Our drawing of the route — the shape of the walk, not a navigation aid. Carry OS Explorer on the hill.
Five miles and about two and three quarter hours, climbing steadily out of town on Mitchell Lane and High Hill Lane to a forty-foot waterfall hidden in a limestone gorge, then coming back on the stony Settle Loop track with Ingleborough filling the view. It starts in Settle market place, and Settle railway station on the Settle to Carlisle line is a four-minute walk away, so the whole thing is doable by train from Leeds. The walled lanes and the Loop are gated rather than stiled, which is a rare mercy for a big dog in this corner of the Dales, and Stockdale Beck gives a good drink; sheep graze every field on the route so the lead stays on, and the last few yards down into Scaleber Wood are a slippery scramble on wet limestone above a deep pool, best done without a dog attached to your wrist.
Four miles and around two and a half hours through the finest limestone amphitheatre in Craven, past Warrendale Knotts and the cave mouths of Victoria and Jubilee, with a long steep climb out of the town to start and rocky, slippery ground in places. Start from Settle market place; parking is pay-and-display and Settle station on the Settle-Carlisle line is five minutes away, which makes this one of the few Dales walks you can do properly by train. This is open access limestone grazing with sheep everywhere and short leads required from 1 March to 31 July for ground-nesting birds, there are ladder stiles over the walls that no dog can climb, and the cave entrances and scar edges are unfenced drops.
Seven and a half miles and about three and three quarter hours along the top of Giggleswick Scar, over to the hamlet of Feizor and back down the Ribble at Stackhouse, with one steep pull onto the limestone and some genuinely slippery ground where the path crosses bare rock. Start at Settle railway station on the Settle to Carlisle line, which puts the walk within reach without a car and saves the scramble for parking in the market place. Sheep are on the scar and the Feizor pastures throughout the year so the lead stays on, and there is a short and unpleasant stretch beside the A65 at Buck Haw Brow where traffic comes fast round a bend; the Ribble at Stackhouse is the payoff, with easy shingle access for a swim, but expect several tight limestone squeeze stiles above Feizor that a broad dog will have to be lifted through.
Family-run park on the banks of the River Ribble two miles north of Settle, close to Stainforth Force. Two dogs are welcome per pitch, with a securely fenced exercise field for off-lead runs and the river for a paddle; leads elsewhere on site. The on-site Knights Table restaurant welcomes well-behaved dogs too.
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