⛰️ GREAT WHERNSIDE CIRCULAR WALK: STARBOTTON AND THE RIVER WHARFE
🥾 Starting and finishing in Kettlewell, this Great Whernside circular walk combines a steady climb onto the high ground with open moorland, wide views, the village of Starbotton and an easy riverside return. The route offers plenty of variety, from Hag Dyke and the rocky summit of Great Whernside to the quieter final miles beside the River Wharfe.
🗺️ From Kettlewell, the path climbs towards Hag Dyke before continuing to the 704-metre summit of Great Whernside. The route then follows the ridge north, descends across Black Dike to the Kettlewell to Coverdale road, and continues around the head of the valley towards Sandy Gate. Starbotton Cam Road leads down into Starbotton, where the walk crosses the River Wharfe and joins the Dales Way back to Kettlewell.
📏 The walk is 9¼ miles, or 15 kilometres, with 1,899 feet, or 579 metres, of ascent, and takes around five hours. It starts from the Yorkshire Dales National Park pay and display car park in Kettlewell, with OS Explorer OL30 covering the route. Some of the higher ground can also become boggy after wet weather.
🏡 Starbotton sits on the floor of Upper Wharfedale beside the River Wharfe, roughly midway between Kettlewell and Buckden. The village has a long history, including a severe flash flood in June 1686 that swept much of the settlement away. The old Cam Road, once used as a drovers’ road, now forms the descent into the village on this walk.
📷 Highlights include the climb above Kettlewell, the remote setting of Hag Dyke, the gritstone boulders around the summit and the far-reaching views across the surrounding fells. Pen-y-ghent, Ingleborough and Whernside can all be picked out on the western horizon, while the later descent towards Starbotton opens up more fine views across Wharfedale.
🌿 The full walk includes detailed route directions, photographs, statistics and mapping information for the complete journey from Kettlewell to Great Whernside, Starbotton and back along the River Wharfe.
https://www.paulbeal.com/great-whernside-circular-walk
