Rest Days
Rest days can be incorporated into any walking holiday package at an additional £50.00 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. For walks outside those dates, please contact us. We provide a reduced out of season service, but still manage to meet the needs of most customers who contact us during this period.

Walk Information

The Yoredale Way is a sister walk to the Swale Way. It runs for 73 miles from Kirkby Stephen, beside the River Ure, through what used to be called Yoredale, but is now known as Wensleydale. It is a long distance walk that follows the course of the River Ure, from its source on the high fells in the Yorkshire Dales National Park above Kirkby Stephen, to the village of Boroughbridge 73 miles later.

The walk starts beside another great river, the Eden, as we leave Kirkby Stephen and climb up to the ridge above the Mallerstang valley to find the source of both the Eden and, more importantly to us, the Ure. The Way then runs through beautiful Wensleydale, one of the most famous of all the Yorkshire Dales and home to the world-renowned cheese of the same name.

An option is provided to climb out of the valley to the site of an old beacon on Penhill, and look down onto the twisting Ure below. We visit the castle of Richard III in Middleham and one of the great brewing centres of northern England in Masham, home to Theakston’s and Black Sheep.

For the majority of the Way, we are never far from the Ure as it winds though woodland and beside wide pastures, quaint villages and the parks of stately homes. In Ripon we find the modern bright lights and grand ecclesiastical architecture, side by side in a bustling city, with the Ure calmly sliding by it all. A final stretch of riverside path brings us to journey’s end in Boroughbridge, where you could turn around and follow the Swale Way back to Kirkby Stephen.

The Swale Way was originally conceived by John Brock of the Ramblers Association in 1995 and the pen and ink drawings reproduced in the route descriptions are from original artwork by Richard Collier.

The 77 mile walk follows the length of the River Swale in North Yorkshire from its joining with the River Ure near Boroughbridge to its source at the head of Swaledale in the Yorkshire Dales National Park. Along the way it passes through the historic market towns of Boroughbridge, Thirsk and Richmond, past famous battle sites and historic parkland, and travels the length of Swaledale, one of the most beautiful of all the Yorkshire Dales.

OS Explorer Maps
OL19 - Howgill Fells & Upper Eden Valley
OL30 - Yorkshire Dales - Northern & Central areas
298 - Nidderdale
299 - Ripon & Boroughbridge
302 - Northallerton & Thirsk
304 - Darlington & Richmond

Guide Books
"The Swale Way" by Stuart W. Greig - Published by Pocket Routes 

"The Yoredale Way" by Stuart W. Greig - Published by Pocket Routes 

ViewRanger Digital Maps
Digital Maps can be viewed on a modern smartphone using an appropriate ‘app’, which is usually provided as part of any map purchase. Brigantes are happy to recommend ViewRanger for all your digital mapping and mobile navigation needs.

The ViewRanger Shop provides Ordnance Survey maps for all parts of the UK, as well as the National Trail and selected Long Distance Paths. Map segments can also be purchased ad-hoc, allowing you to cover any walk you plan to take.