Dales High Way

The Dales High Way is a hillwalkers paradise. Stretching 94 miles from Saltaire in West Yorkshire to Appleby in Cumbria, the High Way, as the name suggests, follows the glorious high ground over the West Yorkshire Moors, the Dales limestone country, and the Howgill Fells.

The route begins in the village of Saltaire, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. In the mid-19th century, on the banks of the River Aire, textile manufacturer Sir Titus Salt built not only his woolen mill, but also a village; with houses for his workers, and bath houses, a hospital, an institute for recreation and education, a school for the workers children and even a concert hall. Saltaire is a fascinating place worthy of thorough exploration.

The High Way itself could be described as having three quite differing landscapes. The first of these being the peaty, heather-clad moors that continue pretty much to fringes of Malhamdale. Your introduction to these is Rombalds Moor, a collective name for a number of local moors named according to the nearest town, such as Burley, Bingley and most famous of them all, Ilkley Moor.

On reaching Malhamdale you enter classic Dales limestone country, where there is almost as much going on beneath the ground as there is above it. Few places demand an additional day as much as Malham does. A day exploring Janet’s Foss, Gordale Scar and Malham Tarn is a day well spent. The Dales also offers up some of the most challenging terrain on the High Way, including the crossing of the mighty Ingleborough and the temptation of climbing Yorkshire’s highest peak, Whernside.

The final phase of the walk involves a traverse of the entire Howgill range in a tremendous six mile ridge walk. The imposing Howgills are a series of steep sided, round topped, grassy hills that fold smoothly into one another. The reward for your efforts are far reaching views taking in the likes of the Mallerstang-Garsdale Fells, the Yorkshire Three Peaks, the Lakeland Fells and the North Pennines. Once off the tops all that remains is a celebratory walk through the beautiful Cumbrian countryside, and with the hard work behind you, a chance to reflect on all that you’ve achieved and enjoyed on the incredible Dales High Way.

Our Holidays

The official start of the Dales High Way is in the village of Saltaire, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Your first night accommodation will be in the adjoining town of Shipley and you’ll walk the short distance to the start of the trail.

We offer 3 holidays on the Dales High Way. Firstly we have the full route, a magnificent 94 mile journey across the West Yorkshire Moors, on through the Dales and over the Howgills in 6, 8 or 9 days. We also cover the route with 2 shorter holidays; a 38 mile Ilkley Moor and Malhamdale walk from Saltaire to Settle over 4 days, as well as a 56 mile Ingleborough and the Howgills walk from Settle to Appleby, over 4 slightly more challenging days.

Please bear in mind that the distances each day are trail distances only. They do not take into account walking to your accommodation. On some days the accommodation might be on or close to the trail but on other days you may need to walk one or two miles to get to your overnight stop.

Our colleague Shelley has walked the Dales High Way. Read Shelley’s blog The Dales High Way – An Absolute Corker!