The Dales Way: A 5 Day Hiking and Camping Trip

A multi-day hike has been on my list for quite some time. I initially had the idea to hike the Dales Way, when I decided to move to the Lake District. It seemed like a personal pilgrimage, from one home to another. I had thought about doing it alone, but kept talking myself out of it, as I found the whole idea pretty overwhelming. Thankfully, one of my closest friends fancied the challenge too, so we started making the plan a reality.

I hadn’t done a multi-day hiking trip since my DofE, back when I was in my mid teens. Even though this was quite some time ago, I’m surprised at just how little I can remember. There are a couple of blurry memories of map reading, getting lost in fog and a very heavy bag that I struggled to lift. But I’ve had a real urge over the last few years to get back out there. I find it really satisfying having everything you need on your back.

We decided to complete the Dales Way over 5 days, with the plan to camp as much as possible. We chose to do it in April, partly because it worked for us both timewise, but we also hoped the weather wouldn’t be too hot, or too cold. We had a planning session over a coffee, downloaded a route, wrote a kit list and pretty much decided to wing the rest.

This post is a little longer than my usual ones, so I’ve added some shortcuts for anyone only interested in certain bits…

1. The Route:
   1. Day 1: Ilkley – Grassington (30km)
   2. Day 2: Grassington – Oughtershaw (26km)
   3. Day 3: Oughtershaw – Dent (30km) including pub detour
   4. Day 4: Dent – Skelsmergh (32km)
   5. Day 5: Skelsmergh – Bowness (18km)
2. Camping Spots:
3. Food:
4. Packing List:
5. Additional Info and Things to Note…

The Route:

The Dales Way is a walking route in the North of England, just over 80 miles long. It’s an ideal route for first timers, as it’s well signposted and not too strenuous. It starts in West yorkshire, passes through the heart of the Yorkshire Dales National Park, into Southern Lakeland and finishes at the shores of Windermere.

The route includes a mix of different landscapes, including riverside paths, farmland, open moorland and incredible views of the Lake District fells on the final stretch. I’d highly recommend this walk, for both seasoned hikers and newbies. Though we camped, there are plenty of options for bnb’s along the route for those who aren’t so keen on a tent!

Day 1: Ilkley – Grassington (30km)

The Dales Way starts at the old bridge in Ilkley. Ilkley is where I grew up and went to school, so it’s filled with a lot of memories for me. Soph’s dad dropped us off (though there is a train station for anyone taking public transport) and my parents popped by to wave us off.

We were extremely lucky with the weather and it was a shorts and t-shirts from the off. The first day follows the River Wharfe on a pretty flat route through a variety of villages, including Addingham, Burnsall and Grassington. We hit 10km as we got to Bolton Abbey, so decided to treat ourselves to an ice-cream.

There are plenty of beautiful dipping spots all the way along the river if you’re that way inclined! We found a beautiful spot for lunch and a dip, just past Hebden Bridge.

Our ‘plan’ had been to walk around 25km/day, but we were feeling good, so decided to walk a little further than we’d originally planned. We made a pitstop in Grassington for a drink, some chips and to refill our water and then walked another few km’s to find a camp spot for the night. We cooked up our noodles, enjoyed a hot chocolate and watched the sunset. I woke in the night for a wee and was treated to a completely clear sky, full of stars.

Day 2: Grassington – Oughtershaw (26km)

We had an early start for another beautiful day along the River Wharfe. We made a morning pit stop at Kettlewell village store where we stocked up on breakfast, coffee, treats and lunch. The couple who ran it were lovely and super helpful, I’d highly recommend popping in as it’s barely even off the route.

Our feet were starting to feel it at this point, so we stopped for lunch by the river, whilst dipping our toes in to cool off. It also gave us chance to air out the tents (and our socks) in the sun. We hiked on, but Soph’s blisters were starting to get pretty bad. She battled through and as we were doing well for time, so we decided to stop again for a proper dip by a little waterfall just past Deepdale.

There were a lot of little hamlets on this section of the route, so we knew we needed to keep going to try and find somewhere a bit more remote to camp. We stumbled across the Ruskin hostel which provided a well needed rest spot in the shade, with an honesty box for snacks and drinks, as well as a water refill station. We wanted to try and stay here, however it seemed the only way of booking was online and we had no internet. Once refueled, we continued on and we were so glad we did, as that’s when we came to Nethergill Farm.

Nethergill Farm has space for camping, as well as a nature barn with facilities including toilets, wi-fi, a microwave and honesty box hot and cold drinks. The owners were so welcoming and super helpful. We had such a lovely evening and even had the energy for a couple of games of cards, before another glorious sunset.

Day 3: Oughtershaw – Dent (30km) including pub detour

Day 3 was definitely the hardest day. Soph was struggling to walk, due to her feet, and very nearly called it quits. But she decided to make a start and just see how she got on. The landscape started to change as we headed out into more open moorland. Here we ascended to the highest point of the Dales Way, on Cam High Rd, an old Roman Road where the trail intersects the Pennine Way briefly. There is a longish section following a track, but the views are you descend are pretty spectacular, with the Yorkshire 3 peaks and Ribblehead viaduct visible in the distance. At this point, we made a detour to a pub in Ribblehead, for a well needed foot rest and a hearty lunch.

We probably rested for a little too long, as the afternoon felt very long. We had our first few hours of silence as we battled into head-on winds, but soon found our mojo again and are conversations about life, the universe and everything, continued.

We had geared ourselves up for a pub tea, as we felt like we deserved it, but unfortunately the pub in Dent stopped serving food at 8, and we knew it would be past this by the time we’d set out tents up. We made do with our noodles and found a vending machine on the campsite. Loaded with haribo and minstrels, and another epic sunset, we were pretty content.

Day 4: Dent – Skelsmergh (32km)

After a bit of deliberation (concluded with the fact she could barely walk), Soph got picked up from the campsite in the morning and I headed off solo. Though I’d originally planned to do the whole route on my own, it felt a little daunting walking off by myself. One of the highlights for me for the first 3 days, was the company. I am so lucky to have a friend who I connect with so well and am on the same wavelength as. I feel there are very few people I could spend such an intense amount of time with and not once get annoyed.

I was once again treated to some glorious weather, and had to stop pretty early on to change back into my shorts and tshirt. Only a few km in, I bumped into a man that we’d briefly spoken to on day 2. He had been hiking the whole route by himself, so was keen for some company. We ended up hiking the whole day together and his wife and dog even joined us for some sections. I had been aiming for a campsite near Grayrigg, but once I got there it seemed to just be glamping site…so on I went.

Soph had offered to come and meet me once I’d decided on a campsite, but after walking much further than I’d originally planned, we agreed it would be better to head back to hers for a good nights sleep and a proper meal. She picked me up where the Dales Way crosses the A6 and headed to morrisons (which according to my mum is cheating!). A bath had never felt so good, and I was refreshed and raring to go for the last leg.

Day 5: Skelsmergh – Bowness (18km)

I got dropped back off at the layby on the A6, and the heavens opened for the final straight – thankfully, I’d been carrying my waterproofs with me the whole time. I’d swapped out my big bag for a daybag, as there was just no point carrying the extra weight when I didn’t need to.

I found this last stretch pretty difficult. I barely saw anyone else all day, and even though it was the shortest day by a long shot, it felt long. This section made me realise that I definitely don’t want to do a multi-day hike on my own. For me, a huge part of it is that connection with a friend, and sharing the experience.

There were a few points that I thought about calling it quits, but I only had a few km’s to go and knew I just wanted to see it out. Hitting the final marker was a mix of emotions. I was happy to have finished and really proud of myself, but I was absolutely gutted Soph wasn’t there with me. She did, however, pick me up at the finish, and we went for a well-deserved lunch at Fell Foot (one of our favourite National Trust spots).

This was easily both one of the best, and one of the hardest, things I’ve ever done. The physical side wasn’t bad at all (minus a few blisters), it was more the mental battle on those days when you’re struggling. We made this far more of a challenge than it needs to be by trying to do it in only 5 days, but for us, this was part of the fun!

Camping Spots:

Our plan was to camp for the whole trip, maybe stopping in a BnB one night if we fancied and felt like we needed some comfort. We’d done a little bit of research of some campsites along the route, but hadn’t made any firm plans, as we still weren’t 100% sure what distances we would be covering each day.

Grassington: The first night we found a beautiful spot to wild camp, about a half hour walk from Grassington. We wanted to find somewhere far enough out so that we weren’t on a morning dog walking route, but also somewhere that wasn’t too far from the Dales Way. We found some shelter from the breeze and were treated to a pretty epic sunset.

Oughtershaw: The second night we were flagging a little, and as the route passed through a lot of hamlets, there weren’t really any potential wild camping spots. We came across the Ruskin Hostel, but as we had no signal and there was no-one around, we couldn’t book a bed/ We then made it to Nethergill Farm, which was one of the places we’d researched before starting the hike. I’d highly recommend checking this place out, whether planning to camp there or not!

Dent: We were all for booking a BnB by the time we rolled into Dent, but unfortunately there wasn’t anything available. We ended up staying at High Laning campsite which had facilities and an out of hours vending machine, which we were very grateful for! Reception was closed when we arrived, but we pitched up and popped in in the morning to pay.

Skelsmergh: I decided to have a night of luxury and went back to Soph’s for a bath and a proper bed. However, there was a campsite just a couple of kilometers on from where I got picked up on A6, at Sprint Mill Bridge. There was no information online about it, but there was a board when I walked past the following day.

Food:

Food is one of the few things I’d change next time I do a multi-day hike. Our plan was to take porridge pots for breakfast, noodles for tea and then buy lunch out each day. This worked great for days one and two, but after that it became a tad inconvenient. We realised we definitely needed more calories than we were consuming and trying to coincide lunch time with being near somewhere we could buy it from, just didn’t really work.

We had taken plenty of snacks with us, and stocked up whenever we had the opportunity, so we definitely weren’t hungry. But more ‘proper’ meals, wouldn’t have gone a miss. We had originally looked at buying dehydrated meals, but they all just seem ridiculously expensive. It’s also a lot to spend without actually knowing if they’re going to be nice or not. If anyone has any recommendations for dehydrated meals that they’ve tried and tested, then I’d love to know!

Packing List:

Additional Info and Things to Note…

• There are a lot of public toilets along the route and I think the only ‘wild wee’ I ended up having was camping on the first night.
• Day 3 is the most remote. Every other day we were passing through small villages with amenities/shops and camping options. If you’re doing this schedule then make sure to plan ahead
• There are so many beautiful swim spots on route, this is definitely a good one to do if you enjoy your dips
• Having a pair of sandals is a life saver at the end of a long day of hiking
• We didn’t weigh our bags, so I have no idea about the total weight. There are a few things I know weren’t as lightweight as they could have been, but by the end of the second day, I could barely feel the weight of my bag.
• The 5 days in total cost me less than £100 (Camping £20, food and snacks £15, eating out £45)

If you have any questions at all about the Dales Way, the post them below or drop me a message on instagram!

Happy adventuring x