Walks with a Dark Side
Yorkshire Dales walks with a Dark History
Unsolved mysteries, highwaymen and despicable crimes…
The Yorkshire Dales has SO much dark history and so many grizzly tales to tell that I’ve dedicated a page to them! A walks page! That’s right, each of these family friendly walks will take you to places that have seen some truly shady shenanigans and you’ll find the stories to accompany them too!
If you take a minute to scroll to the bottom you’ll find the page where all these stories are told in full too! Plenty to talk about, but how much you tell the kids, well I’ll leave that one to you!
Treat this page is like a menu. You’ll find snippets and brief details of each walk so you can read what’s involved. If any pique your interest, then tap on the button which will take you to each dedicated walk page. There, you’ll find all the family friendly need to know facts about the walk, a map and full route description. Oh, and you’ll also find out where to find the ice cream and the play park too!
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Thank you for taking the time to have a look at my website and for reading this now!
I set up the Reluctant Explorers and maintain the website and attached social media accounts in my spare time, around mum-life and two jobs. It was designed to provide access for parents to free resources to help get more families outside and exploring in nature. These walks have all been created by myself and the kids and we have walked each one ourselves (and re-walk them regularly to keep the information as up to date as we can).
If you would like to support us and can afford a few pennies, you can make a donation to our ‘Buy Me a Coffee’ page. Simply tap the button below to head there!
Something in mind? Search our full site!
(e.g. search: Gaping Gill Winch, Kettlewell etc.)
The Star Guides
Each of our has been walked by our own 6 feet (in the sense of us being three actual humans, not in a kind of weird monster-like way!) Often, they have been walked several times and sometimes, they have been walked so often that they have been added to. This website has been growing alongside the OG Reluctant Explorers and now they can handle a little bit more - maybe yours can too.
I will say. As parents we know our kids better than anybody. I have done my best to include as much information as I can in each individual walk, so you can make your own judgement as a family. So the star ratings are just a guide to get you started.
⭐ Little Monkeys:
Walks suitable for younger children up to preschool (and beyond!) Shorter length walks with occasional pushchair access, no technical or tricky terrain. Perfect for those who are just getting out of the pushchair (and then back in again… and then back out…. and then… you know how it goes!)
⭐⭐ Little Adventurers:
Walks suitable for pre-schoolers and younger kids. Medium length/ difficulty walks. In these walks, there may be some more challenging terrain, but they are still fairly short.
⭐⭐⭐ Superstar Hikers:
Walks suitable for older children. Not necessary longer length, but they are more technically challenging in the terrain, and on occasion the distance as well.
The Walk Emojis
I’m renowned for a heavy used of emojis in my regular life, so why on EARTH should my website be any different?! Here is a guide as to what they all stand for.
Essentially, it’s a brief look at what you can expect from the walk, but in emoji form. (I’m campaigning for a pram emoji. It would make my pushchair friendly walk life MUCH easier.)
👶 Suitable for Pushchairs (see? no pram emoji)
🎒 Suitable for Carriers (that’s a rucksack, not a weird satchel. Closest thing to a kid carrier I could find!)
🚘 Car Park/ On Street Parking (plain sailing there - all of our walks have places to park, although if possible try….
🚌 Public Transport (PLEASE! To try and alleviate parking problems and to just in general be an excellent egg.)
🐶 Dog Friendly (plenty of those!)
🥾 Sturdy Footwear or Wellies (I’d say for most, walking shoes/ boots, for some, wellies)
🛝 A park or play area (I try my hardest to find one, or at least tell you where the nearest one is!)
🦆 Ducks to Feed (bring your duck food!)
🍦 Ice Cream! For Ice cream is truly a WONDERFUL addition to a family walk!
☕ As is coffee (for the adults obviously - I’m not going to subject you to a caffeine fuelled reluctant explorer THE HORROR!) This one means you can find coffee, tea or hot chocolate (ok - that one’s for the WHOLE family!)
🍻 Because I know how a family walk can go, you’ll be relieved to know that I’ll also tell you if there’s a pub at the end!
💦 Water play/ paddle/ swim (Check out our advice on Wild Swimming with Kids and the RLSS Water Safety info)
✨📚 Cool history, geology, something blummin’ awesome to talk about.
👻 Legendary Story. Ghosts, horrible history, witches and trolls!
🌳 Walking Games - they all have these!
Dead Man’s Hill
The Lodge Murders
⭐⭐⭐ Superstar Hikers
📍 Scar House Reservoir, Lofthouse, Upper Nidderdale
🥾🚘🎒🌳🐶
📏 4.5 miles
If you take a walk around Scar House Reservoir in Upper Nidderdale, you will chance upon the remains of a medieval village named Lodge. A once bustling village on the old trade route over Dead Man’s Hill, it was at the Inn there that three Scottish pedlars were brutally murdered (well, that’s one of the versions!).
They were found buried in the peat at the top of the hill, missing their belongings, their money and…. their heads.
Poor Old Robin Proctor
The Norber Erratics
⭐⭐⭐ Superstar Hikers
💦🚘🥾🎒🌳✨☕🍻🛝🍦🐶🚌
📏 5 miles circular walk
📍 Clapham, North Yorkshire, Yorkshire Dales National Park
If you take a wander to the Norber Erratics from Clapham, you will walk right under Robin Proctor’s Scar. This craggy rock face is a haven for climbers and is named after poor old Robin, who met his grizzly end after falling asleep on a horse after a ahem…. heavy session at the local pub. The story is quite a tragic cautionary tale….
Buckden Bill and the Buckden Aircrash
Buckden Pike, Upper Wharfedale
⭐⭐⭐ Superstar Hikers
🚘🥾💦🎒🍻🌳🚌🐶
📏 7 miles
📍 Buckden, Upper Wharfedale, the Yorkshire Dales
Another tale about a poor unfortunate soul. This time Buckden Bill, whose skeleton was found wearing a felt hat and still holding a walking stick, by a group of students charting the old levels of the lead mine under Buckden Pike back in the 1960’s.
Who Bill was remains a mystery, but there have been some investigations into trying to fathom his identity… how successful? You’ll have to read the story!
The Buckden air crash story is a sad tale from the second world war.
The Curse
Mill Gill Force
⭐⭐⭐ Superstar Hikers
📍 Askrigg, Wensleydale The Yorkshire Dales
🚘🥾🎒🍻☕🛝💦🌳🚌🐶
📏4.5 miles
From poor unfortunate souls to tragic grudges. Mill Gill force was the final resting place of two young lovers who were killed because of a family rivalry back in the 1500’s. It’s all very Romeo and Juliet except it involves curdled milk.
Murder at the Country’s Tallest Waterfall
Hardraw Force
⭐ Little Monkeys
📍 Hardraw, Wensleydale. The Yorkshire Dales
🚘🥾👶/🧒💦👻🍦☕🍻🌳🚌🐶
📏 1-2 miles circular trail
Not only was this the filming location for Robin Hood Prince of Thieves, but it was the scene of a grizzly murder hundreds of years ago.
A brawl turned bad when the poor victim fell to his death from the top of the waterfall. It wasn’t until the investigations found the remains of a melted dagger that the perpetrators were brought to justice.
The Construction of the Ribblehead Viaduct
📍 Whernside, Ribblehead. The Yorkshire Dales
⭐⭐⭐ Superstar Hikers
🚘🚅🥾🎒✨🍻🍦👻💦🚌🐶
📏 4 miles circular
This absolute behemoth was an incredible achievement in architectural terms, but required the labour of thousands of navvies, all of whom were housed in camps at its base.
The harsh conditions coupled with the danger of the work resulted in a high death toll and that wasn’t just the sad fate if the workers…
The area of the camp is now a designated historical site of interest and the stories surrounding life up there are brutal.
Notorious Tom Lee
Cove Scar and Grass Woods
📍 Grassington, Yorkshire Dales, Wharfedale
⭐⭐⭐ Superstar Hikers
🥾🚘🎒🍦🍻☕🛝👻✨🌳🚌🐶
📏 4 miles circular walk
More dastardly crimes!
The notorious Tom Lee was a blacksmith in Grassington and was responsible for the murder of a local doctor in Grass Woods. He hid out in the cave on Cove Scar but was found and later brought to justice….
The Spy of Clapham Bottoms
Ingleborough
📍 Clapham to Gaping Gill
⭐⭐⭐ Superstar Hikers
🎒🚘🥾🎒✨🛝🍻🍦☕👻💦🚌🐶
📏 6-7 miles there and back again
You will have undoubtedly have heard of Ingleborough, you might have heard of Gaping Gill (where the bi-annual winch is held), but I’ll bet you’ve not heard of Clapham Bottoms. This area on the flank of Ingleborough is where the suspected body of a German Spy was found sealed up inside one of the tiny cave entrances there are dotted around Ingleborough.
For the full story, check out the Dark History blog, but if you’re intrigued, check out out Gaping Gill Walk!
The Gatenby Sisters
Ingleton Waterfalls Trail
📍 Ingleton, Yorkshire Dales
⭐⭐⭐ Superstar Hikers
🥾🚘🎒🛝🍻🍦☕👻✨🌳🚌🐶
📏 5 miles circular walk
From many (many) murders, to a misplaced poison plot. So a kinda murder gone very wrong. The Gatenby sisters of Ingleton were plotting to kill each other in order to claim an inheritance and keep it alllll to themselves. Problem was…. they both came up with the same plan and ended up executing it at exactly the same time… let’s just say it didn’t end up very well for either of the murderous sisters…
The Yorkshire Dales Grizzly Tales
Read the Full Stories of the Dark History of the Yorkshire Dales
Scroll using the arrows for all our Family Friendly Walks
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![Swimming in Janet's Foss Yorkshire Dales]()
Waterfall Walks
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![Malham cove walk for kids]()
Pushchair Friendly
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![Pinhaw Beacon trig point walk near Skipton]()
Peak Bagging Walks
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![The Park at Greenhow Nidderdale]()
Walks with Play Parks
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![Gordale Scar in Malham Yorkshire Dales]()
Organised by Location
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![Walking in the woodland in Wensleydale]()
Woodland Walks
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![Playing on the shore of Embsay Reservoir Yorkshire Dales]()
Reservoir Walks
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![The ruins of Bolton Abbey]()
Bolton Abbey Estate Walks
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![Leaping over the stile at Almscliffe Crag]()
Walks Under 2 Miles
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![Child walking into a pub in Appletreewick]()
Walks with Pubs and Cafes
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Leave No Trace
The Yorkshire Dales is our home, and the home of so many others who care deeply about this beautiful space.
Should you visit, make sure to:
Take home anything you bring, leave no rubbish behind.
Make the world a better place by picking up any rubbish you see, even if it isn’t yours.
Leave everything else as you found it.