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.
Six miles up the Wharfe to Newton Kyme and back over higher ground on bridleways, two and three quarter hours, easy going with no steep hills, no stiles at all and one wet stretch on the riverside meadow. The easiest start is the free car park at Tadcaster bus station, and the 843 coach between Leeds and York stops in the town, so you can do this without a car. Cattle are often in the riverside fields although electric fences usually keep them off the path itself, and a cow with a calf is the one thing here worth planning around, so keep a lead handy; the Wharfe gives a dog a good drink and a swim at the gravel shallows below Newton Kyme, and the whole riverside becomes impossible when the river is in flood, which it is several times each winter.
Relaxed independent cafe at 2 Westgate in Tadcaster's brewery town centre, listed as a dog friendly cafe. It makes a civilised stop for coffee and cake after a wander along the Wharfe weir and viaduct. Tadcaster's most reliable option for refreshments with the dog in tow.
Four and a half miles one way down the Wharfe on the line of the Ainsty Bounds Walk, two hours, flat riverbank all the way with a few gates and long stretches of soft ground that never fully dry. Start at Tadcaster bridge in the middle of town and finish at Ulleskelf, which has its own station on the York to Leeds line, so a single train ticket turns this into a proper linear walk rather than a there-and-back. The washland pastures below Tadcaster are grazed by cattle all summer and calves are the real hazard on this stretch, so read every field before you unclip; the Wharfe is deep and steady with easy access at two or three gravel bars, and the whole route goes under water in winter floods, which are frequent and can last for weeks.
Three and a third miles round the brewery town and its river, out along the Wharfe to the great eleven-arch viaduct that was built for a railway that never came and now carries only walkers, then back over the fields; forty metres of ascent and about an hour and a half. Start on Bridge Street in the centre where there is free town parking, and Tadcaster is well served by the 843 and 174 buses from York and Leeds. The viaduct deck is a broad firm surface with parapets, the riverside path gives dogs a proper swim in the Wharfe from shelving gravel, and the town section is all pavement so leads on there; the meadow paths flood when the Wharfe comes up, and it comes up fast, so check the level before you commit.
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