Buckden to Kettlewell Walk

A 4 mile / 6.4 km one-way linear walk from Buckden down Upper Wharfedale to Kettlewell, rated easy and mostly flat and level on footpaths beside the River Wharfe. Allow 1 to 2 hours, closer to two if you stop for photos or a drink.

It is not a loop. To get back to Buckden you either retrace the same route (making it a full day of around 8 miles) or catch the bus up the dale. Worth sorting your return before you set off.

• Cross from the Buckden car park over the road and the village green.
• Cross the bridge and go through a gate onto the Dales Way.
• Follow the River Wharfe through fields with the river on your left.
• Join a farm track past an old barn, then turn at a fork and keep heading south through fields.
• Pass opposite Starbotton, then on through hay meadows.
• A slight climb brings you to a gate and the main road, with a short road walk into Kettlewell village centre.

Low-level and gentle, with no real climbing, but it is still a field-path walk. Expect wet or uneven ground after rain, plenty of gates, and livestock in the fields. Boots or sturdy shoes beat trainers. The finish along the road into Kettlewell is brief but keep an eye out for traffic.

Classic dale-bottom walking: the river close at hand, historic dry-stone walls and working hay meadows. Look for kingfishers, oystercatchers, dippers and brown trout in the clear water. In the meadows, keep an eye out for eyebright, yellow rattle and meadow cranesbill.

• Start from the pay-and-display Yorkshire Dales National Park car park in Buckden (not a National Trust car park, so member parking does not apply).
• Public toilets at both Buckden and Kettlewell.
• Pubs and cafes in both villages, which makes Kettlewell a good place to finish.

The main drawback is the logistics: it is a one-way route, so you are committed to a bus or a there-and-back day. If you would rather walk a circuit from the same village, the Buckden to Starbotton hillside and river walk is a separate 5 mile circular route, which brings you back to your car without needing transport.