Where to Sleep on a Yorkshire Dales Walking Trip: Bases, Stages and Real Distances

A practical, on-the-ground guide to breaking the Dales into walkable stages and choosing the town that suits the miles you actually plan to cover.

Choosing Your Base: Settle, Hawes, Reeth or Richmond

Most walking trips to the Yorkshire Dales fail on logistics rather than fitness. The park is 2,178 sq km with sparse bus coverage, so your base decides what you can reach on foot. Settle sits on the Settle–Carlisle line with direct trains from Leeds in about 1 hour 20 minutes, and puts Malham Cove, Attermire Scar and the Three Peaks' western flanks within a 20-minute drive. Hawes is the best centre for Wensleydale and the Pennine Way's middle section, but the nearest station is Garsdale, a £12–18 taxi ride away. Reeth suits Swaledale loops; Richmond gives you a proper town with a castle, a station-less but bus-served centre, and the Coast to Coast's final Yorkshire miles.

If you want one booking and no car, choose Settle. Trains, a Wednesday market, a handful of pubs and a Co-op make it workable for four or five days of walking without moving luggage. Hawes is the better base if you are driving and want variety — Hardraw Force, Buttertubs Pass and the Roman road over Cam High Road all start within 6 miles. Reeth and Richmond are quieter picks; Richmond's bus link to Darlington (about 50 minutes) makes it the easiest of the four if you are arriving by rail from the south and renting a car locally.

Three Stages That Actually Work

Stage one: Malham. From Settle, drive 12 minutes to Malham village, then walk the classic 5-mile circuit — Janet's Foss, Gordale Scar, Malham Tarn — in 3 to 4 hours. The limestone pavement above Malham Cove is slippery after rain; grip matters more than boots' waterproofing. Park in the National Trust car park (£5–7 for the day in peak season, cash and card) and start before 9am in July and August, when the village fills by 10:30. Stage two: the Three Peaks. Whernside, Ingleborough and Pen-y-ghent in one day is 24 miles and roughly 1,600m of ascent; most walkers take 10 to 12 hours. Break it over two days instead — Pen-y-ghent from Horton-in-Ribblesdale (a station stop) on day one, then Whernside and Ingleborough from Ribblehead on day two.

Stage three: Wensleydale and Swaledale. From Hawes, the walk to Hardraw Force and back is an easy 3 miles; add Great Shunner Fell for a 9-mile day with 500m of climb. In Swaledale, the Reeth to Keld stretch of the Coast to Coast follows the Swale through Gunnerside and Muker — 12 miles, mostly gentle, best in June when hay meadows are at their peak. The Dales' weather turns fast: fell tops can be 5–8°C colder than the valleys, and cloud can drop to 200m within an hour. Carry a paper map — phone signal vanishes in Arkengarthdale and above Malham Tarn.

When to Go and What to Skip

May, June and September are the sweet spots. June gives you 17 hours of daylight around the solstice, hay meadows in Swaledale and reasonable availability. July and August bring crowds to Malham, Aysgarth Falls and Brimham Rocks, plus higher room rates — booking 8 to 12 weeks ahead is sensible for a weekend. February and early March are for hardy walkers only: many pubs in Langstrothdale and upper Swaledale close midweek, and some footpaths are churned to liquid mud. October half-term is busy but the light is superb.

Skip the Ingleton Waterfalls Trail on a bank holiday — it is a paying trail, gets shoulder-to-shoulder, and the Dales has better free walks. Skip attempting Ingleborough from Clapham if you have not checked the forecast; the limestone plateau is featureless in fog. And skip trying to cover both Wensleydale and Wharfedale in a two-day trip. Pick one dale, walk it properly, and spend the saved driving time in a pub.

Where to Book

For a walking-focused trip I would book in Settle or Hawes. Settle gives you rail access, a compact centre and easy reach of Malham and the Three Peaks; Hawes puts Wensleydale, Hardraw and the Pennine Way on your doorstep and suits drivers. Richmond is my pick for a longer stay with a non-walking partner — a castle, good restaurants and the Georgian Theatre Royal.

Booking direct with a hotel or a regional booking partner usually beats a global platform on both rate and flexibility here, particularly for walkers who need drying rooms, early breakfasts or a packed lunch. Ask specifically whether they have a boot room and whether breakfast starts before 7:30 — it matters on a 24-mile day. Rooms in Settle and Hawes sit roughly in the same band; Richmond often undercuts both outside race weekends at Catterick.

Questions, answered

Do I need a car to walk in the Yorkshire Dales?

Not if you base in Settle, which has a railway station and bus links to Malham and Horton-in-Ribblesdale. Elsewhere a car is close to essential; Garsdale and Ribblehead stations are remote and buses are infrequent, especially on Sundays.

What is the best month for a Dales walking trip?

June. You get the longest daylight of the year, Swaledale's hay meadows in flower, and better room availability than July or August. September is a strong second for quieter paths and settled weather.

How hard is the Yorkshire Three Peaks?

Very hard — 24 miles and around 1,600m of ascent, typically 10 to 12 hours. Most walkers should split it over two days from Horton-in-Ribblesdale and Ribblehead rather than attempt it in one push.

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