Walks in Castle Bolton
From easy city strolls to challenging trails, discover the best of Castle Bolton on foot.
Walk: Aysgarth Falls and Bolton Castle
Visit Aysgarth Falls and Bolton Castle – two of Wensleydale’s most impressive highlights – while enjoying peaceful footpaths and stunning views in between. The Route what3words for start point: ///chairs.nappy.fussy Start / Finish Point: Aysgarth Falls National Park Centre, Church Bank, Centre, Aysgarth, Leyburn DL8 3TH Distance: 7.5 Miles GPX Route Map castleboltonfromaysgarthcircularDownload Walk Description This beautiful circular walk takes in many of the highlights of mid-Wensleydale while offering quiet, peaceful paths away from the crowds in between. Start the day admiring the three separate cascades that make up the spectacular Aysgarth Falls, followed by some lovely walking through classic Dales’ pastures leading up to impressive 600-year-old Bolton Castle. You return to Aysgarth enjoying beautiful views over Wensleydale from the high moors of Bolton Parks and via the pretty village of Carperby. The Wheatsheaf Inn in Carperby provides the chance for a well-earned drink near the end of your walk, before returning across fields to Aysgarth. While not a long walk, you can easily spend all day on this route if you would like to spend some time at the waterfalls and go into Bolton Castle.
Walk the James Herriot Way
Fan of All Creatures Great and Small? Then, you'll love this walk. The walk is a 52 mile circular route starting in Aysgarth and taking in majestic sights such as Hardraw Force, Aysgarth Falls and Bolton Castle. Barns in beautiful Swaledale Route Distance: 52 miles Start location: Aysgarth, Wensleydale Finish Location: Aysgarth, Wensleydale OS Walking Map & GPX Download Our OS map below shows the full route. Under the map, you can find a GPX file download for your navigational device. herriot-way-newDownload Walk Description This walk is inspired by the walking holiday that vet and author James Herriot took with his son Jimmy around the Youth Hostels of Aysgarth, Grinton and Keld. There is no wonder Herriot loved this area so much and chose it for the location for many of his books. This 52 mile long route takes four to five days to cover and combines gentle walks through valley bottoms with energetic climbs on the skylines. It takes you through parts of Swaledale and Wensleydale, and includes big sights such as Hardraw Force, Aysgarth Falls and Bolton Castle. The 52 miles can be broken into four 13 mile days, each one ending in a village with plenty of local amenities where you're sure to get a warm Yorkshire welcome. The walk begins in the village of Aysgarth in Wensleydale where you can marvel at the spectacular Aysgarth Falls before following the River Ure to Askrigg. The village was used as the fictional Darrowby in the BBC TV series All Creatures Great and Small, based on the books by James Herriot. Just along from here you can visit the fantastic Mill Gill and Whitfield Force Waterfalls. Continue along the route to the village of Hardraw where you'll find the epic Hardraw Force Waterfall which is England's highest single drop waterfall, falling some 100ft.The route then heads to the market town of Hawes before climbing Great Shunner Fell which is the highest point in Wensleydale and commands wonderful views over Ribblesdale to the south west and Swaledale to the north. After descending the hill to Thwaite the route then takes in the village of Keld and Gunnerside Moor before passing the beautiful valley of Gunnerside Gill. Following the River Swale into Reeth. The route continues along to the inspiring 14th Century Castle Bolton passing through open moorland with it's stunning heather (in the Summer months). The final section takes you back to Aysgarth, where you'll be needing a much needed rest after a fantastic route taking in the very best of the Yorkshire Dales.
Walk: Aysgarth Falls - a miles without stiles walk
A scenic walk in the woods alongside the popular Aysgarth Falls. The Route what3words for start point: ///pigs.tripled.newsprint Start / Finish Point: Aysgarth Falls National Park Centre, Church Bank, Centre, Aysgarth, Leyburn DL8 3TH Distance: 1 Miles GPX Route Map drawaroute-11Download Walk Description The first 500m of this 1.5km footpath runs through Freeholders’ Wood and has great views of the Middle Falls. The surface here is compact aggregate and the width of the footpath is at least 100cm. All gates are fully accessible and there are benches along the route. From here, a flight of seventy steps provide access to the Lower Falls. Alternatively, the footpath continues for a further 1km along an unsurfaced grass route. A further 600m route can be followed from the start along an unsurfaced track through the woodland.
Aysgarth Falls Walk
Enjoy a woodland walk and take in the stunning Aysgarth Falls situated in the Yorkshire Dales National Park. The Route Start Point: Aysgarth Falls National Park Centre - DL8 3TH Finish Point: Aysgarth Falls National Park Centre - DL8 3TH Distance: 2 miles GPX Route Map aysgarthfallsDownload Walk Description what3words for start point: ///waddle.violinist.digitally This circular walk starts and finishes at the Aysgarth Falls National Park Visitor Centre. Starting on the north bank of the River Ure this walk takes you along the woodland trail through St Joseph's Wood before descending down towards the river with views of the falls. Based within a nature reserve there are plenty of opportunities to spot various flora and fauna with wild flowers and bluebells appearing in the spring and summer.
Walk: Wensleydale Challenge - Askrigg to Leyburn
Rise to the challenge: get dropped off at Askrigg and walk back to Leyburn. After a brief climb, the rest is fairly flat and Wensleydale at it's best. The Route what3words for start point: ///modes.officials.bangle Start Point: Askrigg Finish Point: Leyburn Distance: 13 Miles GPX Route Map wensleydalechallenge-askriggtoleyburn2Download Walk Description After an enjoyable bus journey "up dale" to Askrigg on the volunteer Little White Bus featured on Countryfile, the rest is up to you but rise to the challenge and you will follow the River Ure through Wensleydale into Leyburn Market Square with an enormous sense of achievement. It is a long but rewarding walk, however as an alternative, there is the option of jumping aboard the Wensleydale Railway in Redmire. This is just over halfway and can provide a ride back to Leyburn in comfort. The route climbs initially but gently through fields and woodland and then flattens out to contour along the hillside with spectacular views. Above Haw Bank on the right before crossing the wooden foot bridge, it is worth stepping carefully off the route to enjoy Disher Force which thunders down the steep sided gill. There is still evidence of the lead mining industry on the edge of Carperby Moor before seeing the imposing Bolton Castle ahead. The Castle has been owned by the same family since it was built in 1399 by Sir Richard Le Scrope, Lord Chancellor of England whilst Richard II was on the throne. In 1568, Mary, Queen of Scots was imprisoned there. The end for Bolton Castle came in the Civil War, when John Scrope, only a teenager at the time, held the castle for the royalist cause. Parliament besieged the castle for an entire year but in November 1645, Scrope was forced to surrender. Parliament intended to slight the castle to make it unusable in future, but the south-west tower and the west range survived almost completely intact and habitable. Below the castle walls is a medieval garden, a maze, a rose garden, herb garden, vineyard, birds of prey and a bowling green. The route takes you under Great Wegber and Wegber Scar above Carperby where James Herriot had his honeymoon. On the top of Wegber is a prominent building which is Greenhaw Hut, a bothy shelter. Following along the banks of the River Ure leads past the Ice Pond and through the Bolton Hall estate, over the attractive Lords Bridge before continuing the other side of the river into Wensley. It is easy to see how the area was affected by the floods in 2019. Wensley is a pretty village and of course, gives its name to the dale itself.