Parking
Limited parking is available at Dent Station. The route starts at Dent railway station and ends at Ribblehead; the railway connects the two ends, so plan the return journey before setting out.
Overview
About Dent to Ribblehead Walk
Why go
- Railway landmarks and valley-to-moor variety
- Point-to-point walk with train access at both ends
Heads up
- Limited parking at Dent Station
- Road and verge walking plus exposed moorland
The walk climbs away from Dent Station, then settles onto a long stretch that follows the contours with Dentdale falling away below. It drops down Arten Gill, then continues past Dent Head and out across Blea Moor, where the landscape opens into broad, quiet moorland. The finish is the best part: the ground falls away toward Ribblehead with the Three Peaks laid out ahead and the viaduct growing larger as you approach it.
Parkwolf’s verdictThe route sequence and the payoffMap & elevation
The route
Loading the Yorkshire Dales map
Full mapElevation260–538 m
Plan your hike
Before you go
Parking
Best time to go
Safety
1 active Yorkshire Dales alert
- ClosureTemporary closures on public rights of wayAvoid the listed sections of public rights of way while their temporary closures or pedestrian prohibition are in force. - Public Bridleway No. 52 (05.Official details
The highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.
Yorkshire Dales Tour Guide
Your drive to Dent to Ribblehead Walk, narrated.
Parkwolf is a GPS audio tour guide for Yorkshire Dales National Park. As you drive, it chimes in with what’s ahead: hidden gems, upcoming stops, history, geology, and wildlife, right through your car’s speakers.
Recorded for this area
The Station Above Its Village0:00 / 0:32
“Above Cowgill is Dent railway station, England’s highest mainline station at eleven hundred and fifty feet. Dent village is about four miles away and six hundred feet lower.”
Plays on the road 1.5 km from the trailhead in the Parkwolf Yorkshire Dales Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- Why It's the Coal Road
- The Dog Who Helped Save the Line
- The Call of Two Pebbles
- The Railway's Little Chapel
- 298 audio storiesacross Yorkshire Dales’s roads, triggered by GPS as you drive
- Wildlife heatmapsfor Eurasian Otter, Atlantic Salmon, Short-eared Owl, and 13 more
- Works offlinemaps, 99 trails, 63 places, and audio download before you lose signal
- CarPlay readysimple controls built for the drive
“Fantastic app with many points of information… It’s great to just turn on while you’re driving and it gives you an audio tour of the national Park. We love it!!!!”
Trail guide
Hiking Dent to Ribblehead Walk
What kind of walk this isA point-to-point linear crossing between two railway stations, with 9.2 miles (14.7 km) one way.
A point-to-point linear crossing between two railway stations, with 9.2 miles (14.7 km) one way. You do not come back the way you came, so plan the return before you set off. A train service links the two ends, which is what makes the walk work as a day out rather than an awkward car shuttle.
Difficulty and terrainCall it moderate to moderately strenuous, around 6 out of 10.
Call it moderate to moderately strenuous, around 6 out of 10. The length and the exposure do more to tire you than any single climb. Surfaces are good throughout, on a mix of bridleway and footpath, and gradients vary rather than piling into one relentless pull. Blea Moor is open ground and feels remote in poor visibility, so navigation confidence matters more here than technical skill.
Road sectionsThere are two stretches on tarmac.
There are two stretches on tarmac. Roughly a mile of road and verge walking near Dent, and a shorter road section near Bridge End. These are country lanes rather than busy roads, but the verges are narrow in places and you need to stay alert to traffic and walk facing it where sensible.
PhotographyThe railway is the through line: engineering works, the tunnel workings at Blea Moor, and the…
The railway is the through line: engineering works, the tunnel workings at Blea Moor, and the viaduct itself as the closing shot. The descent to Ribblehead gives you the wide compositions, with the Three Peaks as backdrop. Arten Gill and the pastures and lanes of Dentdale are the intimate counterpoint earlier in the day.
Dogs and accessDogs are allowed on the public rights of way that make up the route.
Dogs are allowed on the public rights of way that make up the route. Keep them on a lead in fields with livestock, use a short lead from March through July to protect ground-nesting birds, and keep them under close control throughout. Limestone country brings its own hazards, including caves, exposed pavement and sink holes, so watch where a loose dog is heading.
Honest drawbacks, and the Whernside questionIt is a long day with a one-way logistics puzzle attached, there is no bail-out point in the…
It is a long day with a one-way logistics puzzle attached, there is no bail-out point in the middle of Blea Moor, and the tarmac sections near Dent and Bridge End are the least interesting walking of the day. The moor is genuinely exposed when the weather turns. If you want a summit, Whernside nearby is the more obvious target; our view is that this route is worth choosing instead when you would rather have a valley and railway story than a high point, and it is still a substantial day on the hill.
Wildlife
Wildlife in Yorkshire Dales
10 sightingsEurasian OtterMost seen around 7 PMSighting map
11 sightingsAtlantic SalmonMost seen around 7 AMSighting map
12 sightingsShort-eared OwlMost seen around 7 PMSighting map
22 sightingsWestern Barn OwlMost seen around 6 AMSighting map
27 sightingsTawny OwlMost seen around 7 PMSighting map
34 sightingsCommon KingfisherMost seen around 7 AMSighting mapSighting maps show where each species has been reported across Yorkshire Dales. Wildlife moves, so no sighting is guaranteed.
