March 2026

March 2026

Saturday 14th - Grassington

A walk Lead by Peter Hitchcock

11 Miles & a several hundred ft of Ascent

Welcome to the 1^st route of the new season starting from the lovely Yorkshire Dale village of Grassington.  From the car park (with its free toilets) we descend down a short path for a quick glimpse of Linton Falls – in full flood after all the rain we’ve had this winter.  We can’t linger long as we have nearly 11 miles to go and we start eastwards along the Dales Way to just short of Hebden where we cut up North to enter Hebden Beck which is very pretty and will take us up on to the moors passing many old lead mine workings.   We peak at an old mine chimney flue at about 1200’ which will afford us a lovely 360º view if the weather is good.  Ideally, this will be our lunch spot but that will rely on the group maintaining a good walking pace thus far!

We then head westwards across the moor to another ‘iconic’ local area landmark – Bare House – before heading downhill back to the pub!  I have tried to stick to hard track wherever possible but, inevitably, there will be some unavoidable muddy sections with many streams in full flow.  So, good footwear is essential and gaiters an optional bonus.  There is not a lot of climbing as it’s the Dales but, at 11 miles, it will be a challenging season opener which WILL require a good pace throughout, particularly as it will probably be a latish start at about 1030.  Anything earlier will be a bonus but please be warned and prepared.  Thank you.

B Walk Lead by Andrew Phillips

Distance 8.5 miles approx.. Ascent 1,000ft approx..

From the car park at the National Park Visitor Centre (public toilets available,

20p voluntary donation), we will go up through the town centre and join a

single track lane – Moor Lane, which ascends for approx. 11/2 miles onto

Grassington Moor. My recce included a loop over the top of the moor through

the old lead mining area, but I have decided to omit this part in order to keep

the distance to reasonable limits.

We then descend along a track – Dukes New Road (probably named after the

Duke of Devonshire) – and cross a few small streams, before entering the

valley of Hebden Ghyll, down which runs Hebden Beck, a tributary of the River

Wharfe. The path leads down to the village of Hebden, joining the road

through the village, down into Wharfedale, where we will join the Dales Way

along the river back into Grassington, taking in the sight of Linton Falls on the

way. Crossing the streams mentioned above may be slightly tricky if there has

been much rain, so good footwear is desirable.8 Miles,   900ft Ascent

C Walk  .....