finish line is tremendous. A shake of the hand with your fellow competitors is usually followed by a discussion of how hard it was and which sections you ran well.
Containing some of the finest running terrain in the British Isles, the Yorkshire Dales covers an area of over 2000km2 in northern England, sandwiched between the Lake District and the Pennines. The abundance of good paths and tracks make running in the Dales an amazing experience, and one that is accessible to most of us, with a mixture of medium-sized peaks and broad open moorlands to climb and run across. This book contains what I consider to be forty of the best routes in the Dales, including runs up the iconic mountains of Whernside, Ingleborough and Pen-y-ghent, as well as routes that traverse the moors in the far north of the region. From the honeypot sites of Malham and Grassington, to runs in the Howgills (the Yorkshire Dales National Park boundary was extended in August 2016 to include the northern Howgills, among other areas), there is a route in this book to suit runners of differing abilities.
Welcome to the Yorkshire Dales
THE YORKSHIRE DALES
History and geology
The word ‘dale’ comes from the ancient Norse word ‘dalr’ meaning valley. The Yorkshire Dales National Park (YDNP) covers over 800 square miles of these valleys, taking in a section of the central Pennines from Skipton and Settle in the south to Sedbergh and Reeth in the north.
Some dales, such as the Swale, Ure, Nidd and Wharfe, flow east and empty into the North Sea, while others, such as the Ribble, Lune and Eden, flow west to the Irish Sea.
The Dales rise in areas of high gritstone moorland or mountains, with the majority cutting through deep bands of limestone created 300 million years ago from the remains of marine crustaceans that lived in shallow tropical seas; the Dales at that time was positioned south of the equator. The rocks contain rich veins of minerals and metals that were mined for centuries, bringing wealth and employment to the area.
The last ice age changed the landscape into the one we are familiar with today. Classic features such as u-shaped valleys abound, each filled with a river too small to ever have formed it. There are also characteristic features such as Malham Cove, a 300ft-high dry cove, which incredibly became a waterfall for the first time in two centuries during Storm Desmond in December 2015.
Swaledale, a typical glaciated valley
Overlying the natural geology and geomorphology of the area is the influence of mankind over the past two thousand years. There are few places in the Dales that are untouched by human activity, the whole area being criss-crossed by dry-stone walls, roads, railway lines and settlements.
Since prehistoric times, through to later Roman and Monastic periods, people have moved through the Dales developing a system of paths and tracks that are still used today, albeit for different purposes. Drove routes established in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries created trails for transporting cattle and lead from the mines throughout the area, many of which are still in use today. Swaledale also has an ancient corpse road, along which the bodies of the dead were carried to a church for burial in consecrated ground.
The Romans were among the first to develop a network of roads, linking forts and towns to aid the movement of troops as they sought to subdue the native tribes. Later, these were used to access and exploit mineral resources from the region.
During the middle ages, the great monasteries of Bolton, Rievaulx and Fountains owned vast areas of land in the Dales, which they used for sheep farming, while they also continued to build up profitable mining businesses, extracting metals (mainly lead) from deep underground.
Remains of the old lead mines at Gunnerside Gill (Route 24)
Upland farming is a common feature in the Dales, with relatively small farms keeping flocks of sheep and small herds of cattle. This has created the flower-rich hay meadow habitats of the Dales today. Traditionally, the hay was stored in stone barns that were once common across the Dales; it was kept in lofts above the byres that housed the cattle.
Most recently the Dales has become a popular tourist destination. People are drawn by the beautiful scenery and wide open spaces or are seeking the challenge of the many outdoor pursuits available in the area. TV programmes such as James Herriot’s All Creatures Great and Small and iconic events such as the Tour De France have all showcased the area.
Nesting restrictions
Most of the runs involve areas of high moorland or mountains. In the spring, these come alive with the sound of returning birds, such as the curlew, lapwing and golden plover. However, the numbers of these birds have decreased in recent years and for that reason restrictions have been introduced in some areas; between March and July runners with dogs are asked to keep them on a lead to minimise the disturbance to ground-nesting birds. Spring is also lambing time, and runners are asked to keep their dogs under close control around sheep at this time. Many grouse moors may be closed in the early autumn. For up-to-date access details visit www.yorkshiredales.org.uk.
Meadow pipit
Accommodation
The Dales contains sufficient accommodation for all tastes and budgets; camp sites, youth hostels, pubs, B&Bs, self-catering cottages and hotels are present in all the major population centres and Dales. For further details visit www.yorkshire.com and www.yorkshiredales.org.uk.
Transport
Transport in the Dales is predominantly by road. The area is bordered by the M6 to the west, the A1 and A1M to the east, the A65 and A59 to the south and the A66 to the north. The A684 crosses the middle of the Dales from west to east. Minor roads pass through all the individual dales, and there are many smaller roads crossing from one dale to another.
Various public transport options are available from the main towns into the Dales. The main bus service is the Dales Bus (www.dalesbus.org). The Rail to Trail service uses the Bentham line, which runs between Morecombe and Leeds, to access the southern Dales (www.communityraillancashire.co.uk). Additionally, there are a growing number of community bus links operating, including The Little White Bus (www.littlewhitebus.co.uk), which serves the Upper Dales; the Northern Dalesman Bus (www.dalesbus.org/northerndalesman), which covers an area from Ribblehead through Wensleydale and Swaledale to Richmond; and the Western Dales Bus (www.westerndalesbus.co.uk), which runs between Dent and the Howgills. Many of these services are seasonal and run less frequently during the winter months.
Details of public transport links are outlined in each route description. Railway access to the Dales is mainly via the Settle–Carlisle line (www.settle-carlisle.co.uk), which runs from Skipton, through Settle to Dent and Kirkby Stephen. The line offers much in the way of linear routes, allowing
