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Along Catrigg and Stainforth

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Walk directions

From the car park turn right, then right again, signed 'Settle'. Over the bridge, go immediately left through a gap in the wall. Follow the narrow path to an open area. Go through white posts and turn left. Keep right of the green, then turn right. Follow the track uphill for 0.75 miles (1.2km) to a gate. (To visit Catrigg Force, take a smaller gate to the left, then go left again. Return to the same point.)

After the gate, the track bends right. Go through another gate, then turn right, signed 'Winskill'. Join a track which bears left and runs between walls. At a signpost near the farmhouses, go straight ahead over a cattle grid and down a track signed 'Stainforth and Langcliffe'. Just after a right-hand bend, go left over a stile signed 'Langcliffe'.

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Location

Nearest postcode:

Additional information

Terrain - Green lanes, field and riverside paths, some road, 8 stiles

Landscape - Moorland, farmland and river meadows with two waterfalls

Dog friendliness - Can be off lead in walled section up to Catrigg Force

Parking - Pay-and-display car park in Stainforth, just off B6479

Toilets en route - At car park

Walks in North Yorkshire Dog-friendly walks in North Yorkshire

About the walk

Stainforth is set along the Stainforth Beck as it rushes to join the River Ribble. It provides the starting point for many tracks across the moors to the east, once important routes for trade, that crossed the beck at first on the stone ford (which is what 'Stainforth' means) and later by the... 14th-century bridge. The walk follows one of these ancient ways, the walled Goat Lane, as far as the path down to Catrigg Force. This spectacular waterfall, hidden in a wooded valley, was one of the favourite places of the composer Edward Elgar, who regularly stayed with his friend Dr Charles Buck in nearby Settle. Elgar would walk here, perhaps mulling over his latest work as he did so. Towards the end of the walk you pass another waterfall, Stainforth Force, where the Ribble passes over a series of limestone steps in tumultuous cascades. Just above is an attractive humpback bridge leading to Little Stainforth. The bridge was a vital link on a packhorse route between Lancaster and Ripon.Saving the pavement. After Catrigg Force, the walk route winds, after superb views towards Fountains Fell, towards the farms at Winskill. On the moorland just above are the Winskill Stones, pedestals of limestone topped with slate deposited here by ice age glaciers. The slate protected the limestone beneath from the erosion that has worn down the surrounding rock. An area of limestone pavement here is now a nature reserve, but was for many years quarried for ornamental garden rocks. After a campaign to prevent this destruction, 64 acres (26ha) was purchased from the owner for £200,000. Now the area, with its rare limestone plants, is preserved; it is dedicated to the memory of television gardener Geoff Hamilton, who was patron of the appeal that raised the funds to buy the land. Sir Isaac Newton often came to Langcliffe Hall, which has an odd door surround probably carved by the same masons who worked on the much more elaborate house in Settle known as The Folly. Newton was friendly with the local landowners, the Paleys. One of the family, William Paley, wrote a famous book, Evidences of Christianity (1794). Also in Langcliffe is a former inn called the Naked Woman – a counterpart of the better-known Naked Man in Settle. If you're lucky enough to be in Langcliffe during a wedding, linger for a while to see an old Dales custom; while the ceremony takes place in the church, the village children tie up the churchyard gates and refuse to let the newly-married couple out until the guests have thrown money to them.

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About the area

North Yorkshire, with its two National Parks and two designated Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty, is England’s largest county and one of the most rural. This is prime walking country, from the heather-clad heights of the North York Moors to the limestone country that is so typical of the Yorkshire Dales – a place of contrasts and discoveries, of history and legend.

Route details

Difficulty:

Easy

Gradient:

Moderate

Distance:

5 miles (8kms)

Ascent:

1141ft (348m)

If you like this walk, you can try more routes in the area.

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Along Catrigg and Stainforth

Recommended by

Walk details

Difficulty:

Easy

Gradient:

Moderate

Distance:

5 miles (8kms)

Ascent:

1141ft (348m)

Walk directions

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Cross the field to a gate and stile, turning right immediately afterwards. The path soon descends steeply to a hand gate, bearing left just below to traverse the slope before descending to a gate. Follow the track beyond to another gate.

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The track, now walled, leads into Langcliffe village. At a crossroads of tracks go a couple of paces right, then left (almost straight on). At the main street bear right, then keep straight on to reach the main road (B6479).

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Cross the road to a gap in the wall diagonally right. Follow the footpath over a railway footbridge. Follow a lane ('No Entry' sign) towards a mill. Signs, barriers and fences guide the path round the works to emerge beside the millpond. Follow the pond-side path to reach a gate on the left by houses.

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Go through the gate and turn right between the rows of cottages. Where the row ends, go left over a footbridge over the River Ribble and at the end turn right to a stone stile beside the weir, signed 'Stainforth'. Follow the riverside path for 0.75 miles (1.2km) before steps lead to a stile and an elevated stretch. The path returns gradually to the riverside and approaches a caravan site.

6 of 7

Go right of the site, on the riverside path, past Stainforth Force to the humpback Stainforth Bridge. Go through a stile onto the lane, turn right over the bridge and follow the narrow lane as it bends and climbs to the main road (B6479). Turn right and take the second turning left back to the car park.

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Location

Starting point

Nearest postcode:

Additional information

Terrain - Green lanes, field and riverside paths, some road, 8 stiles

Landscape - Moorland, farmland and river meadows with two waterfalls

Dog friendliness - Can be off lead in walled section up to Catrigg Force

Parking - Pay-and-display car park in Stainforth, just off B6479

Toilets en route - At car park

Walks in North Yorkshire Dog-friendly walks in North Yorkshire

About the walk

Been on this walk?

Send us photos or a comment about this route. Or recommend a route of your own.

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Walking in Safety

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Get an AA guide

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Been on this walk?

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About the area

North Yorkshire

Along Catrigg and Stainforth

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Along Catrigg and Stainforth

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