Dales High Way

A point-to-point long-distance walk of 90 miles (145 km) one way, running north from Victoria Square, by the Four Lions outside Victoria Hall in Saltaire, to the Moot Hall at the bottom of Boroughgate in Appleby-in-Westmorland. It is a high-level line rather than a valley one, with over 13,900 ft of total ascent and a high point around 718 m. Only the main route is described here, without the bad-weather alternatives or optional summit variants.

The walk divides naturally into six stages:

• Saltaire to Skipton, about 18 miles over Rombalds Moor
• Skipton to Settle, about 19 miles into limestone country around Malhamdale
• Settle to the Hill Inn at Chapel-le-Dale, about 14 miles crossing the River Ribble and climbing Ingleborough
• Chapel-le-Dale to Sedbergh, about 15 miles skirting Whernside
• Sedbergh to Newbiggin-on-Lune, about 11 miles across the Howgill Fells
• Newbiggin-on-Lune to Appleby, about 13 miles past Sunbiggin Tarn and down into the Eden valley

Most walkers take six days, and the stages above are the standard split. Five to nine days all work, and stretching to seven or more takes the sting out of the long second day and the two big climbing days in the middle. A three-day version exists but is extremely tough and not a sensible first acquaintance with the line.

Expect challenging moorland walking. Higher ground is often rocky or boggy, particularly in the Howgills, and long open stretches are exposed with little shelter when visibility drops. Waymarking is deliberately minimal, and some markers were removed where the line shares the Pennine Bridleway, so confident navigation with an up-to-date guide and map is needed rather than optional. The payoff is sustained height and variety: gritstone moor, pavements and scars of limestone country, the whaleback profile of Ingleborough and Whernside, then the smooth grassy ridges of the Howgills before the drop into farmland at Appleby.

Both ends are town centres rather than remote trailheads, which keeps logistics simple; the start is a short walk from Victoria Road in Saltaire and the finish is on Appleby's main street. Parking at either end means using town parking, so many walkers travel in by train instead. The durable advantage is the Settle-Carlisle railway, which serves both Appleby and Settle and gives a straightforward way to return to the middle of the route or to break the walk into separate trips. For a gentler, lower-level alternative through the same region, the valley-based Dales Way offers riverside miles and far less climbing.

Dogs are allowed on public rights of way along the route. Keep them under close control around livestock, and on a short lead from 1 March to 31 July, when ground-nesting birds and lambs are about. Much of the walk crosses working farmland and open fell, so gates, walls and grazing sheep are constant company.