Nidderdale Way
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The Nidderdale Way is a circular long distance footpath in
Nidderdale Nidderdale, historically also known as Netherdale, is one of the Yorkshire Dales (although outside the Yorkshire Dales National Park) in North Yorkshire, England. It is the upper valley of the River Nidd, which flows south underground and then ...
in
North Yorkshire North Yorkshire is the largest ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county (lieutenancy area) in England, covering an area of . Around 40% of the county is covered by National parks of the United Kingdom, national parks, including most of ...
, England. The trail can be started and completed anywhere on the route, but the usual starting points are Ripley, linked by the frequent route 36 bus to
Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by populati ...
,
Harrogate Harrogate ( ) is a spa town and the administrative centre of the Borough of Harrogate in North Yorkshire, England. Historic counties of England, Historically in the West Riding of Yorkshire, the town is a tourist destination and its visitor at ...
and
Ripon Ripon () is a cathedral city in the Borough of Harrogate, North Yorkshire, England. The city is located at the confluence of two tributaries of the River Ure, the Laver and Skell. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, the city ...
, and
Pateley Bridge Pateley Bridge (known locally as Pateley) is a small market town in Nidderdale in the Borough of Harrogate, North Yorkshire, England. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, it lies on the River Nidd. It is in the Yorkshire Dales and ...
, the only town on the route. The route follows the northern side of the dale on the outward leg and returns on the southern side. Consequently, the outward and return legs are never far apart. From Ripley the path follows a series of side valleys on the northern side of Nidderdale and then climbs to
Brimham Rocks Brimham Rocks, once known as Brimham Crags, is a 183.9-hectare (454-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) and Geological Conservation Review (GCR) site, 8 miles (13 km) north-west of Harrogate, North Yorkshire, Engla ...
. It then descends to the hamlet of Smelthouses and climbs to Blazefield before descending to Pateley Bridge. From Pateley the path keeps close to the
River Nidd The River Nidd is a tributary of the River Ouse in the English county of North Yorkshire. In its first few miles it is dammed three times to create Angram Reservoir, Scar House Reservoir and Gouthwaite Reservoir, which attract a total of aroun ...
, passing
Wath Wath may refer to: Places in England * Wath, Cumbria, a U.K. location * Wath (near Ripon), a village in Harrogate district, North Yorkshire * Wath, Ryedale, a village in North Yorkshire * Wath-in-Nidderdale, a village near Pateley Bridge in Har ...
,
Gouthwaite Reservoir Gouthwaite Reservoir is a reservoir in Nidderdale, North Yorkshire, England. It is one of many in the area, others include Roundhill Reservoir and Angram Reservoir. Gouthwaite's sole purpose is a compensation reservoir for the River Nidd, i.e. ...
and
Bouthwaite Bouthwaite is a hamlet in the Harrogate district of North Yorkshire, England. It is situated in Nidderdale, to the north of Pateley Bridge, close to the village of Ramsgill. The Nidderdale Way and Six Dales Trail both pass through the hamlet. T ...
to Lofthouse. The path then takes a route high above the Nidd to reach the dam of
Scar House Reservoir Scar House Reservoir is the second of the three reservoirs in Upper Nidderdale, England, the others being Angram Reservoir and Gouthwaite Reservoir. Between them they attract around 150,000 visitors a year. Angram and Scar House were built to ...
, where it crosses to the right or south bank of the river. From the dam the path climbs an old track to reach its highest point at , before descending to the village of
Middlesmoor Middlesmoor is a small hill village at the head of Nidderdale in the Harrogate district of North Yorkshire, England. Middlesmoor is the principal settlement in the civil parish of Stonebeck Up, historically a township in the ancient parish of ...
. It then crosses Stean Beck to reach Stean, and descends on the western side of the valley to
Ramsgill Ramsgill is a small village in Nidderdale, North Yorkshire, England, about south-east of Lofthouse, located near Gouthwaite Reservoir. It is chiefly known for the Yorke Arms, formerly a Michelin-starred restaurant on the village green which t ...
. From Ramsgill the route was changed in 2019 to avoid a section of road walking on the west side of Gouthwaite Reservoir. The Way now follows a minor road back to Bouthwaite and then returns by the outbound route on the east side of Gouthwaite Reservoir to Wath. It then recrosses the Nidd and ascends to Heathfield, and takes a long loop around the side valley of Ashfold Side Beck to reach
Bewerley Bewerley is a village and civil parish in the Harrogate district of North Yorkshire, England, about twelve miles west of Ripon. The parish includes the urban area of Pateley Bridge west of the River Nidd (known as Bridgehouse Gate), and the vil ...
. The path then follows a high rocky section known as Guise Cliff, before descending to
Dacre Banks Dacre is a village and civil parish in the Harrogate district of North Yorkshire, England, it is 5 miles south of Pateley Bridge. In the 2001 census the parish had a population of 658, increasing to 764 at the 2011 Census. The village is situat ...
. It then follows the Nidd downstream to Darley,
Birstwith Birstwith is a village and civil parish in the Harrogate district of North Yorkshire, England. It is part of the Nidderdale, and is situated on the River Nidd. According to the 2001 census, the parish had a population of 756 and increased to 868 ...
and
Hampsthwaite Hampsthwaite is a large village and civil parish in Nidderdale in the Harrogate district of North Yorkshire, England. It lies on the south bank of the River Nidd north west of Harrogate. In the 2011 census the parish had a population of 1, ...
, where it crosses the Nidd to reach
Clint Clint is both a given name and a surname. Notable people with the name include: Given name: *Clint Alberta (1970–2002), Canadian filmmaker * Clint Albright (1926–1999), Canadian ice hockey player *Clint Alfino (born 1968), South African baseba ...
. Finally the path passes
Ripley Castle Ripley Castle is a Grade I listed 14th-century country house in Ripley, North Yorkshire, England, north of Harrogate. The house is built of coursed squared gritstone and ashlar with grey slate and stone slate roofs. A central two-storey block ...
to return to Ripley.


References


Further reading

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External links


Nidderdale Way Walking GuideLDWA website: Nidderdale Way
{{Commons category inline, Nidderdale Way Long-distance footpaths in England Footpaths in North Yorkshire Nidderdale