A Circuit of Addingham and Ilkley

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Our view

"From Addingham to Ilkley, along a stretch of the lovely River Wharfe."

Walk directions

Walk 50yds (46m) up the road, and take stone steps down to the right, (signed ‘Dales Way’). Turn immediately right again, dropping to cross the River Wharfe on a suspension bridge. Follow a metalled path along a field edge. Turn over a stream at the end and follow a farm track left to emerge on the bend of a minor road. Go right here; after about 0.5 miles (800m) of road walking, you reach the little community of Nesfield.

About 100yds (91m) beyond the last house and, immediately after the road crosses a stream, bear left up a stony track (signed as a footpath to High Austby). Immediately take a stile between two gates. Cross to the gate in the far-right corner. Through it there is no obvious path, but follow the boundary on your right, heading in the direction of Low Austby Farm. Carry on in the final field past the farm, bearing slightly left beneath a gnarled oak towards the wood ahead.

Cross a footbridge over a stream; beyond a stile you enter woodland. Follow a path downhill, leaving the wood by another step stile. Bear right across the slope of a field to a stile at the far end, to enter more woodland. Follow an obvious path through the trees, before reaching a road via a wall stile. Go right, downhill, until you reach a road junction. Go right again, cross Nesfield Road, and take a path to the left of an electricity substation. Leading to the river, it accompanies the wooded bank to Ilkley’s old stone bridge. Cross to the south side.

To explore the town, go left by the river through the park. Swing right towards its far end to come out by the ancient church. Otherwise, follow the Dales Way back to Addingham by turning right on a riverside path. At its end, keep ahead along the drive to Ilkley Tennis Club. Reaching the clubhouse, bear off left through a kissing gate across pasture. Partway along the second field, take a kissing gate on the left and walk beside two more fields back to the river. Over a stream, continue through trees. Beyond a second stream, a stony path drops back down to the Wharfe. Carry on at the edge of grazing, emerging at the far end onto a now-quiet lane, once the main Skipton road.

Walk right for just over a quarter of a mile (400m) before turning off along Old Lane. Reaching Low Mill village, bear right to follow the street between cottages. At the end, keep ahead on a path that quickly reverts to a lane. After another 0.25 miles (400m), beyond the old Rectory set back within spacious grounds, look for a gate on the right from which steps drop to a tiny arched bridge over Town Beck. Swing left across a pasture in front of the church to join a drive at the far side. Go left but immediately bear off right through a gate over another bridge. Wind between cottages to emerge onto North Road and turn right back to the parking spot.

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Location

Nearest postcode:

Additional information

Terrain - Riverside path and field paths, some road walking, several stiles

Landscape - Rolling country and the River Wharfe

Dog friendliness - On lead near livestock and farms

Parking - Lay-by at eastern end of Addingham, on bend where North Street becomes Bark Lane by information panel

Toilets en route - On riverside near footbridge in Ilkley

Walks in West Yorkshire Dog-friendly walks in West Yorkshire

About the walk

Addingham’s houses extend for a mile (1.6km) on either side of the main street, with St Peter’s Church at the eastern end of the village. So it’s no surprise that the village used to be known as ‘Long Addingham’, and that it combines three separate communities that grew as the textile trades...

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Been on this walk?

Send us photos or a comment about this route. Or recommend a route of your own.

Find out more

Walking in Safety

Read our tips to look after yourself and the environment when following this walk.

Learn more

Get an AA guide

Explore our range of ‘50 Walks in’ guides - they’re the ideal companion for a ramble.

Learn more

About the area

Everybody knows that Yorkshire has some special landscapes. The Dales and the Moors first spring to mind, but what about West Yorkshire? That’s Leeds and Bradford isn’t it? Back-to-back houses and blackened mills… Certainly if you had stood on any of the hills surrounding Hebden Bridge a hundred years ago, and gazed down into the valley, all you would have seen was the pall of smoke issuing from the chimneys of 33 textile mills.