Buy the OS Route Map and instructions for this route

Don’t be perturbed or lulled into a false sense of security by the fairly leisurely opening kilometres of this North Yorkshire Killer. Delivering on both physical toughness and technical challenges, the rewards stretch out in the form of Malham Cove panoramics. Taking in a novel section of the Leeds and Liverpool Canal as the route progresses north through the Dales’ lowlands, it isn’t long before the trail pitches upwards as you encounter the wilds of Carlton Moor and the Weets.
Losing all that hard-earned altitude, there’s at least some comfort in the picturesque pubs and tearooms of Malham, before climbing again to Kirkby Fell. Picking up the weathered rockery of Craven District’s limestone fault, after some tech ascending a cracking boulder-strewn drop commences. Settling the nerves below just east of, er, Settle, there’s a mellow return romp across to Otterburn and Bank Newton before following your nose back to East Marton Marina.
Never far from a welcoming pub or cafe, while maintaining the sense of the Yorkshire Dales’ open expanses, there’s something for everyone within this varied circuit.