Burnsall ~ Medium Walk

Distance Covered: 2.5 miles Time to Complete Walk 1.5 hours

Suitable for dog walking: Yes -as long as no cattle in the field at the beginning of the walk.

A delightful short pub walk at Burnsall that packs so much in, in just under two hours. Cross over its lovely arched bridge and then climb up a steep but short field to be rewarded with spectacular views. Then make your way over a suspension bridge which has an authentic sway, or some stepping stones if you are confident not to get wet, to return to Burnsall by the river with some beautiful scenery around every corner. The walk conveniently ends at the Red Lion Inn. If Carlsberg made pub walks this would certainly be the one!.

General Safety Tips: There is a short but very steep start to the walk but no climbs afterwards. There may be cattle or a bull in the fields. Keep to the edges or look for a diversion. 

The Burnsall Walk

Getting There

By Car

From Middlesbrough head onto the A19 southbound. Leave the A19 at Thirsk and head onto the A168 to Ripon. Drive through Ripon driving out of Ripon passing Fountains Abbey on the B6265. Drive through Pateley Bridge staying on the B6265. Look for a left turn towards Hartlington. Turn right onto Cross Hill into Burnsall. Parking is on your right at the Wharfe House Car Park and is £3 for 3 hours.

By Bus

Minibus 74A runs from Ilkley bus station to Burnsall. 

Maps of the Burnsall Walk

The Walk

From the car park, turn right and head over the bridge.

On the other side of the bridge look for a gate and steps down to the left into a field.

Walk round the edge of the field and got through a small gate.

In the next field head towards a ladder stile in the wall.

Head up the field, this is the only climb in the walk and is a short one. Head to a small gate in the wall. There is a pitstop at a bench and spectacular views at the top.

At the top go through the gate onto a road and turn left and follow the road.

There are some lovely views of Burnsall below on this quiet road.

Keep on the road, passing houses on your right and over a small bridge and look for a gate to the left, signposted to the Dales Way.

Go through the gate and then head through another gate on your left and over the bridge or the stepping stones to cross the river.

At the other side turn left and follow the riverside path ahead.

Ignore some steps up to your right and keep ahead through a gate.

This path is a lovely path beside the river, and goes on for about a mile, before ending up at the Red Lion Inn and some well deserved refreshments!

Burnsall

Burnsall is a village and civil parish in the Craven district of North Yorkshire, England. It is situated on the River Wharfe in Wharfedale, and is in the Yorkshire Dales National Park.

The village is approximately 2 miles (3 km) south-east from Grassington. It has a parish church, a chapel, two hotels with restaurants, a public house, and a primary school. The school, Grade II listed, is in the original 1602 grammar school building, a legacy of William Craven of nearby Appletreewick. There is a five-arched bridge over which the Dalesway passes. A path along the river from Burnsall to Hebden, 1 mile (2 km) to the north-west, dates to Viking times

The historic parish of Burnsall occupied a large part of upper Wharfedale. It included the townships of Appletreewick, Bordley, Conistone with Kilnsey, Cracoe, Hartlington, Hetton, Rylstone and Thorpe, all of which became separate civil parishes in 1866. The parish was in Staincliffe Wapentake and in the West Riding of Yorkshire until 1974, when it was transferred to North Yorkshire. The 2001 Census gave Burnsall parish a population of 112, decreasing to 110 at the 2011 census.

The ecclesiastical parish of Burnsall is in the Diocese of Leeds. The parish church of St Wilfrid's, a Grade I listed building, is almost entirely Perpendicular. It contains an 11th-century font carved with bird and beasts, twelve Anglo-Saxon sculpture fragments and a 14th-century alabaster panel depicting the Adoration of the Magi. The church-yard is entered from the main road by a lychgate.

Burnsall is a centre for walking, trout fishing, picnics, and weddings. An annual feast day games in August includes amateur competitions, tug of war and fell races.The village cricket pitch is below Burnsall Fell and is half enclosed by the river.