Hiking

The Yorkshire Dales is a truly special place, and we would love to share it with you on one of our guided walks! The Yorkshire Dales National Park was very recently named 'best national park in Europe' in the TripAdvisor 'Travellers choice awards' and its not hard to see why!

So what makes the Dales so remarkable? Well, lets start with its beautiful and very unique limestone scenery. A generally light coloured rock, it literally 'lights up' the Dales on a sunny day. Being easily dissolved by slightly acidic rainwater and carved out by glaciers, the result is a wonderfully sculptured landscape adorned with caves, gorges, rivers, mountains and a wide range of other amazing features such as limestone pavements.

Throw this in with its massively diverse fauna and flora (some of the rarest wildflowers in the UK are found in the Dales!), rich mining history, heritage, and sheer number of hills and valleys - no two the same, and you have a national park WORTH exploring!!!!

At Yorkshire Dales Guides, we are extremely passionate about the area we’ve come to call home, and we’d love to share the landscape, history and some of our favourite places with you! You may have a walk in mind, or would like us to provide some bespoke routes for you and your group to choose from based on your interests and ability.

From half day to multi day walks, the Three Peaks challenge, a day of ‘spot-holing’ (i.e. going to find some of the most impressive cave entrances, like Gaping Gill), a tour of the most spectacular geological features at Malham Cove and Gordale Scar, or maybe getting off the beaten track down one of the many quiet and beautiful valleys like Littondale, Dentdale and Swaledale, we’re positive we can cater for your requirements!
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Ingleborough (723m), Penyghent (694m) and Whernside (736m)…..probably the most well-known and loved of the Yorkshire Dales’ mountains, and rightly so! A walk to take in all three summits on a single day is a truly special and varied day out. At around 24 miles in length with nearly 1 mile of ascent, it is a challenging undertaking, but one which is well within the capabilities of any reasonably fit, determined and equipped walker! Steph and Mike are keen and experienced ultra-distance runners having completed such events as the 108 mile Spine Challenger Race and 82 mile Dales Way challenge, and so know a thing or two about long distance challenges and how to prepare for them.​

With our office located only 10mins drive from Horton-in-Ribblesdale, the Yorkshire Dales Guides staff are often to be found walking and running on the three peaks and so know them extremely well. It is this knowledge combined with our extensive experience of organising three peaks walks for both individuals and large groups, and our dedication to providing a highly professional service which means you can be sure of a great day out on the Yorkshire three peaks walk with us.​

Yorkshire Dales Guides Three Peaks events can be either 'supported' (i.e. a support vehicle and YDG staff member meets you, your group and our guides at road crossings to provide water, first aid, extra food etc) or 'unsupported' (i.e. you will be joined along the route by YDG guides only). In both cases, a bespoke made certificate of completion can be provided if required.

Tackling the Yorkshire three peaks in a single day is not the only option though. You may prefer to tackle each peak on separate days over a long weekend, or walk the route over a more leisurely 2 days, or even start from your accommodation, for example, in Ingleton as opposed to the traditional starting point in Horton in Ribblesdale. Whatever your desires, we’re here to make it work and a memorable experience (in a good way…..of course!).

Have already completed the Yorkshire Three Peaks walk and fancy a different challenge? Then why not try an alternative three peaks circuit taking in Birks Fell (610m), Buckden Pike (702m) and Great Whernside (704m) from the beautiful village of Kettlewell. Get in touch for more information!

Handy Tips: If you’re thinking about doing the Three Peaks, get your accommodation booked as early as you can! Even a year in advance is not too early due to the popularity of the route. Consider doing it in early May or towards the end of September when the weather can still be very good and the days reasonably long, and also consider doing the route on a mid-week day (e.g. Friday) when it is likely to be much quieter!
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Explore the wonders of the Dales during one of our very special Geo-Tours!

Geology is very close to YDG director Mike's heart, being a part-time Senior Geophysicist! Mike's route into this career started with his explorations of the Yorkshire Dales as a kid, both 'above' and 'below' the Dales!

The Yorkshire Dales has some of the most beautiful and spectacular geological features in the UK, with well-known highlights including the awe-inspiring cliffs of Malham Cove, the glacial melt-water gorges of Trow Gill and Gordale Scar, the stunningly unique valley of Chapel-le-Dale and its vast and expansive limestone pavements and stepped horizontal limestone bedding, the unusual but fascinating 'Norber Erratics' above Austwick and the myriad of potholes and cave entrances scattered across the moors including the famous Gaping Gill and Ingleborough Cave.

Our Geo-tours aim to take you on a highly informative guided walk to some of these features, to explain their formation, and how the landscape has been shaped by geological forces to become the landscape we see today.

Please get in touch for more info and to discuss the range of geo-tours we have on offer for you and/or your group, or keep an eye on the calendar on our home page for upcoming open-group geo-tours.
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