Dales Inn Way

The Dales Inn Way is a circular six-day route of 76 miles, starting and finishing in Grassington and linking around 26 traditional inns as it swings north through Wharfedale, over into Wensleydale and Swaledale, and back again. It closes as one continuous loop, so there is no need to arrange transport at the far end.

The reward is cumulative: each day drops from high ground into a different dale and a different village, and the final stage returns you to your starting point with the whole circuit behind you.

• Grassington to Buckden, 13 miles
• Buckden to Askrigg, 13 miles
• Askrigg to Reeth, 13 miles
• Reeth to West Burton, 11 miles
• West Burton to Kettlewell, 14 miles
• Kettlewell to Grassington, 12 miles

This is a very strenuous long-distance walk with substantial ascent and descent repeated day after day. Stages climb out of one valley and drop into the next, working between valley floors around 180 metres and high ground approaching 480 metres. Expect open, exposed moorland crossings with little shelter, along with wet, boggy and rough underfoot sections that slow progress considerably in poor weather.

The route is not specifically waymarked, so proper maps and the ability to use them are essential. Plan each stage in advance, note escape options off the higher ground, and treat visibility as a real factor on the moorland sections rather than an afterthought.

The walking mixes classic Dales ingredients: stone-walled lanes leaving villages such as Kettlewell, riverside and field paths on the Hubberholme to Buckden stretch, the broad water and pasture of Semer Water, and the castle and moor country in the corridor between Reeth and West Burton. Village stops with their old inns give the route its distinctive rhythm of high wild ground followed by settled dale bottoms.

Grassington is the start and finish. The Yorkshire Dales National Park car park there is the long-stay option, but long-stay spaces are limited, so arrive early or consider staying locally the night before and leaving the car for the duration of the circuit.

Much of the route follows public rights of way through working farmland with livestock, so dogs must be kept under close control at all times. Follow national park guidance on short leads during the ground-nesting bird season, and be prepared for frequent walls, gates and stiles.