Yorkshire Pub Walks: Ales & Dales Trail

We have crafted the “Ales and Dales Trail” in such a way that you will walk the famed sweeping rural landscapes and remote moors of the Yorkshire Dales National Park, whilst also taking you through its many picture-postcard stone-built villages. This gives you ample opportunities to visit a rustic country pub or a cosy tearoom for a hearty lunch, dinner or some "light" refreshments! This moderate-graded self-guided walking tour is perfect for those looking for classic English hill walking with plenty of chances along the way to taste its culinary delights!

Classic Routes | If you’re the active, outdoorsy type, who’s interested in taking on the great routes of the world or looking for a challenge, then our Classic Routes are for you. We’re talking the West Highland Way, Tour Du Mont Blanc and the Passau to Vienna Danube Cycle Path, to name but a few!

Inn to Inn Walking | Walk from place-to-place changing accommodations each night. Generally staying in B&Bs, inns, and guesthouses.

Solo Travellers

Expect a mixture of paths, tracks, and minor roads. Some of the paths can become very muddy and boggy when rain falls, often making progress slower than normal. The Ales and Dales trail is not specifically waymarked but you are walking through sections of England’s national trail networks and you regularly pass through small villages and towns – The paths are remote in sections but are walked regularly by other hikers and locals, with a few short sections being on indistinct paths.

The Ales and Dales trail is a classic inn-to-inn hill walking tour at heart; most of the walks on tour are graded moderate (therefore, the tour collectively is graded as moderate); however, there are a couple of days that are verging on moderate-to-strenuous (please do not underestimate the difficulty of these days). For those that would rather spend some more time in the pubs or tea rooms or those simply looking for a more leisurely day, there are options to either shorten the walks or take public transport on most days - the exception to this is the Aysgarth to Kettlewell routes, there are no shortcuts or public transport on offer. (all shortcuts and public transport options are detailed in our information pack and smartphone app). Below is a breakdown of each day and their approximate distance alongside the ascents and descents.

You will stay in a mixture of carefully chosen country inns, manor/guest houses, and/or small hotels. In some cases, due to availability, you may stay in some smaller B&Bs.  Sadly the popular White Lion Inn, in Cray is changing hands in 2024 and we do not know if it will be open next year.

Single Rooms & Solo Walkers

If you require single rooms we would be happy to accommodate you although there is a single room supplement payable, This supplement can be very expensive for solo/single rooms due to the area and nature of the accommodations used on this tour. We welcome solo walkers on this trip although you should, of course, take extra care in the outdoors when walking solo.

Meals

Breakfast is included each morning while lunch and dinner are not included so you are free to choose from the available options. The Ales and Dales trail has many options for lunch stops in local tea rooms or pubs that are dotted along the way - details of these are included in your route notes. Dinner is available either at your accommodation or nearby pubs and restaurants.  Please be aware that we recommended booking any evening meals well in advance of the day your are due to visit

Additional Nights

You may wish to take some extra nights along the route, either to rest or for those with plenty of energy to explore some of the other walking opportunities nearby. We recommend extra nights at:

• Grassington - Plenty to do in this bustling market town - well worth an extra night at the start or end of your trip.

Other Alternatives:

• Malham - Perfect for those looking for some extra nights at the start or end of your trip. Malham is well worth a visit, to walk around the iconic Malham Cove where Harry Potter was filmed. Later on in the evening, you can then relax and dine at one of its many lively pubs or restaurants. Malham is not too far from Grassington and we could arrange for this to be included in your tour as a walking day.  We include both walks on our Escape to the Yorkshire Dales tour - so you can follow these on our Macs Adventure app. For more information, talk to your adventure specialist.
• Hawes - For a mid-tour stop - Hawes is a good option. It is a pretty market town with plenty of easy-going walking trails. It's also home to the Wensleydale Creamery (famous for Wensleydale cheese!). Please talk to your adventure specialist to book an extra night here.

Using the Macs Adventure Smartphone App is mandatory for this tour. Whilst the Ales and Dales is not an official waymarked path, it does follow sections of many national trails including the Dales Way, Pennine Way, Coast to Coast as well as some other known trails such as the Lady Anne Way, Mark Reid's the Inn Way and the Herriot Way. There are some sections where the path underfoot may become indistinct, but we provide comprehensive route notes, maps and GPX tracks through our smartphone app, so you shouldn’t have any problem finding your way. 

The best time to walk is from April through to the end of September.  It's also possible to walk in the shoulder months of March and October, however, the weather can be a nuisance and the paths can become extremely boggy due to increased rainfall and shorter daylight hours. Please note that there may also be a baggage transfer supplement as it is out of season for our local supplier.

By Rail - The nearest train station to Grassington is Skipton. Trains run from London to Skipton (via Leeds) and take approx 4.5-hours or it is also possible to travel from Manchester (3.5 hours). From Skipton, there is a regular local bus service to Grassington that takes around 30 mins. Alternatively for a supplement, we can arrange a taxi transfer for you, from Skipton train station to your accommodation in Grassington. (Costs are approximately £30 one way for 1-4 passengers.

By Car - It is a 4 hour drive from London to Grassington or a 1.5 hour drive from Manchester. The Yorkshire Dales is well linked to all major motorways and road networks. Please let us know if you do plan to drive as we will attempt to arrange parking space for you (please note that this is at the discretion of the hotel and can't be guaranteed).

By Air - The closest airports are Leeds Bradford or Manchester. From either of these airports, you can take the train via Leeds to Skipton. From Skipton, there is a regular local bus service to Grassington that takes around 30 mins. Alternatively for a supplement, we can arrange a taxi transfer for you, from Skipton train station to your accommodation in Grassington. (Costs are approximately £30 one way for 1-4 passengers). For those coming from overseas, you are likely arriving via one of the many London Airports, from here you can catch a train to Skipton as detailed in the "By Rail" section above.

For more information on train times and schedules please visit the Traveline or National Rail websites.

Your bags will be transferred from your accommodation as per your itinerary and moved onto your next overnight accommodation. 

At Macs Adventure we work in partnership with many luggage transfer providers who set a limit on how many bags/suitcases they will transfer per person, and also the weight of the bag/suitcase.  Ninety-nine per cent of the time they will only transfer one bag per person, but the allowed weight ranges from anything between 15 and 20kg per bag, depending on the tour you are taking.  We do not have control over the limits that these providers set. Therefore, it is very important that you read the luggage information specific to your tour before departure. If you do not adhere to these limits there is a great possibility that you will be charged locally both for extra bags or if they are too heavy. This limitation can be a challenge, especially as airlines generally have limits that are higher. However, our luggage providers have reasons for these limits (usually due to the Health and Safety of their employees) which we must respect.