Directions to the Bolton Abbey Waterfalls

1. Cross over The Wooden Bridge that spans the River Wharfe just outside the Cavendish Pavilion, heading away from the car park.

2. At the far end of the bridge, take the path to the left that follows the riverbank. At the next gate, you need to head steeply up and right, simply follow the signs to the Valley of Desolation and Simon’s Seat. The Bolton Abbey Estate is very well signposted, so you can’t go wrong here!

3. The path will take you up to a very quiet road, where you need to turn left and continue until you see a big information board next to a gate through the wall on your right. The information board tells you all about Barden Fell and the moorland around it.

4. Head through the gate in the wall, and walk towards the wooden waymarker. Then follow the track across the wide grassy field. You will be heading in a roughly leftwards/ straight on diagonal direction towards the large metal gate in the wall ahead of you.

5. Head through the gate and follow the wide and obvious track upwards. There are cows grazing in this field on occasion, so be careful if you are not keen!

6. Soon you will notice a pond on your right (how big or small it is depends on how wet it’s been!) The track you need is around 100m ahead of you on the left. It will take you down the bank into the Gill. It’s clear because there’s a bench at the top and you will be able to see the waterfall from this point. The path is smaller than the one you’ve been on so far but is still well defined.

7. As you approach the gill, you will see a wooden footbridge to your left. There is a small path that leads you up the right hand bank, but this will only get you so far (unless you fancy a pretty non child friendly scramble!) There is a much easier access point from the left bank, so cross the bridge, turn right, and after a short distance you’ll see an offshoot down to the right. This is the one that takes you down to the water’s edge, where you can take in all the beauty of the waterfalls. This is lovely little spot for a paddle too, when the conditions are right (in winter after wet weather it is a raging torrent!)

8. Here you are faced with an option. The path up the side of the falls is steep and there is an exposed drop to one side. It is however only a very short section of the path. If you have very young little ones or aren’t confident with the exposure, then simply head back to the main path and retrace your steps. If you have more confident explorers then head back up to the path and turn right, the path takes you up to the top of the waterfalls and along the left hand side of the beck. Follow the path, which hugs the beck side. There are more paddle spots along here too.

9. Shortly you will see a wooden bridge on your right. This is your return route. If you fancy it, you can explore a little further upstream of the first set of falls (you might be surprised if you follow the left edge of the beck…), but be mindful of the right of way and keep to any footpath you see.

10. Once you have had your fill of exploring turn around and head the way you came, back to the footbridge and cross it this time. The path will take you back to the pond and then you need to head back to where you started!

Last walked March 2026