Herriot Way
52 mile circular walk around James Herriot's Yorkshire Dales

The Dales of Wensleydale and Swaledale were always very scenic and attractive, but have become renowned as a result of the popular television series, based on the books by James Herriot, “All Creatures Great and Small”, and which were about his work and exploits located in these two dales. The Herriot Way is a circular, unofficial route of 52 miles in length, in four stages of approximately 13 miles.

If you would like to walk the low route between Keld and Reeth, following the River Swale wherever possible, see this walk: Herriot Way (Low Route)

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Holiday Packages

All our Standard Itineraries include:

  • Hand-picked accommodation in B&Bs / guest houses / inns / small hotels
  • En-suite facilities where available
  • Breakfast
  • Daily baggage transfers from our own team of local drivers
  • All booking fees

We will also endeavour to include all these in any custom itinerary you wish to build for this walk.

Itin A:   4D / 5N       £535 pp *

Day 1: Aysgarth to Hawes (11.7m)
Day 2: Hawes to Keld (12.2m)
Day 3: Keld to Reeth (11.4m)
Day 4: Reeth to Aysgarth (14.1m)

 

£600 solo walkers (plus single supplements)
£535 per person
(based on group of 2 or more)

 

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Itin B:   5D / 6N       £640 pp *

Day 1: Aysgarth to Bainbridge (6.6m)
Day 2: Bainbridge to Hawes (8.3m)
Day 3: Hawes to Keld (12.2m)
Day 4: Keld to Reeth (11.4m)
Day 5: Reeth to Aysgarth (14.1m)

 

£720 solo walkers (plus single supplements)
£640 per person
(based on group of 2 or more)

 

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Itin C:   3D / 4N       £435 pp *

Day 1: Aysgarth to Keld (24.1m)
Day 2: Keld to Reeth (11.4m)
Day 3: Reeth to Aysgarth (14.1m)

 

£500 solo walkers (plus single supplements)
£435 per person
(based on group of 2 or more)

 

Get a Personal Quote

* All headline holiday prices are shown per person, based on two people sharing.

Baggage Transfer

Baggage Transfer is automatically included in the price of all our Walking Holiday packages.

These prices are for anyone planning their own holiday and just need bags moving from one stop to the next.

Itineraries A & B

£35 per person per day (single)
£16.50 per person per day (based on two people)
£12 per person per day (based on group of 3 or more)

 

Note: Baggage transfer is available in both clockwise and anti-clockwise directions

Max 17kg per bag

Itinerary C

£40 per person per day (single)
£20 per person per day (based on two people)
£14.50 per person per day (based on group of 3 or more)

 

Note: Baggage transfer is available in both clockwise and anti-clockwise directions

Max 17kg per bag

Note: If you are booking accommodation in an Airbnb, you must ensure that there will either be someone available to take collection/delivery of your bags or that they have appropriate, secure storage in the event that the proprietor is absent.

Walk Information

Rest Days
Rest days can be incorporated into any walking holiday package at an additional £70.00 per person per night

Solo Travellers
Solo travellers please contact us or use the booking form to send your proposed itinerary including dates, and we will price accordingly. Where possible, we take advantage of existing bookings from other clients to ensure you receive a cost effective service.

Alternative Itineraries
For alternative itineraries to those provided for this route, please contact us, or use the Booking Form to submit your proposed itinerary and number of participants and we will quote accordingly.

Walking Season Dates
Prices are based on the walk starting after 1st April and ending before 30th September.

Walk Information

The Herriot Way is a circular, unofficial route of 52 miles (84km) in length, in four stages of approximately 13 miles. The overall height gain is 7700 feet (2350m).

The dales of Wensleydale and Swaledale were always very scenic and attractive, but have become renowned as a result of the popular television series, based on the books by James Herriot, “All Creatures Great and Small”, and which were about his work and exploits located in these two dales.

The route starts at Aysgarth with its famous waterfalls. From here you will walk west following the River Ure, through wide meadows and following a disused railway track until turning into Askrigg. From Askrigg the route travels up the Wensleydale Valley to Hardraw Force, Englands highest single-drop waterfall and then into the market town of Hawes. From Hawes the path climbs up the side of Great Shunner Fell, following the Pennine Way and descends into Thwaite, and via the tiny hamlet of Keld. On leaving Keld the path climbs onto Gunnerside Moor, following old lead mining tracks, returning to the valley and the River Swale, and eastwards onto Reeth. The last day of the walk takes you over Grinton Moor and down into the village of Castle Bolton, with the remains of its historic castle, eventually arriving back into the village of Aysgarth. The hardest section of the walk is the day which includes Great Shunner Fell, which entails a long steady climb, not steep, and the path is generally good and paved for long sections.

The four-day holiday is relatively short, but this will enable you to decide where you would like extend your stay, or where you would like to spend more time on a future occasion

OS Explorer Maps
OL30 – Yorkshire Dales – Northern & Central areas

Guide Books
The Herriot Way” by Stuart W. Greig – Published by Pocket Routes

Mobile Digital Mapping
Digital maps can be viewed on most modern smartphones using an appropriate app, downloaded from the app store associated with your device. Brigantes recommend that whichever app you use, it should support Ordnance Survey 1:25k or 1:50k scale maps. There are many apps to choose from, but the two main providers are Ordnance Survey and Memory Map.

Each provider’s app has its own benefits, but both provide all-important offline navigation, meaning your device does not need a mobile signal to work effectively on the trail.

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Walkers' Testimonials

Have you walked this route? Please leave a review and let others know what you think.

Use the comments form below to submit your testimonial for this walk. Rest assured, we won’t display or disclose your email address! It is only required to prevent spam – and to enable you to receive notifications of any responses to your review should you select the option to do so.

9 Replies to “Herriot Way”

  1. We walked the Herriot Way last week and absolutely loved it. It was also a real joy seeing our bags sitting quietly waiting for our arrival at our different accommodation each day having been collected and delivered by Brigantes. It was a faultless service and one we couldn’t have done without. Friendly customer service when booking and although we never saw the driver, he/she provided us with a hassle free holiday. Thank you Brigantes. We will not hesitate to use your services again.

  2. So many walks in the Yorkshire Dales and Pennine, and always an absolutely perfect service from Brigantes !
    Never a worry, never a mistake, never a delay.
    Herriot’s Way is a good and easy walk, lovely to do both the high route and the low one in 5 days.

  3. The Herriot Way was our seventh walking holiday with Brigantes and as usual their service was second to none. Bags were always at our destination before we were, the accommodation was excellent and our hosts were particularly friendly and welcoming.
    If you love the Dales as we do then a walking holiday is the way to go. The Herriot Way would be a great walk for those new to this type of holiday or with limited time, being reasonably short and yet passing through some of the most beautiful scenery in England. Stuart Greig’s book and maps are clear, detailed and easy to follow. Highly recommended.

  4. Our family (2 adults, 2 teenagers) walked the Herriot Way in early July, using Brigantes as a baggage courier. Their service was excellent, and the gentleman who collected the cases each morning was punctual, friendly and professional. The walk itself was fantastic, through some of England’s most stunning countryside; the weather was kind and the pubs and B&Bs charming. Greig’s Guidebook is essential. Strongly recommended!

  5. Myself and my friend recently completed the Herriot Way and found the baggage transport service provided by Brigantes to be excellent; It greatly contributed to what was an enjoyable walk. Furthermore, the company were very easy to deal with at the booking stage. We would certainly avail of their services again.

  6. Just completed the Herriot Way in four days’ of unexpected, brilliant sunshine! Just beautiful. We booked the B&B’s ourselves, used the .pdf of Stuart Grieg’s book for the walk and Brigantes to transfer our luggage. The service from Brigantes was so easy and hassle-free and our bags were always there waiting for us when we arrived – we would highly recommend them.

  7. We absolutely loved walking The Heriot Way last weekend in the sunshine. The Dales is always beautiful but particularly so in the sunshine with the daffodils blooming. Thank you to Brigantes for an excellent service, the B&B’s were great and the baggage service worked really well. There are so many routes to choose from so I think we will be calling on your services again.

  8. Many thanks for your excellent service transporting our bags whilst we were walking the Herriot Way last week. Our bags were always delivered where & when we expected them by your drivers. We chose Brigantes because of the very friendly service & prompt replies when making our booking. We will definitely use them again without hesitation when we walk Hadrian’s Wall next year!

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