Different ways to explore the Yorkshire Dales

Forget commuter trains and unforgiving morning timetables. Here trains are much loved and celebrated. The awe-inspiring journeys are as important and dramatic as the destinations themselves. Ride on the Settle to Carlisle, Wensleydale Railway, or Embsay and Bolton Abbey Steam Railway and enjoy scenery that’s often inaccessible by road. 

Enjoy sauntering through the Nidderdale countryside with a new friend on a llama trek. Take a step back in time and travel on the Vintage Bus service. You could travel in real style, in a Morgan hired from Dales Classic Car Hire.  

Try a Trike. Not the bright red three-wheeled toddler bike variety, but a friendly silver monster driven by Jason from Yorkshire Trike Tours who will give you an in-depth and amusing commentary as you take a tour and see the Yorkshire Dales sights. 

Enjoy the wonderful whoosh feeling of freewheeling down a hill with a mountain bike from the Dales Bike Centre (they also have excellent cake!). Fed up of cycling 50 yards behind your partner? Don’t get left behind. Try a Discover Tandeming Day! 

For a different view, drift along a canal in a narrow boat, catching glimpses of another era on the 200 year old Leeds and Liverpool Canal with Pennine Cruisers, Snaygill Boats or Pennine Boat Trips of Skipton.

Get a different view

For a completely different view discover one of our show caves, or for an added taste of adventure and to learn new skills, go climbing or caving with Yorkshire Dales Guides 

Many walkers come for the challenge of walking The Three Peaks but in doing so, miss many other Dales delights. Try one of the other long distance routes, whether it's part of the Pennine Way, Coast to Coast, Lady Anne's Way, Dales High Way or Dales Way. Slightly shorter walks (50 - 70 miles) include the Herriot Way, Ribble Way and Dales Inn Way. 

You can book experienced guides through Where2walk and Yorkshire Dales Guides. Skyware Press carefully research and describe their walks such as the Dales High Way.

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Yorkshire Dales Guides

Explore each individual Yorkshire Dale

There are over 30 different Yorkshire Dales to explore. All the places on here are recommended by locals so you can get insider tips on what to see and do in Wensleydale, Swaledale & Arkengarthdale, Masham, Malhamdale, Skipton, Ribblesdale & the Yorkshire Three Peaks,  Dentdale & Sedbergh, Nidderdale and Wharfedale.

Different ways to walk

Do two things at once - meet new friends, network and enjoy the countryside on a walk with TeamWalking. Ditch the GPS in favour of the more reliable (in the Dales) compass and do a navigation course.

'The Dales 30'

Jonathan Smith of Where2Walk has put together a list of Dales' Hewitts - 'The Dales 30'. These are hills of at least 2000 feet, with a drop of 100 feet on all sides so you're certain of amazing vistas. As an added bonus, many of these are lesser-known paths so you'll have a wonderful 'King of the Castle' feeling when you reach the top. 

1.   Whernside
2.   Ingleborough
3.   Great Shunner Fell
4.   High Seat
5.   Wild Boar Fell
6.   Great Whernside
7.   Buckden Pike
8.   Pen y Ghent
9.   Great Coum
10. Swarth Fell
11. Plover Hill
12. Baugh Fell, Tarn Rigg Hill
13. The Calf
14. Lovely Seat
15. Calders
16. Great Knoutberry Hill
17. Rogan’s Seat
18. Dodd Fell Hill
19. Fountain’s Fell
20. Little Fell
21. Nine Standards Rigg
22. Simon Fell (Ingleborough)
23. Yockenthwaite Moor
24. Fell Head
25. Yarlside
26. Gragareth
27. Darnbrook Fell
28. Randygill Top
29. Drumaldrace (Wether Fell)
30. Birks Fell

"I love seeing the delight on someone's face when they're to pace on a compass bearing to find the summit of Ingleborough in the fog!" Jo Wulf, Settle Wolftracks Navigation Training & Guided Walks