As I am currently unable to drive, I’ve had to take my daily exercise wherever my parents have been going for the day. This particular day, my mother was meeting her old Scottish Country Dancing friends for dinner at one of our favourite pubs – The Maypole at Long Preston. The pub is named after the fact that the local maypole is on the green outside…
As I’ve just bought myself a digi-camera for times when I can’t be bothered to carry my real camera, or for when I want to do indoor photography (such as in bothies), I decided to take it with me to try it out. As I still can’t type, the walk description is going to be very brief for this one. You just need the OS Outdoor Leisure no. 10 ‘Yorkshire Dales – Southern Area’. The walk is around 7 miles and mainly on the area’s byways and old lanes with one short area of field footpaths as I daren’t walk anywhere muddy or slippery until I’m better. The lanes are all well signposted.
From the pub you head off into the village up the road behind the pub and turn immediate left onto ‘Green Gate Lane’. After about half a mile up the hill, you turn right onto ‘New Pasture Lane’ (seen below).
which is wet in places…
with interesting slime…
After passing a wood and going through a gate, the path zig-zags down to Long Preston Beck where you have a choice of footpaths…
I took the one up the bank to the left which is a firmer and drier path…
or you can follow one to the right of the gill…
either way there is a nice bridge over the beck…
Looking back down the bank along the last part of the route…
After ascending the bank you cross the sheep pasture but ignore animal tracks leading to a gate to the left. Instead, go straight ahead for a gate in the middle of the wall. Cross the next field for a gate in the corner. From there you follow the obvious path past a little wood and round a corner alongside Bookil Gill Beck…
Just after the next picture, the path crosses the beck to a tight corner of walls…
and you exit through a gate past a footpath sign to Langber Lane (photo looking back from lane)
Follow Langber Lane to the left for around 2.5 miles – I took some photos looking back along the pretty lane…
This whole lane acts as a driveway for the single house on it (alright for some eh). When I neared the end of the lane there was a forestry plantation to the left of the track and I spotted a brown shape heading down to the track to enter the forest. It turned out to be a totally unafraid red deer doe who stood in the centre of the track and observed me briefly before heading into the forest – unfortunately I wasn’t quick enough to get a photo.
At the end of the lane you meet the little road which comes up from Settle and heads over to Malham. From here, great views of Attermire Scar, an area thick with many caves, comes into view.
Turn left towards Settle and in a few yards you reach Scaleber Wood…
Which has a path to a great waterfall…
Go back up to the road and continue for another half mile or so to a track called ‘Lambert Lane’ which takes off to the left…
It was on this lane I met a startled baby bunny which was so panicked at seeing me it ran round in circles in front of me until it decided what to do. I stood perfectly still and it braved a route past me and bolted out of sight.
Follow Lambert Lane to its end and turn left at a T-junction. You are now back on Green Gate Lane which will take you the 3 miles or so back to Long Preston.
This lane isn’t as interesting as the other two were but after a mile or so, the countryside turns more moorlandy while you rise up above the back of some minor quarries…
and there are some nice orchids…
The Maypole pub is open and doing great food and a good selection of real ales all day so don’t forget to call in for some post-walk refreshments before you leave!
The Adventures of a Mountain Coward 
Do you think I can do this walk with a buggy? It’s a three wheeler sporty one not one of those silly strollers?
How long did it take?
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If I had a buggy, I think I’d do it the other way round as Lambert Lane is the one which could be a problem if it’s been very wet. It gets quite flooded and can be very muddy. Sometimes, I’ve had to clamber along the stones at the bottom of the wall in places to get past some deeper floods.
If you were doing the walk in the direction I went in and couldn’t do Lambert Lane (the floods would be near the start near the old barn), you’d have to follow the road downhill to the start of Settle and turn left up a lane there which is the one which takes you back to Long Preston. That would add a couple of miles I think.
I don’t think you’d get a buggy down to Scaleber Force but, if there were 2 of you, you could take it in turns to go down and have a look at the waterfall.
You should be able to do the walk within 3 hours I think.
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I’m quite familiar with the area, but never thought of setting off from Long Preston. Looks like an excellent walk and am looking forward to following the route. Nice post !!
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Thanks 🙂 The muddy bits across the fields should be drying up nicely by now I think. Don’t forget to call in at the Maypole if you’ve never tried it – good real ales and great food 🙂
Carol.
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Another nice non-slip round in that area is Clapham-Crummackdale-Feizor/Austwick. I cycled up the lane to Scaleber Force earlier this year and it nearly killed me.
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I walked up the lane to Scaleber Force the week after and walking was hard enough… if I’d tried to cycle up it, it would have killed me!
Yeah, Crummackdale would have been a nice walk too… however, see my latest post ‘More Breaking News’ to see why I can’t even do that now 😦
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Good that you are able to get out and about, Carol! The new camera seems to be doing alright 🙂
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well it’s a non-SLR point & shoot so I suppose there shouldn’t be any problems and it didn’t take any learning. Having said that, as I can’t see the photos as I take them on that view-finder thing (as it isn’t right up to my face) it’s always a surprise when I load them up on the computer later!
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At least you are managing to get out! And I can totally sympathise with the feeling of wanting to avoid slippery areas for a while 🙂
Actually I really love the Dales and I love walking along ancient trackways – wherever they are.
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I’m not mad on most of the Dales myself but this is on the edge of the ‘Limestone Dales’ country which I do like… and I love exploring old byways – they often have great ‘atmosphere’.
And I have to get out every day whatever and get my circulation going or I get shocking sciatica 😦
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That looks a great ramble, I must put it on the list. The pictures look great.
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It’s a nice dry route so is suitable for any weather and, due to the good surfaces throughout, you don’t necessarily have to wear walking boots – I just had lace-less trainers on that day (I can’t do laces up yet)
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