The River Wharfe keeps you company for nearly fifty miles along this path, and at several points it issues an invitation that you will regret and also not regret.
The route
Begin from the car park behind the old station and follow the track uphill through birch and bracken. The climb is steady rather than brutal, and you will soon be above the tree line with the whole valley unrolling behind you. Stop often. Nobody here is keeping score.
It is exactly as cold as you fear, and then it is wonderful.
Halfway up
The path is clear for most of its length, though the middle section can be boggy after rain, and the top is exposed. Bring a proper map as well as your phone, whose battery will fail in the cold at exactly the moment you begin to rely on it.
The pub at the end
Walking has quietly become one of the most popular forms of exercise, and long-distance footpaths are drawing record numbers of first-timers. Local businesses have noticed. Bag-carrying services, walker-friendly bakeries and small hostels are bringing fresh life to villages that had been seeing fewer visitors for years.
The route drops down through sheep pasture to a village that seems to consist entirely of a church and a very good pub. Remove your boots at the door, order whatever is on the board, and enjoy the unmatched smugness of having earned a large plate of chips.
