A walk from Bolton Abbey and back featuring riverside walking,and woodland and the historic ruins of Bolton Priory

1. Bolton Abbey~
Hard Walk

2. A perfect summers walk which has so many brilliant
elements to it a whole day could be devoted to it.
Bolton Abbey is the destination and the start of the
walk. Its ruins lie next to the River Wharfe, perfect for
picnics and riverside walks. Challenging due to its
steep parts and length, the walk includes a wooded
area, amazing views at the top of a hill, riverside
walking and ends at the historic Bolton Abbey and
Priory. A walking stick is recommended as part of the
walk can become marshy after wet weather.

3. Getting There
From Middlesbrough follow the A66 to Darlington and then
follow it to the A1 Scotch Corner. Keep on the A1 south
bound and look for Junction 47 which is signposted to
Harrogate. Follow the A59 road through Harrogate and
follow it out of Harrogate until you come to a roundabout for
Bolton Abbey on a right hand turn. Parking is included with
the admission fee for the Abbey and it is £8. Bolton Abbey
becomes very busy during the summer but additional
parking is well catered for

4. Map of the Bolton Abbey walk

5. The Walk
From the car park leave near
the village store and turn
right and head for the road.
Turn left and follow the road
under an archway. Look for s
signed track on the left. Go
through a gate

6. Follow the track and look for
a gate on the right signed as
a bridleway

7. Bear left to a signpost
under a power line. Follow
the signpost right. Go past
two pools and through a
gate. Head to the right
towards the woods and go
through a gate into the
woods.

8. Follow the track through the
wood which is a gradual climb
and meanders through the
woods. Follow the track until
you come to a gate.

9. Through the gate you
will come onto an open
field. The way ahead is
now made by looking
for stones in the field
with blue coloured
waymarks on them.

10. Follow the rocks - you need to
head towards a gate to the right.
Go through the gate and head
diagonally through the next field.
If unsure at this point there is a
good GPS phone signal here.
Basically head for the gate to the
right of the field near the wall.

11. Go through the gate and
turn left and follow the
track against the wall.
The path climbs more
steeply onto Hare Head
by following the track and
waystones. Climb to the
top of the hill for amazing
views. It will be worth it!

12. Admire the view before
descending the hill to a gate.

13. Just a few steps ahead take
a path to the right which will
be a nice downhill route
heading to a signpost at the
wall near the road. Turn right
and parallel to the road for a
short time. You will soon
come to a signpost
signposted as FP to B6160.

14. Turn right and follow the
track to a stile being
careful with the ground
you are on, the path can
get muddy and
waterlogged after wet
weather. Your walking
stick is handy on this
section of the walk. At the
stile take the left fork in
the track.

15. Follow the track heading
for a corner in the wall.
Continue to another wall
and then turn right at the
wall. You should be able to
see Hare Hill ahead.
Follow the track around to
the left to a signpost.

16. Signpost to stile

17. Turn left at the signpost
over a stile and follow the
wall down to the road
below. Go over another
stile and turn right on the
road. Enter the carpark on
the left and head past the
Strid Wood Visitor Centre
down a path which forks to
the left. Follow the path to
the rivers edge.

18. Follow the river track
downstream, this is a
nice riverside section of
the walk, but this still
has steep areas on the
path.

19. Eventually on this
pleasant part of the walk
you will come to
Cavendish Pavillion.
Bear left past the café
and go over a footbridge.

21. Immediately over the
footbridge turn right onto a
path which is part of the
Dales Way. Go over a stile
in a wall and over a stream
on a road

22. When the road carries on
look for a gate on the
right and go through this
and continue on the
path. Shortly when you
come to a fork either take
the lower path or the
higher one. The higher
one has lovely views of
the Priory below

24. Descend to a bridge
near some stepping
stones. You can now
explore the priory and
take a well end break.
Excellent space for a
picnic.. The car park is
found by following the
path to the left of the
priory back to the main
road and left to the car
park.