Pateley Bridge and Gouthwaite Reservoir

The route

This 13.1km loop starts in Pateley Bridge, the small town at the heart of Nidderdale, and heads up the valley toward Gouthwaite Reservoir before looping back. With 281m of climbing spread across the distance, it is a moderate outing: enough up and down to keep it interesting, but nothing that will break your rhythm. The running mixes riverside and reservoir-side trails with valley-side paths and quiet tracks, all under the moorland skyline that hems in upper Nidderdale.

Gouthwaite Reservoir

Gouthwaite is the centrepiece. It sits in the valley above Pateley Bridge and is a designated nature reserve, well known among birdwatchers for wildfowl and waders, so keep an eye on the water as you pass. The reservoir-side sections give easy, scenic running, and the surrounding fells give the whole loop a proper dales feel without the big climbs of the higher tops.

What to expect underfoot

A mix of surfaced track, field path and rougher valley trail. It can be muddy through the fields after rain, and gates and stiles break the flow in places, but the ground is generally good and the navigation straightforward if you keep the valley as your handrail.

Why it works

Nidderdale is quieter than the honeypot dales further west, and this loop shows off its best: a characterful town, a beautiful reservoir and classic dales scenery, all in a distance you can run comfortably in a morning. Pateley Bridge itself, with its steep main street and old shops, is a reward at the finish. It also links to the wider Nidderdale Way if you want to build a longer day.

Good to know

Upper Nidderdale is genuinely quiet, so do not count on passing many people or any facilities once you leave the town; carry what you need and let someone know your plan on the longer variants. The reservoir is a nature reserve, so keep to the paths and give the birdlife space, and save a little for the climbs on the return leg, which come when the legs are already warm.