No credit card or booking fees.
Best price guaranteed.
Carbon neutral tours.
25,000+ trip reviews, with an average rating of 4.8 out of 5.
Walk the full 78-mile route from the Yorkshire Dales to the Lake District
Stay in Inns and Farmhouses dating from the 16th and 17th Centuries
Stroll along the banks of the Rivers Wharfe, Dee, Lune and Kent
Explore charming villages, historic churches, and the ruins of Bolton Abbey
Finish at Lake Windermere and revel in views of the Langdale Pikes
Well waymarked route with no technical hillwalking required
Well waymarked route with no technical hillwalking required
This tour is not available in your region at the moment. Tell us what you're looking for, and we will find you a similar trip.
Walk through the Pennines and Lake District in the Yorkshire Dales. Welcome to the timeless beauty of the Yorkshire Dales, one of England’s purest Highland landscapes. With rolling green hills, limestone escarpments, winding valleys, and stone-built villages, this is a region where age-old traditions and stunning views remain remarkably untouched. Along the way, you’ll encounter waterfalls, Roman roads, ancient churches, abbey ruins, and cosy real ale pubs that reflect the proud heritage of the area.
This self-guided walking holiday follows the full 78-mile route of the much-loved Dales Way, a long-distance path established in 1969. Beginning in the heart of the Yorkshire Dales National Park, the trail winds west through river valleys and over stretches of open moorland, finishing in the Lake District at Bowness-on-Windermere.
The walking is mostly gentle, though some sections can be muddy after rain, and there are a few higher moorland crossings. Much of the route follows picturesque rivers such as the Wharfe, Dee, Rawthey, Lune, and Kent, where you may spot kingfishers, dippers, wagtails, and even Berwick swans. Brown trout are often seen in the clear waters.
Highlights include a scenic walk through Wharfedale, time to explore the atmospheric ruins of Bolton Abbey, and a steady ascent to the Pennine watershed at Cam Fell, which rises to 1,700 feet (518 metres). From there, the trail descends into peaceful Dentdale, continues through the historic market town of Sedbergh, and crosses gently rolling pastureland to reach Lake Windermere.
This is a rewarding route for walkers seeking a true taste of rural upland England, full of natural charm, history, and quiet beauty.
Make your own way to Ilkley. Optional walk to Cow, Calf Rocks and Ilkley Moor. Here you can find the ‘White Well’ a tiny Victorian spa, not much bigger than a luxury sized bath, popular in the days when people with pneumonia were encouraged to bathe in icy cold waters. If the flag is flying, a small teashop is also open (2.5 hr round trip). If you prefer to relax have a look around this attractive country town with its range of specialist local family shops and cafes, there is a branch of Betty’s Tea Rooms with declicious cakes and a variety of teas. There is a small history museum and next to it, All Saints Church, which is built on the site of a Roman fort, contains some Anglo-Saxon crosses dating back to the 9th century.
Accommodation: Stay in the Victorian Riverside Hotel. All facilities are ensuite and rooms come equipped with satellite TV. This is a pub hotel and does great food throughout the day and there is a separate restaurant area away from the bar. The picturesque setting, with river views and rowing in the summer months, make this an ideal place to start our tour.
Discover our top tours similar to The Dales Way that you might like.
Accommodation and bag transfer worked seamlessly. Loved the Guibo travel app concept but it has some technical issues that need sorting out.
It was good initially, but was not that helpful for a specific trip.
We recently completed 6 days of walking along the Dale's Way path in the Yorkshire Dales area of Great Britain and they did a brilliant job making all the arrangements. There were a few glitches with the mobile App that was set up for our trip but with the map backups there was no real issue. The accommodations were all good to great, and it should be noted that if you don't heed their advice and book a table for dinner in certain restaurants, there won't be a table available. They did everything except guarantee the weather. Also note that if you're booked into the Winderemere Park Hotel in Windermere at the end of the Dales Way walk, it is a fair climb up the hill from Bowness, but there is a regular bus route that runs along the road. That would have been better than another uphill walk, and good information to have. All-in-all, a great trip and we were extremely happy with both Walkers' Britain & Europe, and ourselves for making the trip.
We had a great walk! The Dales Way is much more boggy and muddy than we expected, but overall we loved the adventure!
A wonderful walk through the British countryside with glorious views. We loved it.
