Best trail runs in the Yorkshire Dales

This is the full southern Dales in one enormous self-navigated loop: Malham Tarn, the summit of Buckden Pike, Trollers Gill, Simon's Seat and a string of the prettiest villages in the country.

You circle Skipton on a huge loop through the quieter country of Craven, linking moor edge, riverside and old field paths that most runners pass through but never string together.

You string together the greatest hits of the southern Dales in one enormous loop: Gordale Scar, the summit of Pen-y-ghent, Fountains Fell and Malham Tarn, all on foot from Skipton.

Proper Dales miles — limestone scars, wide skies, and the kind of distance that sorts out who's eaten their breakfast. This is a full day out.

A full 50km day that strings together the cove, the tarn and two major summits, a serious long-distance challenge through the heart of the Dales.

Simon's Seat is one of Wharfedale's best short climbs on its own, and this route turns the trip up to it into the centrepiece of a full ultra distance day rather than an afternoon out.

A big day out on the most recognisable skyline in the Dales — three distinct summits, 1500m of climbing, and a finish that earns its beer.

Three summits, 1,505m of ascent, and a finish back in Horton means that you have definitely earned a drink.

It links a big day in Wharfedale with the wide-open water and skies around Grimwith, so you get valley running, moorland crossings and a proper reservoir circuit all in one loop without needing a second car.

Six distinct summits in one big day, a proper local challenge that strings together the gritstone crags and moors ringing Skipton.

Three big Wharfedale summits with none of the crowds or paved paths, just rough moorland, bog and proper navigation across the roof of the dale.

It strings together several of the Dales' individually famous valleys into a single day, so instead of picking one dale to explore you cross through four or five of them back to back.

A direct climb out of the valley earns you a wide plateau with views stretching from the Three Peaks to the North Yorkshire Moors.

The Howgills feel unlike anywhere else in the Dales — smooth rounded ridges, no walls, no paths to speak of — just open fell running at its best.

Two of the Three Peaks in one shapely loop, beginning and ending at the iconic Ribblehead Viaduct with a railway cafe waiting at the finish.

Two contrasting Dales summits in one long loop, with the lonely moorland of Fountains Fell giving way to the unmistakable stepped profile of Pen-y-ghent.

Town-to-summit running at its best, starting from Settle's cobbles and reaching the wild tops of Fountains Fell and Pen-y-ghent before the long loop home.

A proper long day stitching together terrain most runners split into two separate outings. Bolton Abbey woods make a welcome change of scene at the halfway mark.

Three summits joined by a single ridge, a ruined castle at the start, and some of the emptiest fell running anywhere in the Yorkshire Dales boundary.

The quieter western approach to Ingleborough, building over Little Ingleborough to the iconic plateau summit at 724m before the long descent back to Ingleton.

It's the route to reach for when you want proper distance without a mountain attached, running out through genuinely pretty Dales-edge countryside that most visitors drive straight past on their way to the bigger fells.

You run from Malham Tarn out across the high limestone to Langcliffe Scar, joining the two greatest pieces of Dales limestone in one loop.

The full Skipton picture in one run: moor above, canal below, and the Craven countryside in between. A proper long day out from one of the best trail running towns in the Dales.

The classic Malham scenery gives way to wide open fell country and a summit that feels properly remote despite being only 8km from the village.