Industrial Heritage of Greenhow

Having recently moved up to Leeds, and as lovers of the outdoors, my boyfriend and I are excited to explore the Yorkshire Dales. We have been given a variety of walking books from friends and family to help us out, as we aren’t familiar with this area. It makes it all the more exciting as we are discovering somewhere new! This section of my website will be a space to share the walks we do and the trips we take around Yorkshire. If you know of any good places, trails, or wild swimming spots, let me know!

Our first walk was from Alastair Ross’ book ‘Yorkshire Dales: 40 favourite walks’ (p.32). It was described as being a 6km walk, taking 2 hours, but I logged 7.55km and less than 2 hours for us. There were some mild to moderate uphill sections, but overall, it was a very steady and accessible walk across fields, lanes, and footpaths. The views were amazing all the way, and the waterfalls at Brandstone Dub were lovely to see. I imagine after more rainfall, they would have been more impressive! We did go through a field of cows with a bull in it, but they didn’t pay much attention to us, thank goodness! Not far from the car park is The Coldstones Cut, which is described as a monumental public artwork designed as a sculptural response to Coldstones Quarry. From it, you can view the vast quarry hole, limestone quarrying operation and views across Nidderdale. We decided to go here first, before starting the walk and found that it was worth the walk up the hill for the views! Overall, we had a really lovely time and would recommend this route. Here are some key points:

Parking: Free at Toft Gate Lime Kiln car park. Enough spaces and a great location for both the Coldstones Cut and the start of the walk.

Length: 6-8km, up to 2 hours walking time.

Food: Toft Gate Barn (Cafe and Shop). Next, right after the car park, dog friendly, amazing food and lovely atmosphere.

Drive: We drove via the A660 and through Otley, which was easy and really scenic.

Route: Easy to follow using Ross’ book. There were public footpath signs throughout and obvious footpaths. Circular too, which is always a bonus!

Accessibility: Well-trodden, obvious paths, a few mild-moderate uphill segments, may be slightly trickier in wetter conditions, but not drastically different.

Landmarks: Lovely farmhouses and properties en route, Coldstones Cut is cool to look at, lots of farm animals!

Thank you for reading. If you give this route a go, let me know what you think and see you next week for another walk review!