Route:

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  From the station car park, follow the river side path down stream (away from town centre). Follow this all the way to Glasshouses. You will know you are nearly at Glasshouses when you pass a weir diverting water into the mill race and the sluice gates are worth a look. The millpond usually has loads of ducks and also benches for drink/snack stops.

  At the road in Glasshouses, cross the river on the road bridge and immediately turn left on a farm track. Follow this all the way to Harewall Hall farm. When visiting in springtime we have often seen lambs in the first barn as you approach the farm and it is easy to have a careful look.

  The footpath leads up the hill here. Stay by the wall initially and at a gate, don't go through it, continue to follow the fence line. You cross a stream and continue uphill through a field. Over a wall and the ground becomes uncultivated and a track leads you towards the trees and you meet a track coming out of the trees. You can short cut to this point by coming on the footpath up through the woods.

  There are a number of paths that lead up the hill towards the aerial mast so pick the one you like best! The wall in front of the aerial makes a good sheltered stopping point with a great view towards Brimham Rocks and the rest of lower Nidderdale.

  Go through the gate and continue straight ahead on to the moor. A good path leads you slightly uphill but look to your right for the trigpoint as this path bypasses it! A smaller track leads up to the "summit". Another place to find shelter for snack and great views - Menwith Hill "Golfballs" are clearly visible from here.

  The next section goes off piste - the Little Chaps call it "jungling" but it isn't that bad. It is great fun going straight over the heather, just take your time and watch your ankles on the rougher terrain. You are heading for the trees that you can see to the North. Pick a point on the treeline and head for it (the driest way possible in Winter!).

  At the trees you re-join the Nidderdale Way on a good (sometimes muddy) path. Turn left (West) and continue to a gate. Through the gate and you come to Yorke's Folly, another great stopping point. Continue past the Folly, down to a road.

  Cross the road and go through a gate. Follow the path downhill to another gate and continue down. You will enter the woods (Skrikes Wood) on a wide path. A large hairpin bend turns to the left and you keep on the woodland path down to a bridge and then up to a road.

  Turn right, over the bridge and look for a small gate on the left. A small path leads through Rhododendron bushes to a driveway and a signpost about Fishpond Woods. Go up to the fishpond and turn left (clockwise) and the path leads past the pond to a wall crossing. A short steep uphill (stone stepped close to the wall) and then over fields to the village of Bewerley.

  Turn right on the road. The house opposite the junction has loads of Gnomes, Statues etc around their well in the fornt garden which is worth a peek over the wall. Turn left and go downhill into Pateley Bridge. You come out by the park and it is a pretty good park!

  It is a short walk over the main bridge and down the river bank path to the car park. The bakery on the high street does good cakes!

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Verdict:

  This walk packs in great views for relatively little height to climb and it has a "big walk" feel without being too long. The views from the aerial of the surrounding area are amazing. Throw in all the other interest points and this is a walk we always come back to, sometimes using the short cuts, sometimes exploring a little further.

 

  

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