Muddy Boots Social Walks
Our ‘Muddy Boots Social Walks’ are small group guided walks that give you the chance to explore new areas, enjoy fresh air and stunning scenery, learn more about the Dales or Lakes and meet new people, all without needing to read a map or follow instructions!
Your walk leader, Matt, will organise the route (and make sure you don’t get lost!), as well being on hand to answer any questions about the landscape, geology, flora and fauna of the area, so all you need to do is turn up and enjoy the walk!
We have a variety of routes in locations across the Dales and Lakes and of varying levels of difficulty, so there is something to suit everyone, whether you live locally, are visiting the area for the day or are on holiday.
Details, dates and online booking for each walk are below. Full details of meeting point, what to bring, what to wear etc. will be sent on booking. Have a look at our FAQs for more information or if you have any questions just drop us a line and we’d be happy to help.
After a successful launch last year, we are continuing to offer a limited number of membership spaces for our Muddy Boots Social Walks! For a joining fee of £75 (with a discounted rate available before 1 Jan 2024) you can come along to as many of the walks as you would like to during 2024! Scroll to the end of the page for full details.
Why join a Muddy Boots Social Walk?
- Explore a new area without needing maps or walk books (and without getting lost!)
- Get out in the fresh air and meet new people
- Learn more about the Yorkshire Dales or Lake District from your walk leader (or just have a chat!)
- Small groups of no more than 10 people
- Routes of various lengths, in locations around the Dales and Lakes and at different times of year, so there is something for everyone
Muddy Boots Social Walks 2024 Schedule
25 FEBRUARY 2024 - The Waterfalls Walk (from Aysgarth)- 24 MARCH 2024 - The ascent of Pen-y-Ghent (from Horton)
- 27 APRIL 2024 - Caves and Cascades (from Settle)
- 18 MAY 2024 - Bluebells and Boulders (from Clapham)
- 8 JUNE 2024 - Flapjacks and Film Sets! (from Buckden)
- 30 JUNE 2024 - Haytime in Swaledale (from Muker)
- 18 AUGUST 2024 - A circuit of Loughrigg Fell (from Ambleside)
- 22 SEPTEMBER 2024 - The Unique Geology and Archaeology of the Dales (from Malham)
- 28 SEPTEMBER 2024 - The stunning Langdale Valleys (from Stickle Ghyll car park)
- 13 OCTOBER 2024 - The villages of mid-Wharfedale (from Grassington)
Details and booking for each walk below
Caves and Cascades (From Settle)
** Option to Travel by public transport to settle station **
DATE AND TIME: 27 April 2024 at 10.30am
DISTANCE: 8 miles/13km (440m ascent)
DURATION: 5.5 hours
TERRAIN: A mixture of footpaths (some rocky and uneven), a steep uphill pull out of Settle, walled tracks, classic farmland, a short road section, and riverside walking.
PRICE: £25 per person
MEETING POINT: Settle Market Place
A day full of highlights – dramatic limestone scenery, caves, waterfalls, ancient green lanes, a pretty Dales village, and peaceful riverside walking.
Beginning in the charming market town of Settle, you are quickly out into the striking limestone landscape that surrounds the town and stunning views open up straight away, which accompany you all day!
This walk is timed around the times of trains arriving into and departing to Settle Station on the Settle-Carlisle line to and from Leeds, so is a great option if you don’t have a car.
Bluebells and Boulders (from Clapham)
DATES AND TIME: 18 May 2024 at 10.30am
DISTANCE: 8.5 miles / 13.5km (350m ascent)
DURATION: 5.5 hours
TERRAIN: Walled tracks, farmland, rocky tracks through woodland and one long climb out of Feizor into Wharfe Woods
PRICE: £25 per person
MEETING POINT: National Park car park in Clapham
We’ll explore fantastic limestone scenery, peaceful woodland and rolling fields of the western Dales on this beautiful walk linking two charming villages.
Our route takes us past the little hamlet of Feizor, through ancient Wharfe and Oxenber Woods - which have a carpet of Bluebells at this time of year - into the village of Austwick. It’s then up onto the fellside to visit the geologically fascinating ‘Norber Erratics’ (as well as gorgeous views back over much of our route and across the green fields of Crummack Dale).
Flapjacks and Film Sets! (Upper Wharfedale and Yockenthwaite Farm)
DATE: 8 June 2024 at 10.30am
DISTANCE: 7 miles/11km (265m ascent)
DURATION: 5 hours
TERRAIN: Rocky tracks, farmland and riverside paths. A steady uphill climb at the outset is the only real hill of the walk.
PRICE: £25 per person inlcuding a drink and flapjack at Yockenthwaite Farm
MEETING POINT: Buckden National Park Car Park
An absolute classic of a Dales walk, the circuit around the head of Wharfedale is a fantastic mixture of stunning views, pretty villages, gentle riverside and traditional Wharfedale scenery.
We add to this a stop at beautifully situated Yockenthwaite Farm - which you may recognise as ‘Helen’s Farm’ in the recent adaption of ‘All Creatures Great and Small’ - for a drink and to sample one of their homemade flapjacks!
Haytime in Swaledale (Muker Hay Meadows & Kisdon Gorge)
DATE AND TIME: 30 June 2024 at 9.30am
DISTANCE: 6 miles/10km (400m ascent)
DURATION: 4 hours
TERRAIN: The first half is on broad, easy and fairly flat tracks, the second half is hillier on a more rugged path along the fell-side (providing great views!).
PRICE: £20 per person
MEETING POINT: Muker village
See the Muker coronation hay meadows - some of the best preserved upland hay meadows in the country - in full bloom, filled with a huge variety of beautiful wildflowers. Then enjoy a full circuit of stunning Kisdon Gorge, stopping for a breather midway in Keld and soaking up fantastic views down Swaledale on the return.
This route must be one of the most beautiful in the Yorkshire Dales, combining some relaxed riverside walking, interesting historic remains and stunning views over the gorge and into Swaledale.
A circuit of Loughrigg Fell (from Ambleside)
DATES AND TIME: 18 August 2024 at 10.30am
DISTANCE: 7.5 miles / 12km (475m ascent)
DURATION: 4.5 hours
TERRAIN: Rocky tracks, some minor road walking and a steep climb out of Ambleside
PRICE: £25 per person
MEETING POINT: Rothay Park, Ambleside
Setting off from Ambleside, we’ll spend the day enjoying the stunning scenery of the central Lake District! Our route will take us around the southern edge of Loughrigg Fell to give us fantastic views over Windermere and the Langdale Pikes. Passing idyllic Loughrigg Tarn, we’ll make our way to scenic ‘Loughrigg Terrace’, a beautiful section of footpath with views over Grasmere. The final stretch follows the length of Rydal Water and some gentle walking back into Ambleside.
The Unique Geology & Archaeology of the Dales (around Malham)
DATES AND TIME: 22 September 2024 at 9.30am
DISTANCE: 10 miles/15.5km (445m ascent)
DURATION: 6.5 hours
TERRAIN: A mixture of terrain underfoot including well-made, flat paths, some steep sections, more rugged moorland and rockier limestone pavement.
PRICE: £30 per person
MEETING POINT: Malham National Park Visitors Centre
A full day exploring the unique landscape around Malham. Hear about some of the history and geology of this stunning area, taking in the famous sights of Malham Cove, Malham Tarn, Janet’s Foss and Gordale Scar as well as some less well-known highlights of the area.
The Stunning Langdale Valleys (from Stickle Ghyll car park)
DATES AND TIME: 28 September 2024 at 10.30am
DISTANCE: 8.6 miles / 14km (475m ascent)
DURATION: 6 hours
TERRAIN: Mainly on good tracks, short section of boggy ground, minor road walking and some rocky paths. One steep uphill section out of Great Langdale
PRICE: £25 per person
MEETING POINT: Stickle Ghyll car park
A wonderfully varied day’s walking in the central Lake District. We’ll be doing a full exploration of the Great and Little Langdale Valleys. The route has a real ‘in the hills’ feel, without going up anything too high, and takes in two sparkling tarns, pretty woodland, an old slate quarry to explore (including a look into the famous Cathedral Cavern), probably the Lake District’s most picturesque packhorse bridge, and lots of stunning views in between!
The Villages of mid-wharfedale (from Grassington)
DATE AND TIME: 13 October 2024 at 10.30am
DISTANCE: 7 miles/11km (260m ascent)
DURATION: 4 hours
TERRAIN: Fairly gentle walking on a mixture of lanes, fields and riverside paths. Optional stepping stones!
PRICE: £20 per person
MEETING POINT: Grassington National Park Car Park
A gentle, 7 mile circuit that takes you along the peaceful banks of the River Wharfe, visits the pretty villages of Grassington, Burnsall and Linton (with the chance to stop for a well-earned drink in a cosy country pub!) and meanders through classic Yorkshire Dales scenery.
Cross the River Wharfe on the tempting stepping stones (or opt for the nearby bridge!) and admire Linton Falls, likely to be in full flow at this time of year.
The Waterfalls walk (from Aysgarth)
DATE AND TIME: 2025 dates TBC
DISTANCE: 5 miles / 8km (175m ascent)
DURATION: 3.5 hours
TERRAIN: A mix of farmland, tracks, and a rocky riverside path. A couple of steep (and short!) ascents and descents but a fairly gentle day.
PRICE: £20 per person
MEETING POINT: National Park Visitors Centre at Aysgarth Falls
What is the perfect way to start your New Year? A bracing walk in the fresh Yorkshire air of course! Starting from well-known Aysgarth Falls, we’ll have a look at the famous Upper Falls before heading up through the beautiful churchyard of St Andrews Church. We then enjoy a stroll across classic Dales farmland, with fantastic views into Bishopdale, to the pretty village of West Burton. We’ll take a break at Cauldron Force waterfall on the edge of the picture-perfect village before heading back into the fields. After passing the unusual Sorrelsykes Follies we’ll join the banks of the River Ure to enjoy a relaxed riverside stroll back to Aysgarth. A perfect way to start 2024! (But can’t promise the snow!)
Ascent of Pen-y-Ghent (from Horton)
** Option to Travel by public transport to Horton-in-Ribblesdale station **
DATE AND TIME: 2025 dates TBC
DISTANCE: 7 miles / 11km (550m ascent)
DURATION: 5 hours
TERRAIN: Some steep rocky ground near the summit of Pen-y-Ghent, flagstone paths, walled tracks and a short section of road walking.
PRICE: £25 per person
MEETING POINT: Entrance to the National Park Car Park in Horton-in-Ribblesdale
Summit one of the famous ‘Yorkshire Three Peaks’! Setting off from Horton, we’ll head up the steep flanks of Brackenbottom Scar and, after a breather, we’ll climb up onto the summit plateau for a real sense of achievement and fantastic views!
On the way down, we’ll have a look at impressive Hull Pot, before following walled Horton Scar Lane back into Horton.
NB This is a popular route but it is steep and does require a small scramble to reach the summit (nothing technical but it can be useful to hold onto the rocks in a couple of places – please ask us for more details if you want to check anything!).
More social walks coming soon!
We’re always developing our schedule of Muddy Boots Social Walks so keep your eyes peeled for new ones being added, and if there is anything that you would like us to do that you don’t see available, let us know and we’ll try to add it!
bECOME A mUDDY bOOTS mEMBER!
After a successful launch last year, we are continuing to offer a limited number of membership spaces for our Muddy Boots Social Walks! For a joining fee of £75 you can come along to as many of the walks as you would like to during 2024! The full schedule is set out above and all walks take place on weekends or bank holidays.
You will still need to book a spot on each walk (so that we can keep an eye on numbers) but you’ll be given a special Muddy Boots membership code so that there is no charge. Sign up below and we’ll send you full details and your membership code.
Muddy Boots Membership also makes a great gift! Just sign up below then drop us a line to let us know it is a gift, so we can send you a voucher.