Linton Falls and Grassington

Start: The Fountaine Inn, Linton. (BD23 5HJ) Grid ref. SD 996 627

(S/E) From the front of The Fountaine Inn, cross the green and the packhorse bridge. Turn left to the main road through the village.
Turn right, noting the old pinfold to the left, and beyond Ivy Cottage turn right onto a lane (marked ‘Burnsall’ on the old guidepost at the junction).
Climb a slight hill, passing a footpath on the right, until you reach the B6160.

(1) Turn right for a short distance, then take a footpath on the left-hand side, signposted to ‘Linton Church and Falls’. Follow the wall on your left, then turn left at a junction of paths to Church Road.
Turn right and follow the road to the church.

(2) Walk through the churchyard to a gate in the far corner and cross the meadow beyond to the stepping stones.
(If the stepping stones are impassable, retrace your steps past the church and follow Church Road to Linton Falls. Turn right onto a foot-path beyond the houses, cross the footbridge over the Falls and turn left, rejoining the described route at waypoint (3) )
Once across the stepping stones, turn left through a gate into a track.

(3) Pass a house and fish farm then, when the lane bends right, follow the Dales Way footpath on the left signposted towards Grassington. This path rejoins the river Wharfe and runs through a series of water-side meadows to an old stone barn. (If omitting the loop to Grassington, turn left to cross the bridge over Linton Falls and skip to waypoint (5) )

(4) Go through the gate and continue upstream along the river, past the weir and hydroelectric scheme. As you approach Grassington Bridge, leave the river and climb the bank on your right below a terrace of houses to the road (Station road). Turn right and walk up the hill into Grassington.

In the village centre at the bottom of Main Street, keep right (Hebden Road), signposted to the National Park Centre and car park. Pass Springfield Road and Hardy Meadows on your left.

Just beyond the car park, turn right into Sedber Lane (with a footpath sign to ‘Linton Falls & Riverside Path’). Keep to the footpath on the right, which leads to a paved, walled path down to Linton Falls. Cross the footbridge over the Falls.

(5) Follow the winding path to the right around the houses on the opposite side of the river (noting but not crossing Little Emily’s Bridge on the right) to reach Church Road.
Turn right here, and follow the road to a junction. Bear left and climb the hill to a crossroads. Go straight on and follow the road past the Memorial Institute and Reading Room back to Linton and the Fountaine Inn. (S/E)

Start: The Fountaine Inn, Linton. (BD23 5HJ) Grid ref. SD 996 627

Terrain: Some road walking.
⚠️The stepping stones at Linton Church may be impassable if the river is high; an alternative route is suggested.

Alternative: The walk can be shortened by a mile by omitting the loop to Grassington.

Facilities: Toilets available along Church Road at Linton Falls and at Grassington National Park Centre

Food and accommodation:
The Fountaine Inn
Lauradale Lane, Linton-in-Craven,
North Yorkshire BD23 5HJ
Website : www.fountaineinnatlinton.co.uk
Email : info@fountaineinnatlinton.co.uk
Tel 01756752210

Find more information at Walks From The Door here.

Stepping stones cross the River Wharfe near the parish church of Saint Michael and All Saints, which dates back to the 12th century.

The picturesque village of Grassington stands in for James Herriot’s Darrowby in the All Creatures Great and Small series on Channel 5.

The pretty village of Thorpe from the fell to the south

Traditional guidepost near Thorpe is Grade II listed and dates from the mid-19th century.

The suspension bridge over the Wharfe was built by the local blacksmith following a drowning at the stepping stones in 1884.

The obelisk on Watts Crag, the highest point of Cracoe Fell, was built to commemorate the 13 men from Rylstone and Cracoe who died in the First World War. It was unveiled in 1922, and three more names were added after the Second World War.