The Yorkshire Dales Witches

Walks with Witches

Walking with the Yorkshire Dales Witches…

It’s the season of the Witch right?

And so of course we have a whole page dedicated to these ladies of the Dales. Ladies who were the victims of superstition, fear and ignorance. There’s a whole lot of history involved in understanding the stories surrounding these remarkable women, but right here, you’ll find the walks that take you to the places where they once lived, or were rumoured to be…

I say rumour, because whilst some are firmly rooted in fact, some may be a little figment of somebody’s imagination…. but I’ll let you read on to find out who is who! (Or Which is Witch…. pun intended!)

You can read my full blog about the Yorkshire Dales witches at the bottom of the page!

Full credit to Eileen Rennison, who’s book I studied to blog about these stories. Coupled with a little bit of internet research, I have written up the full blog on the Yorkshire Dales witches (and those who might be a little less witchy and more… sketchy…)

Each walk has it’s own page. Tap on the button to head to each one.

Buy Me a Coffee

Make a Donation

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!

Tap Here to Buy Me a Coffee
Children dressed as a ghost in white sheets with sunglasses on in the woods

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.

a petrified doll with arms upstretched in a museum

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!

Playing in the water of Swinsty Reservoir

The Timble Witches

Swinsty Reservoir

⭐⭐ Little Adventurers

📍 Washburn Valley, North Yorkshire, near Harrogate

🥾🚘💦👶/🎒🌳🚌🐶

📏 4 miles

Who were the Timble Witches? They were six women who were accused of witchcraft by the Fairfax family. Timble is a tiny hamlet found just above Swinsty Reservoir, however the old residence of the Fairfax family lies firmly in the middle of what is now the reservoir. The allegations of witchcraft related to the Fairfax family children and it was in this area that the alleged crimes of the six witches took place….

Tap here to head to Swinsty Reservoir
Throwing stones into Semerwater

The Witch of Semerwater

Semerwater

📍 Raydale, just up from Bainbridge Wensleydale

⭐⭐⭐ Superstar Hikers

🥾🚘🎒🌳👻✨🐶

📏 5 miles

This ‘witch’ is perhaps a little less set in historical record…. sometimes referred to as the angel of Semerwater, the story goes that the Witch is the reason for the natural lake. The old village of Semmerdale was flooded by the witch in a fit of rage after being shunned and shown mistreatment by the villagers who turned her away. They say you can still hear the drowned church bells ringing from beneath the water…

Tap here to head to our Semerwater walk
Walking up Trow Gill near Clapham

Alice Ketyll of Clapham

Gaping Gill, Clapham

⭐⭐⭐ Superstar Hikers

💦🚘🥾🎒🌳✨🧒🐶🚌

📏 8 miles linear (there and back again) walk

📍 Clapham, North Yorkshire, Yorkshire Dales National Park

This is one of my favourite witch stories! Alice was said to be the resident witch of Clapham back in the 1400’s, she lived in a cottage found at the foot of Trow Gill (an epic gorge that you’ll encounter on this walk). Alice was said to have made a pact with the Devil to help her stepson in the War of the Roses by standing in a ring of 9 dead cockerels (a piece of Clapham history that was put in the millennium stone at the church).

But it turns out that the story of Alice is not quite all that it seems…. and if THAT doesn’t have you scrolling to the bottom to read the full story I don’t know what will!

Tap here to head to Gaping Gill
Child standing dressed as a witch in the mouth of a cave

Mother Shipton, Knaresborough

📍 Knaresborough, near Harrogate North Yorkshire

⭐ Little Monkeys

📏 Under 1 mile

💦🌳👶🥾✨🚌🐶

If you’ve ever been to Knaresborough, you will have heard of Mother Shipton’s Cave, one of the country’s oldest tourist attractions. Mother Shipton was referred to as a witch and came up with some pretty terrifying prophecies during her lifetime. As most alleged witches were, she was shunned and mocked by many of the residents and took to hiding away in the woodland surrounding Knaresborough. Whilst you can’t walk to the cave without paying the admission charges, this walk takes you through the woodland she would have known well, and along the river near her cave.

Tap here to head to Knaresborough Circular
Child standing on a tree stump in autumn woods dressed as a witch with a wand with lightening coming out of it

The Yorkshire Dales Witches

Read the Full Stories of the Yorkshire Dales Witches…

Tap here to head to the Witch's Stories

Scroll using the arrows for all our Family Friendly Walks

Follow us for up to date Outdoors Adventures!

We live and BREATHE the Yorkshire Dales outdoors life!

BEEN INSPIRED? Tag us @reluctantexplorers

Come follow our journey over on Instagram and Facebook where you’ll find up to date walk info, breaking news on Yorkshire Events, new Yorkshire Dales wild swim spots, climbing, caves and more!

Follow us on Social Media for all the up to date info: @thereluctantexplorers

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.

Help us to protect our wild spaces.