Soak up the views across Wensleydale and follow in the footsteps of James Herriot with a visit to ‘The Drovers’. Gaze at the wonder of Hardraw Force, England highest single drop waterfall.
Table of Contents
The Route
- what3words for start point: ///admiringly.boating.neatly
- Start / Finish Point: Hawes National Park Visitor Centre, Burtersett Rd, Hawes DL8 3NT
- Distance: 4.25 Miles
GPX Route Map
Download file for GPSWalk Description
From the car park take the path to the right of the toilet block to the bridge over the railway. Turn right at the road over the bridge.
At the junction on your left (signed industrial estate) take the footpath signed Pennine Way, Hardraw. Follow the stone slab path.
Continue on the road to Haylands Bridge. After 100m, take the footpath on the right signed Sedbusk. Note this is the point to which you will return later in the walk.
Follow the footpath over a packhorse bridge. Bear right, through a stile, across a field to a gated stile. Diagonally right is a stile signed Sedbusk. Follow the path leading straight up across the field, through a wall stile and across and up a steep hill, keeping the wiggly wall on your left. Leave the field onto a lane, take the path across the lane and walk diagonally across the field to the wall stile.
This path leads, in a straight line, across several fields via wall stiles. Go through the farmyard and carry on along the tarmac track ahead. This meets a road. Turn left down the road for 30m then take the drive on the right signed Simonstone Hotel.
Before the hotel entrance there is a stile with a wooden gate on the left with a footpath marker. Go through this stile, follow the path towards a farm ahead.
At West House Farm follow the path past the front of the house, through a gate, and around the far side of the house. Follow the stepped and paved path steeply downhill towards Hardraw hamlet,at the foot of the hill.
At the bottom go through the gate and emerge next to the Green Dragon pub – The Drovers in All Creatures Great and Small.
To reach the waterfall, walk behind the pub via the café entrance.(fee payable) Take the marked paths up both sides of the river to get the different views of Hardraw Force made famous in the Robin Hood Prince of Thieves film.
Turn right onto the lane in front of the pub. Just before the bridge turn left. (signed Pennine Way / Hawes) Go through a kissing gate behind the houses. Follow the paved path across several fields. Where the path splits keep to the upper folk. You eventually reach a gated stile at the road. Turn right and in 200m you will reach the foot path to Sedbusk encountered earlier in the walk. Retrace your outward steps back to the car park.
