The Countryside Access Website should be checked before departing for any restrictions which may be in place on the open access land (View Open Access Walking Maps for the Upper North West Area).
Start Horton-in-Ribblesdale Station
Time 5 hours
Facilities Pubs in Horton-in-Ribblesdale, Helwith Bridge, Stainforth and Settle.
Ordnance Survey Map Outdoor Leisure 2 (the walk makes use of open access land)
A linear walk between two stations on the Settle to Carlisle line. From Horton-in-Ribblesdale station, take the footpath which goes from the southern end of the platform and follow it up hill.
After going past an English Nature board showing walks around Ingleborough, continue to a footpath junction. Go left (signposted to Austwick), cross a ladder stile and then follow a wall to another ladder stile. After crossing the stile, turn left off the footpath onto open access land and continue following the wall.
When the ground begins to drop, head for the centre of the low hill in front of you. Then, from the top of this, head towards the cairn on the next rise. Go to the right hand side of the cairn and carefully drop down to a wall and follow the edge of a quarry round to the right. At a wall corner, cross the stile and follow the wall steeply down the edge of the quarry to reach the access road. Turn right and follow this to meet a road. Turn left and follow the road for 900 metres into Helwith Bridge - the pub is an ideal stop for lunch.
Continue along the road, over the bridge to a road junction. Turn left up the road for a short distance and when the road turns left, head up the walled lane in front of you. At a track junction, take the right hand track. After the track opens out you will see a footpath sign pointing off to the left. On the right hand side is a stile, cross this and follow the path down hill into Stainforth.
At a track junction, go left, then cross the grass to stepping stones across the river. Bear left up a steep walled lane which forms part of the Pennine Bridleway.
Just before the double gates at the top end of this lane, a short detour down the footpath to your left will take you to Catrigg Foss, a very impressive waterfall.
Returning to the lane, go through the right hand gate and follow the track to another gate. Go through the gate and follow the Pennine Bridleway sign right along a grassy track. When this meets a tarmac road, turn left and follow this to another road. Turn right along this road towards the wood. At the bottom of the wood, the road turns sharply right, leave it here and continue onwards through the gate onto the Pennine Bridleway. Follow this along the hill, gradually dropping down towards Settle (getting steeper as you get closer).
Turn left at the first road, left again, right onto a cobbled street, right then immediately left to take you to the main street through Settle. Turn left along this road, then take the first road on the right to get to the station.
Copyright © Mark Butler
www.yorkshiredalesphotography.co.uk