All Creatures Great and Small walking holiday in Wharfedale - 6 nights
Visit many of the locations used in the filming of the recent adaptaion of All Creatures Great and Small on this relaxed ramble through Wharfedale. Soak up riverside paths, woodland trails, moorland views and pretty villages, including Grassington, which featured as ‘Darrowby’. Other ‘All Creatures’ highlights include the village of Arncliffe in Littondale, Kettlewell, the church in Hubberholme and Yockenthwaite Farm - all of which have featured important scenes in the show (see the detailsed itinerary below for more details).
Even without the All Creatures connections, this is a wonderful route full of classic Yorkshire Dales scenery, full of dry stone walls, hay meadows, historic stone cottages and barns, meandering rivers and streams and some more remote feeling moorland. There is also plenty of time to stop and refuel in some of the many cosy pubs and cafes on the way!
Grassington dressed as Darrowby for All Creatures Great and Small filming
SUMMARY
Number of nights: 6
Price: From £630 per person (based on two people sharing a double or twin room)
Difficulty level: 4/10 (fairly gentle, with a couple of steep sections)
Amount of walking: Two days of hotel-to-hotel walking of 8.5 miles (14.5km, ascent 485m) and 6.5 miles (10.5km, ascent 385m), and three optional full day walks, each of approximately 7 miles (11km).
Terrain: A mixture of gentle riverside footpaths, woodland, classic Dales farmland and a few stretches on slightly more rugged moorland, with a couple of short sections on quiet country lanes. Lots of stiles!
Accommodation: Three fantastic country pubs in the heart of their villages, offering fantastic, cosy rooms and great quality food. Stay right on the village green in pretty Linton; in the heart of bustling Kettlewell with the stream running through its centre; and in an impressive Georgian coaching inn in tiny Buckden. For full details of the accommodation included see our accommodation page.
Contact us to book this trip or find out more
ITINERARY
Day 1 – Arrive into the beautiful village of Linton, with its picture-perfect stone cottages, pretty beck and large village green. Settle in to the village inn, which will be your base for your first two nights.
Day 2 – Enjoy a 7 mile circular walk, taking you through classic Dales scenery of dry-stone walls and field barns to visit the popular village of Burnsall, set on a bend in the River Wharfe that makes a perfect spot for a picnic or even a dip on a nice day! Return along the banks of the river, ending the day with a visit to the small but lively market town of Grassington, recently renowned for featuring as ‘Darrowby’ in the latest adaptation of ‘All Creatures Great and Small’. Many of the buildings in Grassington will be familiar to All Creatures fans, as much of the filming took place here. The Devonshire Arms pub became the Drovers Arms, the Stripey Badger Bookshop was turned into G F Endleby Grocers, Helen Midgleys became Handleys Booksellers, the Rustic Rabbit was transformed into Higgins Bakers and Walkers Bakers was the ironmongers.
Day 3 – Your first ‘hotel-to-hotel’ walking day takes you north through Wharfedale on a wonderfully varied 8.5 mile route. Start with a peaceful stretch along the river before exploring Grass Wood then tackling the short scramble up through ‘Conistone Dib’. Take in the fantastic views up and down Wharfedale from ‘Conistone Pie’ then descend into Kettlewell for a well-earned rest and to settle into your base for the next two nights. The whole day is through classic All Creatures scenery and Kettlewell itself will be familiar as it’s many historic buildings were used as a backdrop to various scenes in the show.
Day 4 – Another 7 mile circular route takes you out of Wharfedale over the moor into less well-known but equally beautiful Littondale. Enjoy the views as you descend to the remote village of Arncliffe – a great lunch stop and the setting for several All Creatures scenes. Parts of Darrowby are filmed here, including the back of Skeldale House where they keep the cars and the scenes of Darrowby Show in series one. It is where James’ parents got off the bus from Scotland and went to stay in the Falcon Inn (one of the few places that kept it’s real name and signage for the show!). The church on the edge of the village is where the external scnes of James and Helen’s wedding were shot!
The day ends by heading back along the banks of the River Skirfare and over ‘Knipe Scar’ to return to Kettlewell.
Day 5 – Your second ‘hotel-to-hotel’ walking route takes you 6.5 miles right into upper Wharfedale. The first half of the route is along ‘green lanes’ and you begin with the only real climb of the day along ‘Top Mere Road’, where James is seen running in the first series of All Creatures, and which offers stunning views back down Wharfedale so there are plenty of excuses to catch your breath! Descend into the village of Starbotton for an early lunch before heading back to the River Wharfe and enjoying a gentle riverside footpath all the way to Buckden, which will be your base for the last two nights.
Day 6 – Your final circular walk is another 7 mile route, exploring the ‘Head of Wharfedale’. Skirt around the slopes of Buckden Pike to reach pretty Cray Gill (where there is the chance for an early pub stop!) before following the ridge around the head of the valley and dropping down to picture-perfect Yockenthwaite Farm. Yockenthwaite must be one of the most recogniseable settings from the show - Helen’s farm, where many of the most memorable scenes took place! Head back along the infant river Wharf to reach the hamlet of Hubberholme, making sure to pop its pretty church, where the internal scenes of James and Helen’s wedding were shot. Consider a stop in the cosy pub, before finishing back in Buckden for your last night.
Day 7 – Enjoy a leisurely breakfast before taking a transfer back to Linton to collect your car and head home (or travelling back to the train station to catch your train).
what’s included
Six nights’ accommodation on a B&B basis;
Luggage transfer;
Transport from your last hotel to your first hotel to collect your car (if travelling by train, contact us to discuss options);
Detailed walking notes;
A route-marked OS map; and
The ‘Muddy Boots Survival Pack’ including our guide to places to visit and eat and drink on your route and lots of little extras!
OPTIONAL EXTRAS
Room upgrades.
Packed lunches (or order these the night before at your accommodation).
Additional nights accommodation.
A personal guide for some or all of your trip.
Tailor-made options - if you like the look of this route but it isn’t quite for you, let us know - there are lots of options for shortening, extending or tweaking it!