Last minute decision to get up and go to the Yorkshire Dales the end of May 2024 to the first week in June. Our interest is mostly centered on walking the paths and enjoying the scenery. We are retired seniors who love nature. My dilemma is where to stay that would be centrally located to access numerous hikes in the area. We will rent a car so we will have transportation. I realize the National Park is a huge area but we don't want to be driving from town to town. We want to enjoy the beauty. Any suggestions? Should we stay in one town for a couple of days then move on to another area? Also, is there bus service? Walking along the coast in Wales there were "hiker buses" that picked you up at trails end and brought you back to trail head. Anything like that in the park?
From what I read on previous posts, we would fly into Manchester, take a train to York where we would rent a car and then drive, very carefully, to the park. Any recommended books or maps would be appreciated too :)
In advance, thank you for your time to answer my questions.
Posted by
Duluth 🛶
6318 posts
This thread that I started might be helpful to you. I was looking for places in both the Dales and North Yorkshire, but there are plenty of places that people recommended in the Dales here. https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/england/moving-on-to-yorkshire
Posted by
Yorkshire
1280 posts
Hi Ruthie -
Flying into Manchester makes a great deal of sense. If you haven’t visited York before, then by all means do so because it’s a magnificent place. But if you wanted to ‘speed the mail’ a bit you could also only go as far as Leeds and either rent your car from there or link to the Dales by rail, particularly if you were going to stay somewhere like Settle, which is on the southern edge of the Dales but which has both rail and bus links further into the Dales, as in the Dalesbus services (summer timetable is out back end of March/beginning of April as a general rule) or via the Dalesrail service using the Settle - Carlisle line to go up to say, Horton in Ribblesdale or Ribblehead. Of course having your own car makes you master of your own timetable and is a bit more flexible.
In my humble opinion the best walking guide to the limestone dales, which are generally speaking just north of the A65 Leeds to Kendal road, is the redoubtable Alfred Wainwright’s ‘Walks In Limestone Country’. This comprehensive little book which gives plenty of fine walks (but by no means all of them!) was last updated c2013 by the equally eccentric Chris Jesty and recently republished by The Wainwright Society - they have a shop page on their website. It might be working things out backwards but getting a copy of ‘WILC’ and consulting the Dalesbus/Dalesrail timetables (there are more services in summer than winter, so the currently available winter timetable won’t be entirely comprehensive) might give you a steer as to where you think it would be best to stay.
In addition to Settle, you might also consider Ingleton, Grassington (or further up Wharfedale, Kettlewell) or Malham. About five or so miles south of Malham is Gargrave which has rail links and, implausibly for a small town, has a Premier Inn. You’d need Dalesbus, taxi (if available) or Shanks’s Pony (by way of the Pennine Way) to get to Malham.
I hope this gives you food for thought at least. If you think I can offer further help, don’t hesitate to ask.
Ian
Posted by
Yorkshire
1212 posts
Leaving Manchester ( Lancashire) and heading to Yorkshire is something to be heartily approved of!
The above post is excellent ,the Dales are lovely ,Swaledale a particular beauty.
A few places I like
Jordas Cave
Old Hill Inn, excellent place
Coldstones Cut
The " round " of Malham ,up Gordale down the Cove.
A day walk from Thwaite up to Tan Hill for dinner maybe
The town of Richmond with its historic theatre worth a look as well
Happy travelling
Hawes has much to recommend it .
Just " out of area" not by much the stunning Teesdale
Posted by
OP
Saratoga Springs
25 posts
I didn't expect such a quick response :) Great! Thank you again. As I move forward if I have any more questions I shall ask. Your help is much appreciated.
Posted by
Lake District, England
5751 posts
At Horton in Ribblesdale station there is a lot of building work going on at the moment. The quarry is being re-opened, with a new rail link, so a new footbridge is being installed, together with a new passenger elevator/lift (implausibly for an unstaffed station). The old station building is being renovated ready for a holiday cottage to be opened in it later in the year.
The walkers special buses run on Saturdays and especially on Sundays when there are many extra buses from surrounding cities. Some bus routes only receive service on a Sunday!
New Saturday bus services may also run though as there is to be a new Saturday train (just too late for you) - the Yorkshire Dales Explorer train starting on 8th June 2024, running from Rochdale via Manchester Victoria, Bolton, Blackburn and Clitheroe to Settle, Horton-in-Ribblesdale and Ribblehead. Trains will leave Rochdale at 0752 and 1452 every Saturday, returning from Ribblehead at 1108 and 1805.
At Leeds there is a Europcar depot which is just a short taxi or bus ride from Leeds City station.
Posted by
Jacksonville, Florida
1 posts
One thing I would heartily recommend is to make your decision soon. Accommodations in the Dales fill up fast.
With that it mind, The Herriot Way is a lovely four-day walk through Wensleydale and Swaledale. That can also connect to your "hiker bus" idea, because Butt House in Keld has a Herriot Way package that includes drop-off and pick-up on each of the days.
Keld is also located at the nexus of three major walks: The Pennine Way, Wainwright's Coast to Coast, and the Herriot Way, so no shortage of beautiful paths there.
If you do decide on the Herriot Way, get Stuart Greig's guidebook.
Posted by
1 posts
Personally, I'd skip the car and take the train to Skipton, using that as a base for a few days and also maybe staying in Grassington or another village the rest of the time (that is, if accommodation is still available in Grassington). From Skipton you can take the train to Carlisle as a day trip, which is a great scenic journey...and if you time it right, you could do a walk along the way. You can also take a to bus to Malham, which is a spectacular area with lots of walks. Again, that would be a day trip.
If you stay in Grassington (or another village), there will be many walks from your doorstep. There will also be a bus on Sunday to Hawes (home of Wensleydale Creamery). The bus trip alone is great because of the scenery, and again you could do a walk in Hawes while you're there.
For walking, look into getting the OS maps app, premium subscription (https://shop.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/maps/os-maps-subscriptions/). It's GPS enabled and shows all the walking paths in the National Parks, including the Dales (it also shows them in other areas of the UK but not as obviously).
As far as rail travel, look into getting a Railcard. They're £30 and get you 1/3 off train fares. There's one called "Two Together" that can be used by the two named people when they travel together.
Posted by
OP
Saratoga Springs
25 posts
Very helpful suggestions! VERY APPRECIATIVE!!
Posted by
Lake District, England
5751 posts
The bus service from Skipton to Grassington has been significantly enhanced from this weekend, also the Upper Dale service to Buckden has been taken over by Keighley and District buses- all good news.
This is the new timetable for Grassington area buses- https://www.transdevbus.co.uk/media/feodm530/240312-72-72a-and-72b.pdf