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Trail running in Wharfedale

20
routes

Which route should I choose?

20 routes in Wharfedale, from 6.8 km to 97.9 km. If it is your first time here, start with the easy group below. Every route has a free GPX file, a TRP grade and a note on parking and transport.

Checked: 18 run by TRP, 2 checked against the GPX file only. Each route page says which.

First trail run here

Low effort, easy ground, shortest first.

Under 10 km

An hour or so, whatever your pace.

A long day out

Over 25 km. Take food, take a map.

Firm underfoot in wet weather

Lowest mud rating in the region.

By train or bus

Starts you can reach without a car.

Compare all 20 routes in one table
RouteDistanceClimbGradeGroundGetting there
Grimwith Reservoir6.8 km76 mEasypath—
Middleton Woods and Nesfield from Ilkley7.8 km113 mModeratewoodlandBus or train
Beamsley Beacon from Addingham8.0 km306 mModeratemoorlandBus or train
Grass Wood from Grassington8.1 km181 mModeratewoodlandBus or train
Barden Moor Short Loop9.4 km224 mModeratemoorlandDrive, parking listed
Bolton Abbey Loop10.9 km98 mModeratepathBus or train
Grassington Moor and Hebden Circular16.5 km354 mModeratemoorlandBus or train
Beamsley Beacon and Lippersley Pike from Ilkley18.7 km483 mHardmoorlandBus or train
Barden Moor Long Loop18.9 km400 mHardmoorlandDrive, parking listed
Buckden Pike from Buckden19.1 km580 mHardfellDrive, parking listed
Simon's Seat from Bolton Abbey21.9 km534 mHardmoorlandBus or train
Burnsall Half from the Wharfe23.0 km484 mHardpathBus or train
Kilnsey and Mastiles Lane24.0 km541 mHardmoorlandBus or train
Buckden Pike & Great Whernside from Kettlewell24.5 km1,057 mVery HardfellDrive, parking listed
Wharfedale Three Peaks35.2 km1,129 mVery HardmoorlandBus or train
Kettlewell Ultra43.7 km1,707 mExpertfellBus or train
Yorkshire Trod 50k52.5 km1,189 mVery HardmoorlandBus or train
Simons Seat Blast54.9 km1,603 mExpertfellBus or train
Grimwith Blast56.2 km1,503 mExpertpathBus or train
Ultra Tour Yorkshire Dales 100k97.9 km2,660 mExpertmoorlandBus or train
Barden Moor Long LoopHARD
Barden Moor Long Loop
18.9km · 400m climb · Loop
This loop crosses genuine open moorland with long sightlines over Wharfedale, on access land that's free to roam off the main tracks if you want to vary your line.
Checked Jun 2026
Barden Moor Short LoopMODERATE
Barden Moor Short Loop
9.4km · 224m climb · Loop
Half the distance of the long loop but the same open moorland character - a good way to get a feel for Barden Moor without committing to a half-day out.
Checked Jun 2026★★★★★5.0 (1)
Beamsley Beacon and Lippersley Pike from IlkleyHARD
Beamsley Beacon and Lippersley Pike from Ilkley
18.7km · 483m climb · Loop
Two moors and three tops for 514m of climb, starting a few minutes from a station platform. Beamsley Beacon is the last hill of the Yorkshire Dales and the view south from it takes in the whole of Wharfedale with Rombalds Moor filling the far side.
No car needed
Beamsley Beacon from AddinghamMODERATE
Beamsley Beacon from Addingham
8.0km · 306m climb · Point to point
The summit carries Bronze Age burial cairns and the wreckage site of a WWII aircraft just south of the trig point - a hill with more history packed into one top than its modest height suggests.
No car needed
Checked Jun 2026
Bolton Abbey LoopMODERATE
Bolton Abbey Loop
10.9km · 98m climb · Loop
Priory ruins, limestone riverside, and the Strid - one of the most dramatic river narrows in England. This is Wharfedale at its most photogenic.
Good for beginnersNo car needed
Buckden Pike & Great Whernside from KettlewellVERY HARD
Buckden Pike & Great Whernside from Kettlewell
24.5km · 1,057m climb · Loop
A direct climb out of the valley earns you a wide plateau with views stretching from the Three Peaks to the North Yorkshire Moors.
Checked Jul 2026
Buckden Pike from BuckdenHARD
Buckden Pike from Buckden
19.1km · 580m climb · Loop
A steep climb rewards you with one of the best viewpoints in the southern Dales — Wharfedale laid out below in both directions.
Checked Jul 2026
Burnsall Half from the WharfeHARD
Burnsall Half from the Wharfe
23.0km · 484m climb · Loop
You get one of the prettiest stretches of the River Wharfe, the stepping stones and the hump-backed bridge at Burnsall, wrapped into a proper dale circuit rather than a quick there-and-back.
No car needed
Checked Jul 2026
Grass Wood from GrassingtonMODERATE
Grass Wood from Grassington
8.1km · 181m climb · Loop
You get ancient ash woodland alive with birdsong and a return along one of the loveliest stretches of the River Wharfe, all from the doorstep of Grassington.
No car needed
Checked Jul 2026
Grassington Moor and Hebden CircularMODERATE
Grassington Moor and Hebden Circular
16.5km · 354m climb · Loop
The moor above Grassington has layers — wildflowers, curlews, and the eerie ruins of 18th-century lead mines that made this one of England's most productive mining landscapes.
No car needed
Checked Jul 2026
Grimwith BlastEXPERT
Grimwith Blast
56.2km · 1,503m climb · Loop
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.
No car needed
Checked Jul 2026
Grimwith ReservoirEASY
Grimwith Reservoir
6.8km · 76m climb · Loop
A rare thing in the Dales: a route you can hold an even pace on from start to finish. The circuit is 100% runnable and there is only 31m between its lowest and highest point.
Good for beginners
Checked Jul 2026
Kettlewell UltraEXPERT
Kettlewell Ultra
43.7km · 1,707m climb · Loop
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.
No car needed
Checked Jun 2026
HARD
Kilnsey and Mastiles Lane
24.0km · 541m climb · Loop
You run the length of Mastiles Lane, an arrow-straight Roman road across Malham Moor, with the great overhang of Kilnsey Crag as the landmark at the valley end.
No car needed
Checked Jul 2026
Middleton Woods and Nesfield from IlkleyMODERATE
Middleton Woods and Nesfield from Ilkley
7.8km · 113m climb · Loop
Middleton Woods is the largest ancient woodland left in West Yorkshire, and for about two weeks around late April the whole floor turns blue. Run it then and you will not miss having a summit.
No car needed
Simon's Seat from Bolton AbbeyHARD
Simon's Seat from Bolton Abbey
21.9km · 534m climb · Loop
Woodland, waterfall, open moorland, and a gritstone tor — this route packs an unusual amount of variety into one 21.9km day out.
No car needed
Checked Jul 2026
Simons Seat BlastEXPERT
Simons Seat Blast
54.9km · 1,603m climb · Loop
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.
No car needed
Checked Jul 2026
EXPERT
Ultra Tour Yorkshire Dales 100k
97.9km · 2,660m climb · Loop
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.
Fell runNo car needed
Wharfedale Three PeaksVERY HARD
Wharfedale Three Peaks
35.2km · 1,129m climb · Loop
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.
No car needed
Checked Jul 2026
Yorkshire Trod 50kVERY HARD
Yorkshire Trod 50k
52.5km · 1,189m climb · Loop
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.
No car needed
Checked Jul 2026