River Wharfe - Yorkshire Dales

About trip

• There and back walk: 
• 5.72 miles
• what3words address for parking: 
• ///pushover.angry.tacky. There is a small pull-off on Howgill Lane, on the right, where a footpath crosses the lane and just beyond the ‘Brownie Barn.’ There’s enough space for three, maybe four, cars. Don’t park anywhere else on the lane; it’s an unmetalled road, narrow and used by farm vehicles. Parking in this area is generally next to impossible.

From the small parking place cross the lane and follow the footpath downhill. At the end of this track cross Stangs Lane and follow the path past some timber lodges towards the river. There’s a path that actually crosses the river on stepping stones to Drebley here, but for this walk we continued on the east side of the Wharfe towards Bolton Abbey.

Some interesting birds here. We saw two birds that looked like Oyster Catchers and spent quite some time searching the internet when we got back looking for birds similar to Oyster Catchers, before we eventually realised that the birds that looked like Oyster Catchers were, in fact, Oyster Catchers… There were also lots of Sand Martins/Bank Swallows nesting in the banks of the river on both sides; it was very calming watching them.

At Barden Bridge we stayed on the same side of the river after enjoying an ice cream from the little van by the bridge. We crossed the river on the next, crenelated bridge. Just under a mile later we stopped at the Strid to admire the river in its gorge and had a break at a conveniently placed picnic table before turning back. This time we crossed sides at Barden Bridge, resisted another ice cream and followed our route back to Howgill Lane. You could easily continue the walk beyond the Strid if you wanted  to extend it.

If you do fancy some refreshments when you get back then the Brownie Barn a few yards along Howgill Lane is a great spot for a coffee, brownie or cake. The views are fabulous from the outdoor seating area and the people are lovely.

Really  enjoyed this walk. An easy few  miles in a beautiful landscape.