Dales Way

Dales Way
Waymark and logo
Length78.5 miles (126.3 km)[1]
LocationNorthern England
EstablishedApril 1969; 55 years ago (1969-04)
TrailheadsIlkley
Bowness-on-Windermere
UseHiking
Elevation gain/loss7,880 ft (2,402 m)
Highest pointCam High Road, 1,705 ft (520 m)
Maintained byDales Way Association
Websitewww.dalesway.org Edit this at Wikidata
Trail map

 Bowness-on-Windermere
Staveley
Sedbergh
Cowgill
Cam High Road
Buckden
Burnsall
Ilkley
Bradford, Leeds, Harrogate

The Dales Way is an 78.5-mile (126.3 km) long-distance footpath in Northern England, from (south-east to north-west) Ilkley, West Yorkshire, to Bowness-on-Windermere, Cumbria.[2][3][4] This walk was initially devised by the West Riding Ramblers' Association with the 'leading lights' being Colin Speakman and Tom Wilcock (Footpath Secretary).[5] The route was announced to the public in 1968 and the first recorded crossing was by a group of Bradford Grammar School Venture Scouts in 1969.

The Dales Way passes through two National Parks: the Yorkshire Dales National Park and the Lake District National Park. The first half of the walk follows the River Wharfe upstream to the main watershed of Northern England at Ribblehead.[6] The second half follows several river valleys (Dentdale, River Mint, River Kent) to descend to the shores of Windermere.

  1. ^ Speakman, Colin (2011) [1970]. The Dales Way. Skyware (original publisher: Dalesman Publishing). p. 6. ISBN 978-0-9559987-2-0.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference dales way was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference ldwa was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference cicerone was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Speakman 2011, pp. 13–16.
  6. ^ Plowright, A. (1998). A Glimpse of Yorkshire. Moorfield Press. pp. 73–82. ISBN 0-9530-11-92-5.