WRW #14B: Underway on the Dales Way
Please note that the cache description contains some external links.
Although they may be from well-known sources and appear to be fine, they have 'not been checked by Groundspeak nor by the reviewer for possible malicious content and so access to these sites is therefore at your own risk'.
The cache, a camo-taped 35mm film canister is hidden near at where the riverside trail which is also the Dales Way along this stretch crosses by a small footbridge over one of the numerous becks running north into the Wharfe from the lower slopes of Rombalds Moor.
The hide which plugs a gap in the WRW trail became possible with the archiving of Santos L Helper (aka fat bloke)'s GC21QHA The Start of the Dales way which was hidden on 5/12/09 and archived on 3/1/22 after some 26 finds garnering 5 FPs along the way. Note: The Ilkley start of the Dales Way is not in fact at the cache location as its name may have suggested, but some 1.5km east at N 53 55.725 W 1 49.838 near the old Ilkley (Stone) Bridge.
The Dales Way is a 78.5 mile (126.3 km) very popular long-distance footpath from Ilkley to Bowness-on-Windermere, Cumbria. Members of the West Riding Area of the Ramblers' Association devised the route which was originally planned as an official National Trail, but has not yet achieved this status. The route was announced to the public in 1968 and the first recorded crossing was by a group of Bradford Grammar School Venture Scouts in 1969.
As far as possible it follows riverside tracks and offers a scenically attractive route from urban West Yorkshire to the Lake District. Most (reasonably fit) walkers take about a week to complete it, dividing the route into daily sections of 10-15 miles with 1-2 rest days.
It passes through two National Parks - the Yorkshire Dales National Park and the Lake District National Park. As its name indicates, it is mainly at a low level but should not be underestimated as it does cross high isolated moors in its central section. The first half of the walk follows the River Wharfe upstream to the main watershed of northern England at Ribblehead. Then it follows several river valleys (Dentdale, River Mint, River Kent) to descend to the shores of Windermere.
From its initial conception, the Dales Way was planned with link routes to Ilkley from three urban centres in the West Riding of Yorkshire: Leeds, Bradford and Harrogate. The Leeds Link runs for 17 miles (27 km) from Woodhouse Moor along the Meanwood Valley Trail and over Otley Chevin and Ilkley Moor to Ilkley. The Bradford Link is 12.5 miles (20.1 km) long from Bradford Cathedral via Shipley Glen and Ilkley Moor to Ilkley. The Harrogate Link is 16.5 miles (26.6 km) long, running from the Valley Gardens in Harrogate by Haverah Park and the Washburn Valley to Ilkley.
At Ilkley the Dales Way connects with the Ebor Way. On its course through Wharfedale, Lady Anne's Way runs in conjunction with the Dales Way. At Cam Fell between Langstrothdale and Ribblehead the Dales Way briefly coincides with the Pennine Way and the Pennine Bridleway. At Ribblehead the trail connects with the Ribble Way. Just before it reaches the end at Bowness-on-Windermere the route connects with the Windermere Way.
The Dales High Way is a high-level route which runs parallel to the Dales Way between Ilkey Moor and Dent and on to Sedbergh.
There are many books, maps and websites, including some well-presented blogs, which provide detailed info on the route. See also here for an excellent hour-long video of the whole Dales Way and here for one of several short videos covering Day 1 - Ilkley to Appletreewick.
See here for a detailed info board on the walk - as shown at the start of the walk and here for a zoomable interactive map. See here for a well-illustrated blog on a short Day 1 from Ilkley to Addingham and here for another (full) Day 1 (in mid-winter) from Ilkley to Burnsall with some great photos.
Download a gpx file here and Google Earth route (kmz file) here.
