Simon’s Seat is a 485m peak in the Yorkshire Dales, set on private land in the Bolton Abbey estate. I really love this walk as there is a bit of everything. The route is just over 13km and took us around 4 hours, including stopping for a dip, coffee and faffing around with my new camera (3 hours moving time).
Parking:
Parking is one of the things that can get me quite stressed before a walk, so I always try and plan my routes knowing exactly where I’m going to park. There is free parking available at Barden bridge, though it fills up pretty quickly, especially at weekends. During the summer there is usually an ice cream parked up, which is perfect for a post hike treat.
The Route:
This is a route that I have done before, back in summer. We had beautiful views from Simon’s seat, however I managed to tweak my knee on the way back down, which kind of spoilt it. Thankfully. this time my knee was fine, but sadly no views.
My dad and I had planned to get out early in the hopes of catching the sunrise, but unfortunately we didn’t quite get there early enough. We did get to see some pretty spectacular low clouds through as we were driving up towards Barden.
From the carpark you head along the river Wharfe, up towards Bolton Abbey. I love this parth through the trees, with the river down below. We managed to see so much wildlife, including deer and a heron, and the cloud just lifting off the river gave some pretty moody views. From the river, you a take a left up through the Valley of Desolation, where we managed to catch another glimpse of the deer, though I wasn’t quite quick enough with my camera to catch it.
On the way up through the valley, I stopped for a quick dip, before we ascended up into the clouds towards Simon’s seat. On a good day you can get some pretty impressive views, though on this day we were sat right in the clouds and struggled to even make out the horizon in distance.
The top of the peak is pretty exposed and there was even some frost on the ground. We took cover behind a rock to stop for a coffee, but couldn’t sit around too long as our fingers were starting to go numb. It’s a steady decent back down and then a flat walk back along the river to the car park.
You can check out the full route here.
Swim Spots:
Waterfall hunting has quickly become one of my favourite hobbies. Going for a walk and hearing the water in the distance, makes me feel like a kid at Christmas. Here in Yorkshire, I am spoilt with the amount of waterfalls and swim spots nearby.
On the way up through the Valley of Desolation, there is a pretty impressive waterfall which is marked on the route and pretty hard to miss. The water levels were quite high when I went and the waterfall was pretty powerful. The water was deep enough to fully submerge, though not really enough space or depth for a proper swim. I have been told that there is another waterfall further upstream that is better for swimming, though I haven’t yet had chance to go and check it out.
There is space on the rocks by the pool for changing, though I stupidly managed to fall off a rock backwards mid-change and from now on will always sit down to put my trousers back on. Thankfully no serious injuries, just a rather bruised coccyx.
If you’re keen to get out dipping this winter, you can check out some of my tips for swimming as the temperatures drop here.
I’m definitely going to try and get out again soon and do this route on a day when clear skies are forecast. It would be such a beautiful spot for a sunrise.
If you check out this route then do tag me in your pictures!
Happy adventuring x
Lisa Outdoors 