Trail running in Skipton and Craven

Big moorland miles with a mid-route riverside section through Bolton Abbey woods. Covers proper ground without the serious climbing of the Dales fells.

Open moor with big skies and a reservoir to frame the start. Compact enough for a summer evening run — good tracks throughout.

One of the more relaxed runs in the Dales — gentle underfoot, easy navigation, and two good pubs along the way. The Wharfe is at its limestone best through here.

Embsay Crag is one of those gritstone edges that looks ordinary on the map and delivers something much better in person - proper moor underfoot and a long view across the Dales skyline.

Sharp Haw looks unremarkable from a distance and then turns into a proper short, steep pull right at the end - a disproportionate amount of summit feeling for a hill this size.

If you've got an hour and you're in Skipton, this is the run. Park, woodland, canal towpath. Nothing complicated, nothing slow, good underfoot all year.

Canal towpath running at its most accessible - flat, surfaced, and direct. Stirton sits quietly 2km south of Skipton and gives the route a reason to go beyond the park.

More rewarding than it looks from the map. Skipton Moor has a real open-sky feel, and Farnhill Pinnacle is a genuinely odd and photogenic landmark.

Twenty minutes from the station and you're on open moorland with a proper climb under your belt. This is the shortest and sharpest of the Skipton moor routes.

Three distinct sections in one run: moor, village, canal. This is the most satisfying of the Skipton circuits - proper climbing followed by a flat, fast return.

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.

Two different surfaces in one short route - open moor underfoot for the climb, then a flat, easy canal towpath to bring you home.

Pinhaw Beacon is the high point of the Pennine Way's opening stretch out of Edale, and this route takes you up to it and back without needing to commit to the rest of the trail.

Castle woods on the way out, canal on the way back. Skipton has better trail running on its doorstep than most people realise, and this circuit shows it.

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.