4-Day Yorkshire Dales Itinerary ⛰️💦
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This 55-mile route is a perfect mix of waterfalls, caves, stone villages, and dramatic landscapes, showcasing some of the best of the Yorkshire Dales.
Ideal for a peaceful and scenic long weekend.
🚗 Need a car for this road trip?
If you don’t have your own car, I’d really recommend renting one — it gives you the flexibility to stop at each waterfall and explore at your own pace.
I usually use DiscoverCars to compare prices and find the best deals across different rental companies.
👉 It’s really easy to use:
- Compare multiple providers in one place
- Cheaper than booking direct
- Free cancellation on most options
- Their 3rd party insurance is a lot cheaper
- They have a great customer service for claims (though I hope you won’t have to use it!
🛏️ Where to Stay in the Yorkshire Dales 🌿
For this road trip, Grassington and Hawes are ideal bases. Both are beautiful market towns and, while small and quaint, they have a good choice of restaurants, pubs and cafés, which is always handy after a day of exploring.
📍 Ashfield House, Grassington – A 17th-century Grade II listed house with beautiful rooms, country cooking and a lovely walled garden.
📍 The White Hart Inn, Hawes – A traditional coaching inn right in the centre of Hawes, well located for walks.
If you’d prefer to stay in a smaller village to start your trip, this is also a great option:
📍 The Lister Arms, Malham – A classic village pub with cosy rooms
4-Day Yorkshire Dales Itinerary Summary
🗓️ Day 1: Ingleton Waterfalls & White Scar Cave
🗓️ Day 2: Ribblehead Viaduct & Hawes
🗓️ Day 3: Kettlewell & Grassington
🗓️ Day 4: Malham (Malham Cove, Malham Tarn & Janet’s Foss waterfall)
Total Distance: 🚗 Approx. 55 miles
Recommended Time: ⌛ 4 days
📸 Photos & Info are located further down. Keep scrolling to see all these places. ⬇️
This Yorkshire Dales itinerary is ideal for walkers, nature lovers, and anyone looking to explore limestone landscapes, charming villages, and hidden natural gems. 🌿🪨📸
Get the FREE 4-Day Yorkshire Dales Itinerary Map!
Additional Information and Highlights
📍 Ingleton Waterfalls
📍 Ribblehead Viaduct 🚂
Located over the border between Cumbria and North Yorkshire, the Ribblehead Viaduct has 24 arches and is the most impressive landmark on the Settle-Carlisle railway.
🚆How to get there: One of the best way to get there is obviously with the train. Stop at the Ribblehead station.
🅿️Parking: You can find parking spots on the side of the road just past the pub.
🍺Pub: The Station Inn is a place to stop at for a drink or some food. They have a beer garden with views over the viaduct which is particularly nice in summer.
🥾From the road, it only takes 10 minutes to get to the viaduct (½ mile). It’s a dirt path though so make sure you have appropriate shoes as it can get muddy.
📍 Hawes 🧀
🅿️ Parking: At the Wensleydale Creamery
🗺️ Things To Do:
- Go to the Wensleydale Creamery. You can either opt for a tour during which you’ll learn how the cheese is made, or simply go to the shop and sample the cheese. They also have a café with an outdoor space.
- Go to Hardraw Force waterfall
- Visit the Dales Countryside Museum
- Wander around the town (there are loads of cafés, pubs and little shops)
- Drive the Buttertubs pass to Thwaite
💡 My Top Tip: Park at the creamery, it’s free, and then walk to the village from there via the Pennine Way and St Margaret’s Church (it only takes 10 minutes).
🟢 Want to know more about Hawes? Check out my Hawes Day Out Itinerary
📍 Kettlewell
📍 Grassington
📍 Malham Cove 🏞️
A 70-metre (230ft) high limestone cliff with beautiful views and that was used as a filming location for Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows: Part 1.
🅿️Parking: There is a car park (pay and display) by the visitor centre. If you get there very early, you might be able to score a free spot on the side of the road but there are only a few. Alternatively, some fields are opened as carparks when it’s busy but it’s a flat fee for the day.
🧙Harry Potter: In the movie, you can see Harry and Hermione setting up a camp on the stones of Malham Cove.
🥾3 walk options:
- Malham Cove (there and back with quite a lot of steps though) – 3.4km, easy, 1 hour – See trail here
- Janet’s Foss, Gordale Scar & Malham Cove trail. 8 km, moderate, 2h30m – See trail here
- Malham Tarn via Gordale Scar – 12.1 km, hard – See trail here
💡 My Top Tip: I’ve done all of these hikes several times and I truly think that the 8k hike via Janet’s Foss and Gordale Scar is the best overall as it’s long enough for you to see everything, you get better views of Malham Cove than from the direct route and it’s not too hard either.
📍 Malham Tarn
📍 Janet’s Foss Waterfall
