The Dales Way is an 82 mile walking route through the Yorkshire Dales in England, beginning in Ilkley, West Yorkshire and finishing in Bowness-on-Windermere, Cumbria. Most of the route lies within the Yorkshire Dales National Park, an area of outstanding natural beauty with much diversity in plant and animal life. The terrain is gentle, with good surfaces underfoot. The route follows rivers much of the way, but includes as well moorland and limestone "pavement" providing dramatic views of the surrounding hills and valleys. The Dales Way walker passes through Wharfedale, Langstrohdale, over Oughtershaw Moss, down into Dentdale and the Lune Valley, and finally meets the Rivers Mint, Sprint, and Kent before descending to the town of Bowness on Lake Windermere. There are many pleasures to be found in these open spaces, but the route also takes in the charming Dales villages of Burnsall, Dent, Grassington, and Kettlewell (Appletreewick, Starbotton, and Buckden are accessible by way of slight diversions), as well as many points of interest such as Bolton Priory and St. Michael's church at Hubberholme. Friendly pubs are another enjoyable feature of the walk, and excellent accommodation is available throughout. We first walked the Dales Way in 2000, and it was a pleasure to return.

Waymarking along the route is excellent, though anyone contemplating the walk should plan to closely follow an Ordnance Survey map and one of several guidebooks describing the route (we carried two: "The Dales Way" by Anthony Burton, which includes relevant sections from the OS 1:25000 maps, and the "Dales Way Route Guide" by Athur Gemmell and Colin Speakman). One should not assume that the route can be followed exclusively by waymarks. That said, one of the pleasures of a long distance walk is the satisfaction of completing a journey by successfully navigating one's way from beginning to end. (Britain's oustanding Ordnance Survey maps make such journeys on foot a special pleasure.)

Walkers are advised to book their accommodation well in advance, since several stopping points along the way have very limited choice. We recommend that walkers obtain the "Dales Way Handbook" by joining the Dales Way Association (send a cheque for £4 to David Smith, Hon. Membership Secretary, the Dales Way Association, Dalegarth, Moorfield Road, Ilkley, West Yorkshire LS29 8BL; for further details, send an email to DavidSmith@dalegarth4.freeserve.co.uk). This fee covers one year's membership in the association, which includes the handbook and quarterly newsletters. The handbook contains invaluable details of route changes, accommodation, services, transport, and other relevant information for those planning the walk. (To support the association's excellent work maintaining and promoting the route, we have retained our membership since planning our walk of the Dales Way in 2000, and encourage others to do so as well given the modest cost.)

Simon Pitts of Spotlight Guides has created a very useful internet service for those planning to walk the Dales Way: www.thedalesway.co.uk. This site includes an accommodation booking service, as well as thorough information for those who wish to plan their walk independently. (The site also includes links to and services for several other long distance walking routes.)

Mike Schofield of Brigantes Walking Holidays offers a door-to-door baggage transport service for walkers, which enables much more comfortable walking with only a light daypack. Brigantes also offers an accommodation booking service. We were very pleased with their baggage transport service, and recommend Brigantes highly.

For another personal account of the Dales Way, see Jennifer Ward's webpage.

To view a photo diary of our walk, click on each day of the journey below. (Also see our account of the West Highland Way, which we walked after completing the Dales Way.)
 

Day 1 (Ilkley to Burnsall, 13 miles)
Day 2 (Burnsall to Kettlewell, 11 miles)
Day 3 (Kettlewell to Cam Houses, 14 miles)
Day 4 (Cam Houses to Dent, 13 miles)
Day 5 (Dent to Firbank, 10 miles)
Day 6 (Firbank to Staveley, 15 miles)
Day 7 (Staveley to Bowness, 6 miles)

Write to us:  (gowalk@pacbell.net)