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Yorkshire Dales Walking: Wensleydale - Short Break

Classic Dales scenery
 
In the heart of the Yorkshire Dales, Wensleydale offers scenery typical of this magnificent national park, and makes a great choice for a short walking break. The self-guided routes take you past a formidable castle and several waterfalls, and there’s also the option to ride on the Settle-Carlisle railway.
Price from
£780pp
Yorkshire Dales Walking: Wensleydale - Short Break. 4 nights
Price from
£780pp
+44 (0)1653 617001 Call now
Price from
£780pp
Yorkshire Dales Walking: Wensleydale - Short Break. 4 nights
Price from
£780pp
+44 (0)1653 617001 Call now
 

Holiday information

 

A walking break in the Yorkshire Dales

Synonymous with its mild, crumbly cheese, Wensleydale offers everything you would expect of the Yorkshire Dales, and more – besides the traditional stone villages, the verdant hills criss-crossed with drystone walls, and the wide-open views, there’s an impressive 12th-century castle and several mesmerising waterfalls.
With landscapes such as these, it goes without saying that the walking is scenic and rewarding, yet it is not overly demanding. A real highlight is the time that you spend in Sedbusk – not only is the Stone House Hotel a wonderful place to stay, but you also have the chance to enjoy an outing on the iconic Settle-Carlisle railway, a memorable finale.
 
Images courtesy of Andrew's Walks (© AW)
 
Gallery

 

Itinerary

The key to Inntravel holidays is flexibility. You can start on any day of the week, and are free to add extra nights.
  • The average maximum daytime temperatures and monthly rainfall relate to the nearest weather station and are intended as a guide only.

    You should always be prepared for wet weather, whichever month you are travelling.
    Average temperatures and rainfall
      Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
    °C 5 6 8 10 13 16 17 17 15 12 8 6
    mm 124 99 87 77 78 83 86 98 78 104 102 125
  • Arrival in Aysgarth
    Night 1: at the Aysgarth Falls Hotel (the first of two nights here).
    As your first night’s accommodation is on the day of travel, Day 1 is your first day of walking.
  • Choice of walks from Aysgarth: 12 or 12.5km (7.5 or 8 miles)

    Bolton Castle: 12.5km (8 miles), 4.5hrs; ascent/descent 270m
    You will probably have wandered down to Aysgarth’s famous three-step falls as soon as you arrived yesterday, but in case you didn’t, this walk starts out past the tumbling falls before rising towards the looming presence of Bolton Castle, one-time prison of Mary, Queen of Scots. From the 12th-century castle, you continue across green, open countryside so typical of the Dales then, after crossing a stream, descend once more back towards Aysgarth.

    Cauldron Falls & Penhill Preceptory: 12km (7.5 miles), 4.5hrs; ascent/descent 375m
    This route passes through the delightful little village of West Burton (twice), home to Cauldron Falls, a popular beauty spot once sketched by Turner. From here you steadily ascend up the valley side and around to the site of Penhill Preceptory, once a Knights Templar monastery, before climbing again to traverse the high moorside above West Burton. There are some fairly challenging climbs and a steep descent on this route, but they are worth it for the views on a clear day.
    Bolton Castle
    Cauldron Falls
    Bolton Castle: 12.5km
    Cauldron Falls and Penhill Preceptory: 12km
  • Aysgarth to Sedbusk: 15.5km (9.5 miles), 5.5hrs; ascent 260m/descent 215m
    Today’s route follows the Herriot Way, named after the famous Yorkshire vet (whose real name was Alf Wight). The River Ure is your companion for much of the route as you head westwards through Wensleydale, passing through the typical stone-built village of Askrigg (where many scenes from the 1980s series of All Creatures Great and Small were filmed) and its waterfalls. Your destination is Sedbusk and the Stone House Hotel.
    En route to Sedbusk
    Aysgarth to Sedbusk: 15.5km
  • Choice of walks from Sedbusk: 10 or 12km (6 or 7.5 miles)

    The Settle-Carlisle Railway & a walk on the Craven Fault: 10km (6 miles), 4hrs; ascent/descent 340m
    After a short bus journey to Garsdale railway station, you enjoy a ride on the Settle-Carlisle railway, perhaps the most scenic railway in England. One of the highlights of the route is the crossing of the Ribblehead Viaduct, a 400-metre-long structure which rises more than 30 metres above the valley floor, and boasts no fewer than 24 arches. Once in Settle, we recommend exploring this interesting market town, and following our walk up and around the surrounding limestone hills with their caves and waterfalls. (Pay locally for all bus and rail journeys)

    Hawes & waterfalls: 12km (7.5 miles), 4.5hrs; ascent/descent 205m
    This gentle route from the door of your hotel starts with a visit to Hardraw Force – England’s largest single-drop waterfall. From here, you follow the Pennine Way across verdant pastureland to Hawes, a quintessential Dales market town that is home not only to the Dales Countryside Museum but also to the Wensleydale Creamery. Rather than heading straight back to Sedbusk, our route continues south-westwards to one final attraction, Aysgill Force.
    Craven Fault walk
    En route to Hawes
    Craven Fault: 10km
    Hawes and waterfalls: 12km
 

Accommodation

You stay in two welcoming country hotels.
 

Extend your stay

 
Prices & travel options
All prices are in £ sterling (GBP). If you'd like to see what they equate to in your currency, use the converter. For general information on pricing, see the 'your holiday price explained' page.
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  • 4 nights: 01 March 2025 - 31 October 2025

    Start any day | End by latest date(s) shown above

    Starting Price Single room
    1 - 20 Mar 2025 £780 £185
    21 Mar - 10 Apr 2025 £845 £220
    11 - 30 Apr 2025 £815 £185
    1 - 10 May 2025 £920 £310
    11 May - 31 Jul 2025 £865 £245
    1 Aug - 27 Oct 2025 £825 £235
    3rd & 4th person discount -£52
    Single traveller supplement £52
    Includes accommodation, meals and services integral to the holiday as described, plus walking notes and maps, and any connecting travel detailed below.

    Included travel: transfer Sedbusk-Aysgarth (if driving)

    Please note: dogs are not permitted on Inntravel holidays

  • Room upgrades (£ per person per night)

    Aysgarth Falls Hotel, Near Aysgarth
    Deluxe double: 01 Mar - 30 Apr 2025 £26
    Deluxe double: 01 May - 31 Oct 2025 £31
    Superior double: 01 Mar - 31 Oct 2025 £16
    Stone House Hotel, Sedbusk
    'Conservatory': 01 Mar - 31 Oct 2025 £34
    'Courtyard' double: 01 Mar - 31 Oct 2025 £42
    Superior: 01 Mar - 31 Oct 2025 £30

    Extra nights (£ per person per night) in a double or single room

    Aysgarth Falls Hotel, Near Aysgarth (B&B) Double room Single room
    01 Mar - 30 Apr 2025 £89 £146
    01 May - 30 Sep 2025 £105 £181
    01 Oct - 31 Oct 2025 £89 £146
    Stone House Hotel, Sedbusk (with dinner) Double room Single room
    01 Mar - 31 Oct 2025 £195 £237
  • Prices below are based on 2 people travelling together. If you are travelling solo or as a party of 3 or more and our arrangements include a taxi, please contact us for prices; additional passengers often pay less.

    Where a price range is given, the price you pay depends on your date of travel.

    Connecting travel options - via Northallerton

    Outward route Price per person Latest
    arrival time
    taxi Northallerton station to hotel (0h45) £50 flexible
    Homeward route Price per person Earliest
    departure time
    taxi hotel to Northallerton station (1h) £57 flexible

    Connecting travel options - via Oxenholme station

    Outward route
    not recommended in this direction
    Homeward route Price per person Earliest
    departure time
    taxi hotel to Oxenholme station (0h50) £48 flexible
What is included
  • 4 nights
  • 2 dinners
    1 picnic
    4 breakfasts
  • luggage transported
  • route notes and maps
  • GPS navigation
  • transfer to collect car
 
Reviews

If you've experienced this holiday first hand, why not write a review?

We are keen for as many customers as possible to review their holiday. To make it easier to do so, we include a specific review section on our post-holiday questionnaire, and this is what we publish here, unedited. Read our full review policy >

All 8 reviews
  • Mrs J Blake
    USA
    11 September 2024

    We had beautiful weather, so all our walking had great views and mostly dry footing.  Loved the hike to Ambleside and up Wensfell Pike, as well as the Old Man of Conisten - they were both well worth the effort.  I would recommend upgrading the rooms in most of the hotels as the size or the location would be improved. Food was good in most places and especially so at Rothay Garden and the Stone House hotel.

  • Chris & Glynis
    02 August 2023

    There were six of us doing this walk and we all thoroughly enjoyed it. The hotels were very comfortable and the staff friendy and helpful. The meals in both hotels were very good, especially Stone House Hotel. Aysgarth Falls Hotel had a great selection of local beers! It was good to have a choice of walks for two of the days - we will have to go back to do the ones we missed! 

  • Ms P Farrow
    London
    19 May 2023

    Loved it. Was like walking in a children's picture book. Green fields, stone cottages, lambs taking their first steps. Already want to do it again. 

  • Mr D Kitchen
    Walsall
    08 May 2023

    This was a brilliantly designed and delivered holiday by Inntravel. Everything worked like clockwork. Great hotels, wonderful guided walks with great background information. Highly reccomended - we will be back.

  • Anon
    27 April 2023

    The walks themselves were excellent and accurate throughout. The first walk via Bolton Castle was lovely with the ground nesting birds a particular highlight.

  • Tom and Caroline in North Carolina
    27 September 2022

    We have now done three Inntravel holidays and look forward to many more. The choice of areas to explore, accommodations, walking notes, general preparation, and staff assistance makes the holiday easy, predictable, and extremely enjoyable. We did have a probem with UK train strikes at the time of our travel and our two walks, which were almost back to back, had to be modified last minute. Inntravel were very quick to take care of this for us and we continued to have the most fabulous and memorable holiday.

  • Mr A Riley
    Warrington
    21 June 2022

    The walking was ideal for our group. Both hotels were set in lovely locations, the staff friendly and helpful, the food plentiful and excellent. A very good picnic was provided on one day by Aysgarth Falls Hotel. Stone House Hotel accommodation is particularly worth mentioning. We had a Conservatory Room ideal for relaxing in overlooking the gardens. Even the weather was kind to us so the holiday was perfect in every respect.

  • Mrs R Dye
    Winchester
    10 April 2022

    Accuracy and thoughtful detail of written directions are superb. Lots of useful "careful!" points to stop you going astray. These plus the map are a perfect combination.

    The quality of care at the Stone House hotel was first rate.
 

FAQs

If you have any questions relating to this or any other Inntravel holiday, our friendly travel experts will be happy to help. You might also find our General FAQs section helpful.
  • Yes, prior to going on holiday you will be able to download GPX tracks so that you can follow your route on your smartphone or dedicated GPS device if you wish. It’s entirely up to you whether or not you use them – our detailed, step-by-step route notes remain the principal means of guiding you from A to B – but we provide them as a secondary means of navigation for additional reassurance when walking.
  • Yes, absolutely. Over the years, we have arranged a great many holidays in the UK for customers living in the USA, Canada, Australia and beyond.

    If you've never travelled with us before, it's worth reading the web pages which explain how we can cater for customers who live outside the UK. The main thing to bear in mind is that our tour operator's licence doesn't allow us to book flights that originate outside the UK, and nor are we able to book rail travel in the UK, so we can't make travel arrangements for you, other than pre-arranging taxis between the local railway station and the accommodation – see the ‘prices & travel’ section for the options available.

    For practical information about travelling to the UK, see the 'what do I need to know about travelling to England, Scotland and Wales?' question.
  • Since our holidays are self-guided, we recommend calling us for a chat about your plans before making a booking, especially if it’s the first time you’ve booked with us.
    The price panel shows the supplement for a single room and also the single traveller charge (this covers (luggage) transfers and other costs which are usually shared between two people).
  • Once you’ve decided on your exact itinerary (our travel experts will be happy to offer advice), you need to provide us with your party’s details, either by phone or via our booking form. At this point we also ask you to pay a deposit so that we can secure a room for you immediately on confirming availability with the hotel(s). If it turns out that we can’t secure the accommodation for the holiday you’ve requested, or offer an acceptable alternative, we’ll refund your deposit promptly and in full. After booking your accommodation and other key elements, we'll then book your travel (or you can do so if you’re making your own arrangements) and send you a Booking Confirmation and Invoice.

    More information about the booking process >
    Information about accommodation, general practicalities and more >
    Booking conditions >
  • Yes, it’s something we insist on, even for holidays in the UK. The vast majority of holidays go smoothly, but when things go wrong, it can be expensive to put them right. Buying a new pair of walking boots after your suitcase is stolen mightn’t seem so bad, but the bill for being airlifted down from a mountain with a broken leg or flown home while still recovering from an illness or accident can incur a five or six-figure bill.

    Many insurers offer travel insurance (you can find details on our insurance page of a policy that you may like to consider if you are a UK resident), but you do need to make sure that you’re covered for medical emergencies – including falling ill with Covid-19 while on holiday – and repatriation. We also recommend that you are covered for other eventualities, such as cancellation and loss of luggage and passports.

    When you purchase a policy, be sure to check that it covers the activities you'll be doing on holiday and that it is adequate for your own individual needs.
  • You are the best judge of your child’s/children’s capabilities. We are happy to take bookings for families of older children/teenagers if they walk regularly, love the outdoors and are comfortable with the distances and ascent/descent involved. Please note that the bedrooms at most of the accommodation we use will normally only sleep a maximum of 3 people, and sometimes only 2.
  • Unfortunately not. The Inntravel team includes many dog owners, but the extra considerations – such as whether taxi firms accept dogs for transfers to the start of walks, whether routes cross private land on which dogs are not allowed, and proximity to a vet’s – would add another layer of complexity to what are already quite complex holidays.
  • As a minimum, you will need a passport to enter the UK; requirements vary according to your nationality. It is your responsibility to ensure you are in possession of the correct travel documents, with the correct validity. You’ll need to check requirements on the website of your own country’s government or that of the British government. Our essential travel information page provides links to websites where you can find out about the applicable requirements, along with general official travel advice.
     
    English is the most widely spoken of several official languages; in Wales, for example, Welsh has equal status. The currency is the British pound (Scotland issues its own bank notes, but Bank of England notes can be used in Scotland and vice versa). The UK follows Greenwich Mean Time during autumn and winter, but switches to British Summer Time (GMT + 1) from late March until late October.
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