Ghostly Walks
Walks with a Ghost Story in the Yorkshire Dales
The Yorkshire Dales is PACKED full of ghost stories…
There are so many ghoulish tales, which are PERFECT for Halloween that it was SO easy to put them all together into a ghostly walks section!
Each of these walks comes with their very own ghost story, so if you’re a fan of the spectral residents of the Yorkshire Dales then look no further! We are talking anything from the deepest darkest stories that will chill you to the BONE… (oooooh, probably best not tell the kids about those ones… ) to the more light hearted stories about narked ghostly fiddlers, dogs and maybe even a hoax or two….
And the best news is? Each and every one of our Halloween ghost walks is family friendly, has a difficulty rating and has ALL the key bits you need to know about as a parent. Like where to find the play park or the ice cream (oh yes! Ice cream is for all year, not just the Summer!)
Treat this page as a little teaser as to what is involved in each walk. Every one has a dedicated walk page, so simply choose your spooky tale and tap the button to find out more about the walk. On each page you’ll find a full route description and map as well as all the family friendly information you need!
Oh and one last thing.
If you want to read about all of the ghost stories in detail, scroll to the bottom of the page where you’ll find all of our ghost stories, folklore, horrible histories and witchy tales in one place!
Something in mind? Search our full site!
(e.g. search: Gaping Gill Winch, Kettlewell etc.)
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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!
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!
The Most Haunted House in the Yorkshire Dales
Muker
⭐⭐⭐ Superstar Hikers
📍 Muker, Swaledale, The Yorkshire Dales National Park
📏 6 miles
🎒🚘🥾💦✨🍦🍻👻🐶🚌🌳
This is a STUNNING waterfall walk between the Swaledale villages of Muker and Keld and it’s just beautiful. But on the way back, you’ll walk past some super spooky abandoned farmhouses which are on the Coast to Coast route. One of the them, is known locally as Bogle House and is supposedly haunted…
Prior Moone and The Butcher
Bolton Abbey Priory Ruins
⭐⭐ Little Adventurers
📍 Wharfedale, The Yorkshire Dales National Park (SE)
📏 3 miles
🎒🚘🥾💦✨🍦👻🐶🚌🌳
If you’ve ever been to Bolton Abbey, you will have paid a visit to the Priory Ruins! But did you know that the remains of the old priory are the home of the ghosts of Prior Moone and the grizzly and gruesome Butcher?
I mean with a name like The Butcher, he’s got to be creepy right?
The Barden Tower Screamer
Bolton Abbey
⭐⭐⭐ Superstar Hikers
📍 Wharfedale, The Yorkshire Dales National Park (SE)
📏 5 miles
🎒🥾🚘💦🍦✨👻🐶🚌🌳
Barden Tower is a Grade I listed hunting lodge on the Bolton Abbey Estate, which was rumoured to be haunted by a disembodied scream…. want to explore it? Check out the walk!
The Ghosts of Greenhow Hill
Provident and Prosperous Lead Mines
📍 Greenhow, Nidderdale
⭐⭐⭐ Superstar Hikers
🚘🥾🎒✨🛝☕🌳👻🐶
📏 SHORTER 4 miles LONG 6 miles circular walk
Greenhow Hill sits just above Pateley Bridge on the cusp of the Nidderdale National Landscape and touching the border of the Yorkshire Dales National Park. Just a drive past it will tell you that it had an industrial past, with the ruins of the lead mines dotted around the hillside. Nearby Stump Cross caverns was stumbled upon by the lead miners whilst they were scouting out new levels to mine…
It was once bustling with the sound of mining.
And after dark… it still is…
The Children of Thruscross Reservoir
Thruscross Reservoir
📍 Washburn Valley, near Otley/ Harrogate/ Pateley Bridge
⭐⭐⭐ Superstar Hikers
🚘🥾✨👻💦 🚌 (nearby) 🐶
📏 6 miles
Thruscross is the highest of the Washburn Reservoirs and in dry weather, you may even see the remains of the submerged village of West End, that usually lies below the surface of the water. The story goes that one such drowned building was a workhouse for children, the cries of whom can be heard still above the surface of the dark, cold water….
The Ghost of Stainforth Bridge
Stainforth Force and the Hoffman Kiln
📍 Stainforth, near Settle South Yorkshire Dales
🥾🎒🚘💦✨🍻🌳🚌🐶
📏 4 miles
Overlooking the famous falls of Stainforth Force (epic in the Autumn I might add!) lies the stunning stone listed bridge, allegedly haunted by one man and his dog… two ghosts that were relocated from the nearby Knight Stainforth Hall when it burned down…
The Ghosts of the Ribblehead Workers
Whernside
📍 Ribblehead, Yorkshire Dales National Park
⭐⭐⭐ Superstar Hikers
📏 Circular walk, 11 miles
🥾🎒🚘👻🍻🍦💦🌳🚌🐶
Ribblehead is a pretty epic place with a brutal history, resulting in it being the hub for several ghost stories! From phantom phone calls, to grizzly ghouls haunting the train lines and moors surrounding this incredible feat of architecture, you can explore the whole area, and climb the highest of the Yorkshire Three Peaks on this walk!
For a slightly shorter version, head to our Force Gill walk.
Alice of Crackpot Hall
Swinner Gill and Crackpot Hall
📍 Keld, Swaledale, Yorkshire Dales National Park (North)
⭐⭐⭐ Superstar Hikers (some unguarded drops)
🥾🎒🚘💦🍦👻🌳🐶
📏 4 miles linear - some testing terrain
Crackpot Hall is an incredible ruin in the upper reaches of Swaledale. It’s bleak and isolated position has prompted many a ghostly tale to be written about this place…. but can it be true?
The Monk in Gaping Gill
Gaping Gill, Clapham
⭐⭐⭐ Superstar Hikers
💦🚘🥾🎒🌳🍻🛝☕✨🐶🚌
📏 8 miles linear (there and back again) walk
📍 Clapham, North Yorkshire, Yorkshire Dales National Park
Gaping Gill is a gigantic black hole into which the country’s tallest single drop waterfall, falls. But not only is the cave underneath the home of an epic waterfall, and the location of a legendary winch… it’s the home to the ghost of a monk…
The Ghostly Residents of Burnsall
Burnsall to Hebden
📍 Burnsall to Hebden Circular
⭐⭐⭐ Superstar Hikers
📏 Circular walk 3.5 - 4 miles
🥾🎒🚘👻🛝🍻🍦☕💦🌳🐶🚌
Burnsall bridge is a quintessential packhorse bridge in the chocolate box village of Burnsall. Pretty perfect by Yorkshire Dales standards. Although if you cross the bridge, you might bump into a hiker of the more spectral variety… or if you wander into the village maybe you might encounter a stubborn fiddle player…. or have a pint tampered with by a mischievous ghostly resident of the Red Lion beer cellar…. quite a few phantom residents for such a tiny village right?!
The Spectres of Aysgarth
West Burton to Aysgarth
📍 West Burton, Wensleydale Yorkshire Dales National Park Central
⭐⭐⭐ Superstar Hikers
📏 Circular walk, 5.5 miles
🥾🎒🚘💦🍻🍦🛝☕🌳🚌🐶
Yet ANOTHER tiny part of the Yorkshire Dales that appears to house many, many ghostly residents! This time, ghostly horses and carriages, a phantom lady who appears to be so lifelike, that many mistake her for human and finally the ghost of an alleged philanderer, who was on the rough end of some vigilante justice….
The Linton Headless Horseman
Linton Falls and Stepping Stones
📍 Linton, Wharfedale, Yorkshire Dales South East
⭐⭐ Little Adventurers
🚘🥾💦🎒✨🛝🍦🍻☕🌳👻🐶🚌
📏 2 miles circular walk
I mean…. can you even do a Ghost Walk section if you haven’t included a headless horseman?!
Well, if you’re searching for one, then Linton is your place! That and a ghostly monk. Yes, another one. Plenty of them around in Wharfedale!
The Most Haunted Place in the Dales?
Semerwater
📍 Raydale, just up from Bainbridge Wensleydale
⭐⭐⭐ Superstar Hikers
🥾🚘🎒🌳👻✨🐶
📏 5 miles circular walk
Well. If you’re looking for a bumper collection of ghoulish tales then Semerwater has them in their droves! One of the most remote parts of the Dales and one of the only lakes, Semerwater has a whole host of creepy tales, from grey ladies to phantom horsemen! Remember we have all of the ghost stories in one place, so head to the bottom of the page!
The Tragic Legend of the Drummer Boy
Easby Abbey and Richmond Foss
📍 Richmond, North Yorkshire
⭐⭐ Little Adventurers
🚘🥾🎒💦🛝🍻🍦☕✨🌳👻🐶🚌
📏 4 miles circular walk
The legend of the Richmond Drummer boy is a sad one…. and of course because it’s so well known, it has several different versions! The well known story goes that a poor young soldier was send to explore a subterranean tunnel, drumming as he went so the soldiers above could track his progress…. the point at which his drum fell silent is marked by the Drummer Boy Stone (pictured)….
The Quirkiest Walk EVER?
Kirkby Stephen to Stenkrith Park
📍 Kirkby Stephen, Westmorland Dales
⭐⭐/ ⭐⭐⭐ Two alternative routes
📏 Circular walk - either less than 2 miles or 4 miles
🥾🎒🚘💦🍻🍦🛝☕🌳🚌🐶
The full version of this will take you to Jangling Anna’s Bridge (otherwise known as Frank’s Bridge) in Kirkby Stephen, a bridge haunted by an escaped prisoner, to the Loki Stone (ancient rock carved with the figure of Norse God of mischief, Loki), to the Devil’s Grinding Mill and more!
The Ghost in the Bath House
White Wells Spa, Ilkley
📍 Ilkley Moor
⭐⭐ Little Adventurers
🚘🥾💦🎒✨🛝🍦🍻☕🌳👻🧒🐶🚌
📏 less than 2 miles circular walk
White Wells Spa is found on the side of Ilkley Moor and has been open to the public for hundreds of years. Folk once flocked to take the restorative waters of the moor and sadly in 1793, for one little girl, this ended in tragedy.
A Haunting at Hardraw
Hardraw Force, Shaw Gill Woods and the Green Dragon Pub
📍 Hardraw, near Hawes in Wensleydale
⭐/ ⭐⭐⭐ Two alternative routes
📏 Circular or linear walk - either less than 1 mile or 3 miles
🥾🎒🚘💦🍻🍦🛝👻☕🌳🚌🐶
A haunted pub next to a haunted waterfall? Need I say more?
This walk takes you to Shaw Gill Woods (which are beautiful in Autumn) and Hardraw Force, the scene of a despicable crime which replays on stormy nights and if that’s not ghostly enough, the Green Dragon Pub is the home of not one, not two, but FIVE ghosts!
For the shorter version, great for the youngest explorers head to our Hardraw Force walk.
Really Spooky Ravenstonedale
Smardale Gill from Ravenstonedale
📍 Ravenstonedale, Cumbria, Westmorland Dales
⭐⭐⭐ Superstar Hikers
🚘🥾🎒🍻🛝💦✨🌳👻🐶🚌
📏 5 miles circular walk
Ravenstonedale is a stunningly spooky village in Cumbria near the edge of the Yorkshire Dales National Park and this walk takes you to the haunted pubs, the ruins of the Gilbertine monastery and you’ll cross a road haunted by a blind wandering ghost!
Pretty punchy on the phantom front right?
It’s Better Down Here
Austwick, near Settle
📍 Austwick
⭐⭐ Little Adventurers
📏 Circular walk 2.5 miles
🥾🎒🚘💦🍻🍦🛝👻☕🌳🚌🐶
Not going to lie, this one’s pretty strange!
Shall I be a tease and not tell you anything about the legend of the deep pool where one of a group of friends decided to jump in and rather than swim, sank to the bottom, leaving his buddies with the words ‘it’s better down here’ after which his friends decided to join him never to return again?
Oh wait, I did.
The Ghosts of Skipton Castle
Skipton Castle Woods
📍 Skipton, North Yorkshire
⭐⭐ Little Adventurers
🚘🥾🎒🍻💦✨🍦☕🌳👻🐶🚌
📏 1-2 miles circular walk
With a history spanning well over 900 years and having withstood a HEFTY three year long siege, it’s unsurprising that Skipton Castle is well and truly haunted. From Georgian children to a dastardly dungeons, spooky soldiers running riot and Lady Anne herself still wandering around, it seemed a shame to miss out Skipton Castle.
The walk through the woodland surrounding the castle is stunning in Autumn, making this the perfect wander for an October day. Oh, and there’s a haunted pub too to complete your ghostly gang!
Ready to Read…
The Ghost Stories
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.