The Yorkshire Dales National Park was created in 1954 and forms an upland area of the Pennines in Northern England covering 680 Square miles of countryside whilst offering walkers some amazing countryside to walk around.
The National Park consists of river valleys and the hills starting from the Vale of York whilst heading westwards towards the hilltops of the Pennine watershed. Generally the countryside in this National Park are called “Dales” which is derived from the Old English word dæl which is translated from the Nordic word for valley.
The “Dales” in this National Park provide walkers with some of the best and most beautiful countryside in the northern point of England. Generally walking in this area is pretty flat, however there are three key peaks in the form of Ingleborough, Whernside and Pen-y-ghent, however they are pretty gentle hills and therefore offer walkers a fantastic opportunity for day walks. If you’re brave enough, summiting all three peaks in one day is easily possible, however you will need start pretty early in the morning and be prepared for a fast challenging walk.
The Yorkshire Three Peaks walk totals 24 miles starting in the Horton Car Park and involves over 5000 Ft of climbing and whilst there are some pathways, typically you will need navigation equipment and know how to use it. If you follow the pathways they often lead you the long way around meaning that if you can navigate yourself, you can easily take a number of short-cuts across the valley sections of this three peak route.
Whilst there are a number of challenging walks in this area, walking is not the only activity in this area and given that many people earn their living in this area, there are many other activities if you don’t want to head out in what can be very stormy and dangerous weather conditions. On a hot summer’s day, the area is simply fantastic, but the weather can easily change and my god can it rain.
