Strid Wood and the Strid

The gentle riverside circuit around the ruined priory and the stepping stones over the Wharfe, the best-known short walk in the southern Dales. The estate states that well-behaved dogs are most welcome but must be kept on a lead along the Priory Trail. Water taps and dog tethering points are provided outside all three estate shops, though only assistance dogs may go inside them.

Four and a half miles and a little over two hours along both banks of the Wharfe through Strid Wood, past the notorious rock chasm of the Strid to the seventeenth-century Barden Bridge and back; the paths are broad, largely surfaced and good in winter, with a few flights of steps. Start at the Cavendish Pavilion car park, which is pay-and-display and included in the estate parking charge; the 74 bus from Ilkley and Skipton stops at Bolton Abbey. Dogs must be on a lead throughout Strid Wood to protect the ground flora, there are water taps and dog parking outside all three estate shops, and dogs are banned from Barden Moor and Barden Fell; keep every dog well back from the Strid itself, where the current has drowned people.