bedrooms behind make a quiet overnight base. Honest bar food served lunchtimes and early evenings.
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