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This video shows a circular walk in the Yorkshire Dales around the picturesque Linton Falls and Ghaistrill's Strid and ends with wandering through Grassington's main square with its many cafes, pubs and an eclectic mix of shops. The entire walk has been filmed in 4K, allowing walkers to see the entire route, including where to park, eat, and drink.
Today's walk is Linton Falls, Ghaistrill's Strid and Grass Wood from the visitor centre in Grassington village in the Yorkshire Dales. Before we get started, let's have a look at what we will be walking by today. From the car park, we head down the photogenic Sedber Lane to quickly arrive at Linton Falls, over which there is a wooden bridge which gives a great vantage point upstream and also downstream.
Wandering up and down the riverbank gives different views of Linton Falls. Heading upstream, we soon pass by a weir and the restored Linton Falls hydroelectric plant. We head on alongside the picturesque river Wharfe, where further upstream, the wide Wharfe narrows to form Ghaistrill's Strid.
We continue walking alongside the River Wharfe, then through a wooded area again, still by the water, and then along a short section of quiet lane to reach Grass Wood. We follow the gravel path as it works its way up through Grass Wood and then again as it drops down towards Cove Lane.
Cove Lane is followed back into the village of Grassington with its eclectic mix of quaint shops, cafes and pubs, some of which may be very familiar to you if you're a fan of the newest series of All Creatures Great and Small. More on where to eat and drink at the end of the video.
Back at the start of the walk in the Yorkshire Dales National Park, at the pay and display visitor Centre Car Park, there are toilets should you need them.
We walk away from the toilets and national park centre through the car park to the far corner of it, to the sign for Linton Falls and Riverside path, 200 metres. Turn right here and follow the sign down towards the gate in the wall.
Pass through the gate and turn right. Start heading down Sedber Lane. The much-photographed Sedber Lane leads us down towards Linton Falls. After heavy rain, the falls can be heard from quite a distance away.
There is a weir just the right, just upstream of the falls. We then reach a signpost just before the wooden bridge, showing Burnsall to the left and Grass Wood to the right. We will ignore it for now and just explore the falls from the bridge.
The noise from the bridge can be quite deafening after heavy rain. You can almost feel the sheer power of the water gushing underneath.
Upstream, you can see another weir that we will pass by shortly. The nearer weir once served a textile mill that has long since been demolished. Linton Falls is a natural limestone waterfall. It is believed it was formed millions of years ago by a movement in the Earth's crust.
Before we continue with the walk, which is through the gate to the left, for an optional short detour, especially for any photographer, it is worth viewing the falls from a little further downstream.
To do this, head through the gap in the wall on the right and then just follow the riverbank down for about 50 metres, taking care as the rocks are slippery. Pick your spot to get a view of the falls. When you're finished viewing the falls, head back up onto the bank and head back towards the gap in the wall.
Pass through the gap in the wall and then directly ahead through the next gate to head along the riverbank that heads north along the River Wharfe. Walk along the path, on now towards the next weir. We pass by another weir next to which is the restored hydroelectric plant. It was originally built in 1909 and then abandoned in 1948, after which it fell into ruin.
But with support from the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority and English Heritage, it was restored and reopened in 2012 to produce up to 500,000 kilowatt hours of electricity per annum, roughly equivalent to the energy usage of 90 family homes. The plant itself uses two Archimedean screws, through which water flows, spinning them fast enough to generate energy.
To continue, just walk along the riverside path. As you start to approach Grassington Bridge, head right, uphill, away from the river on the wider grassy path and then turn left along the gravel path. Pass through the wooden gate and then onto and through the next gate, taking care there as you pass straight out onto the road. Carefully cross over the road and head down the path opposite. Pass through the next gate, following the footpath sign for Wood Lane via Low Grass Wood. Walk down the track and then, as the fence bends around to the right, just keep straight on to head back across to the riverbank. Continue walking upstream alongside the River Wharfe.
If you enjoy these videos, please click the like button, subscribe to our channel and hit the notification bell, so you know when we've uploaded any new walks. It is free to subscribe, and your likes and comments really do help promote our channel. Pass through the gate and over the wooden footbridge. The River Wharfe is 65 miles long for much of its length, it is the boundary between West Yorkshire and North Yorkshire.
The watercourse first becomes known as the River Wharfe at the confluence of Greenfield Beck and Oughtershaw Beck at Beckermonds, and then flows by or through Kettlewell. Grassington, Bolton, Abbey, Ilkley, Otley, Wetherby and Tadcaster, before joining the River Ouse just north of Cawood. Pass through the gap in the wall and then on through the gap in the next wall.
Over to the left here is the end of Ghaistrill's Strid, which has been formed by the narrowing of the River Wharfe to produce this faster-flowing section over the rocks. Ghaistrill is believed to be a surname, while a stride was the old English word for a narrow channel. Just before heading onwards over the wall stile, if you went down to the left to the riverside, Ghaistrill's Strid is more impressive and faster flowing.
Return now to the path and then pass over the stone stile built into the wall. Walk on and pass over the next stone stile, pass through the wooden gate, and head down the steps to head back to the riverbank.
This then brings us out to the top end of Ghaistrill's Strid. There is actually another, more well-known Strid, just called the Strid, which is probably even more dramatic after heavy rain, which is further downstream in the wooded area between Barden Bridge and Bolton Abbey.
Continue on now, just walking alongside the River Wharfe. The name Wharfe is believed to be derived from the Old English word Weorf or the Old Norse Hverfr. Both of which mean winding so effectively a winding river, so Wharfedale, through which the river Wharfe flows, is a valley of the winding river. At the footpath sign, just keep along the riverbank.
Along the side of the river Wharfe in late November, there are not too many birds around today, but there are believed to be over 200 species of birds to be found along the river Wharfe at various times during the year. Pass through the wooden gate to enter Lower Grass Wood. We continue walking along the riverbank through Lower Grass Wood before heading away from it, up some steps.
At a path junction, you can choose either path as they meet up again 500 metres further on. Today, I'll head down to continue along the riverbank. The route of today's Linton Falls, Ghaistrill's Strid and Grass Wood walk from Grassington is set out on an Ordnance Survey map along with a GPS download for your phone or GPS device on our Walks4all.com website, the link for which is down in the description below.
Just after the path pulls in close by the river, it then bends away to the right, shortly after which there is a path junction. Again, you can take either path, as the left one ends up on the road as well. But, here, we will take the right one to head up towards the gate in the wall.
Just before reaching the gate, if you look around to the right, you can see another path coming into us. If you carried straight on earlier, about 500 yards back, this is a path you would have walked in along. Pass through the gate and then turn left along the road. We walk now along the quiet Grass Wood lane for about 500 metres.
Just before the road bends around to the right, we cross over, and then we follow the footpath 'Grassington two miles' sign and pass through the wooden gate to enter Grass Wood. Head up along the gravelled path. We soon reach an information board telling you all about Grass Wood. From the information board, carry on walking up the hill along the gravel path for about 400 metres.
If you look over to the left from the path as you climb, you see in the distance Kilnsey Crag. As the gravel path bends around to the right, there is another footpath that goes straight on, which you can take if you want to explore the woods further. For today, we'll just ignore that and follow the gravelled path around to the right.
If you are new to hiking or just want ideas for what walking gear to wear and take on your walk, check out our kit list recommendations down in the description below.
After a steady climb of about 400 metres, the path then begins to level out, after which you come across a footpath sign. If you had gone straight on about 600 metres further back to explore the woods further, this is where you'd rejoin the gravelled path. Continue walking along the gravel path, where you soon reach a four-way signpost. We are going to continue straight on here in the direction of Grassington.
If you want, for a short diversion, you can head up to the right to visit Fort Gregory, albeit when you arrive there, you may be a little underwhelmed by the lack of a fort.
We will just have a quick look to see what's there. Follow the path through the trees and then on up some steps as it heads up onto Far Gregory, the site of the Iron Age Fort Gregory, which is also known as Gregory's Fort. The fort was supposed by its Victorian discoverers to be a Brigantine fort established against the Roman invasion around AD70.
Unless you are an archaeologist or set your expectations quite low before heading off here, you may be disappointed to find out that these stones are the remnants of the fort, or at least that's all I could find. You can wander a little higher and follow the path further up through the trees, where, if you do look around and imagine the place without the trees, it would have given a fantastic panoramic view for the Fort.
The paths up here aren't the easiest to walk on, and the steps were a little bit slippery, so if you are a little bit unstable on your feet, maybe give this diversion a miss. We'll head back now down to the four-way signpost that we left earlier. On reaching the four-way sign, just continue straight on in the direction we were walking in previously, following the Grassington sign along the gravelled path.
These woods are a delight to walk through in the spring and summer when there's a lot more flora in bloom and the air is filled with birdsong. The path now starts to descend. Just before we reach the edge of Grass Wood and Park Stile, around this area here, there is another Iron Age settlement site. Passed through the gate stile in the wall.
If I had been here a little bit sooner and had been a little bit further on in the walk, I would have got a lot better view of the low-flying plane that you can see just below the hills ahead. To continue, we just head across the field to the right of the building and then pass through the gap in the wall.
We then just head down this next field, just keep to the left of the wall through the gate to enter into Cove Lane.
Just head now along the walled Cove Lane. As Cove Lane bends sharply around to the right, there's a footpath sign that goes straight on. Just ignore this now and continue along the walled Cove Lane. Over to the right, you can look back across to Grass Wood that we just walked through. On meeting the metal gate across the lane, pass through it and then again just continue straight on.
As the lane meets the road, turn left to head up the road, then follow the road as it bears around to the right and heads into Grassington. Just walk along this road. If you enjoyed this video, don't forget to click the like button, subscribe to our channel and hit the notification bell so you know when any new walks have been uploaded. It is free to subscribe, and your likes and any comments really do help promote our channel.
We walk by Grassington Methodist Church. We then head on and pass by the first of many of these galleries, shops, cafes and pubs that are in the centre of Grassington. Across the road from the gallery is Grassington town hall, run by the Parish Council. It holds many events and activities. Turn right now to head back towards the centre.
Grassington is the home of the fictional market town of Darrowby, in the remake of All Creatures Great and Small, showing on Channel five, based upon the classic James Herriot Books. The first of the new series was filmed to coincide with the 50th anniversary of the publication of the first James Herriot book. As you wander around Grassington, you may recognise many of the shops and buildings used in the show.
Filming took place earlier this year for the fourth series. As you can see, as we wander down the street, there are many places to stop off for something to eat and drink, along with potteries, craft shops and galleries. The Foresters Arms that we are passing here on the left serves food and drink, has some accommodation and is dog friendly.
It generally has around four real ales on the bar. The Devonshire may be better known to you as the Drovers Arms in All Creatures Great and Small. It serves food, has around five real ales on the bar and stocks over 50 gins. It is dog-friendly and has some accommodation. The Stripey Badger Bookshop and its coffee shop next door are transformed into a grocer's and a private house for the TV series.
Just before reaching the Folk museum on the corner of the square, if you turn to the left, you reach the Black Horse Hotel, which is a 17th-century coaching inn. It serves food, drink and has around five real ales on the bar. It has accommodation and is also dog-friendly. Just past the Black Horse is another cafe.
And then on the other side, on the right, something slightly different, is a fish and chip shop. Heading back down into the square, we pass by the Grassington Folk Museum, which houses memorabilia from Wharfedale of yesteryear. Just past that is Grassington House, which is a restaurant and bar with accommodation. It serves food and drink, has a couple of real ales on the bar and has accommodation, and I believe dogs are allowed in the bar area.
On the other side of the square is Grassington Post Office in Robert Bunney menswear, which in the TV series becomes Wood's General Store and Robert Bunney menswear, so no changes needed for that one. After passing by yet another coffee shop, we continue on to meet the road to the bottom.
Depending upon when you visit Grassington, you may arrive at a 1940s weekend, the Christmas market or even a Dickensian festival. On meeting the road, we turn left to head back towards the car park. Normally, you would just cross over the zebra crossing and enter the car park through that gap that you can see there, but at the moment it is closed.
So we just have to wander a few yards further and go in through the main entrance. Just pass through the gate to the side of the cattle grid. The circular building here is a bus terminus as Grassington is served by a daily bus service from Skipton, which continues on to Kilnsey, Kettlewell and Buckden. I believe there are also buses to Burnsall, Bolton Abbey and Ilkley.
Just before ending today's walk, we've pulled together a short fly-through created using the Ordnance Survey app, the link to which is in the description below, to show you where you've been and give the area a little more perspective.
We left the car park and headed down Sedber Lane to reach Linton Falls, where we crossed over onto the wooden footbridge, then had a quick look from downstream before heading back along past the second weir. We then headed along towards Grassington Bridge.
We briefly left the riverbank, crossed over the road and then headed back down to continue alongside the River Wharfe. We passed by Ghaistrill's Strid and then entered Lower Grass Wood, where at the path junction, we took the lower path to head alongside the river and then to join up with a road, which we followed along before heading up into Grass Wood.
We followed the gravel track through the wood and then, at the four-way signpost, did the short detour for Fort Gregory and then just continued on before passing out onto Cove Lane, which took us back into Grassington itself. On reaching Grassington centre, we turned right past the shops, cafes and pubs before turning left back to the car park. That ends our walk for today.
In the transcript of the video, when any mention is made of the 'description below', it refers to the description shown beneath the video on YouTube. If you wish to access any of that information, click 'watch on YouTube' on the video above, and the description will be there, on YouTube, just below the video.
