Walks In Upper Wensleydale Using The Little White Bus Service

One of the northern dales this offers a mixture of gentle rural scenery at the lower end leading to upland fells. The area contains the picturesque communities of Leyburn, Bainbridge, Askrigg and Hawes. There are many walking possibilities and good public transport access and the following walks mostly make use of Settle Carlisle rail connection and the Little White Bus service which runs services between Garsdale Station and Hawes/Gayle via Hardraw plus an on-demand service to the surrounding villages. I've already looked at the area around Garsdale Station at the head of the valley in some detail on the Garsdale Station page and so the intention here is to look lower down the dale. To contents Back to Yorkshire Dales Contents Page

Waterfall at Gayle Red Squirrel at Snaizeholme

From the west the Little White Bus connects with the Settle-Carlisle Railway line at Garsdale (Mon-Sat). In addition there are various buses emanating from Northallerton and the Wensleydale Railway is trying to re-establish a link into the valley.

See also walks to and from the Garsdale Station and Coverdale, an off-shoot of Wensleydale.

Contents:-

Important note:- Whilst the author has taken every care in assembling the information on this site, no responsibility can be accepted for any error or omission herein. If in any doubt walkers should always consult the relevant OS map. All timings are approximate and for a person of average fitness and ability.

Great Shunner Fell Yore Bridge across River Ure waterfall
Waterfall at Mossdale Head Path to Great Shunner Fell
Green Dragon at Hardraw Gayle Beck in Hawes

Information: Equipment: All walks have significant exposure even in Summer. Full equipment including boots, waterproofs, map and compass would be advisable

Maps Ordnance Survey OL30 Yorkshire Dales Northern & Central and OL19 Howgill Fells and Upper Eden Valley

Travel Information - Rail: www.northernrailway.co.uk- Leeds-Settle-Carlisle timetable - National Rail enquiries Tel 08457 484950

Train services (Mon -Sat) - Normal morning departure is the Leeds 0747 or 0919; Shipley 0800 or 0932 arriving at Garsdale at 0921 or 1054. The usual return train from Garsdale toward Leeds is 1727 [Sat].

Also, it is useful to realise that there may be cheaper variations of fares by purchasing a combination of tickets for any journey. For instance, by booking a return ticket to Keighley (within the Metro area) taking advantage of Metro off peak fares on weekends and then Keighley to Garsdale this can result in a saving. These can be checked out beforehand using the internet on sites such as http://www.nationalrail.co.uk.

Worth a visit is the Friends of the Settle and Carlisle Line website which covers the historical facts as well as other useful information on guided walks etc. The Friends of the Settle Carlisle Line have two shops located on Settle and Appleby Stations.

Bus Services :  A useful link for travel services in the Dales www.dalesbus.org

  • The Little White Bus - 113 Garsdale Shuttle: Runs daily all year (Mon-Sat): Garsdale Station to Hawes/Gayle via Hardraw
  • The Little White Bus 156 Wensleydale Voyager: Runs Mon - Sat all year: from Hawes/Gayle to Leyburn via Bainbridge/ Askrigg
  • The Little White Bus Sedbergh to Hawes: runs term time weekdays (returning schools service) - enquiry necessary
  • Wenselydale Flyer DalesBus 856: runs Sundays and BH all year: Hawes/Gayle to Northallerton
  • Northern DalesBus 830: runs summer Sundays only: Ribblehead - Hawes - Muker - Reeth - Richmond (connects with train)
  • DalesBus 831 (North East): runs summer Sundays only: Darlington - Richmond - Reeth - Hawes - Ingleton -Kirkby Lonsdale
  • DalesBus 857 (Little White Bus) Garsdale Station to Hawes (Sunday) and Castle Bolton - Connects with the 856 in Hawes.
  • DalesBus 858 runs from Darlington to Ribblehead via Richmond Catterick Askrigg and Hawes on Sundays (connects with train)
  • DalesBus 875/876: runs summer Sundays only: York - Leeds - Ilkley - Grassington - Buckden - Aysgarth - Hawes

The Little White Bus provides a Mon-Sat service between Garsdale Station and Hawes/Gayle via Hardraw and will go on to any of the nearby villages on demand usually by pre-booking On summer Sundays the service is provided by 857 DalesBus WensleyDale Explorer serving Hawes and Castle Bolton. The Little White Bus is a 16 seater minibus and can be hailed from anywhere on route. The bus connects with the principal morning and early evening northbound and southbound trains. For bookings or information contact The Little White Bus via the Upper Wensleydale Community Office in Hawes Tel 01969 667400. The Little White Bus offer a useful day rover ticket connecting with their other services (not valid for on-demand).

The Little White Bus provides a weekday service from Sedbergh to Hawes using their returning school service. For details contact the Upper Wensleydale Community Office in Hawes Tel 01969 667400

The Little White Bus also provides the Monday to Saturday 156 service from Gayle / Hawes to Leyburn and the Monday to Saturday 30 service from Keld to Richmond in Swaledale.

The Little White Bus at Garsdale Station The Little White Bus crossing Gayle Bridge
Garsdale Station The Little White Bus

Western Dales Bus: Another useful service is the S1 Western Dales Bus service from Dent station to Sedbergh which runs on Saturdays.

DalesBus: manages the summer bus network including services from Leeds, Settle, Darlington and Preston. In addition DalesBus manages the all-year 856 Wensleydale Flyer from Gayle/Hawes to Northallerton via Aysgarth, Leyburn and Bedale. www.dalesbus.org

Wensleydale Railway - currently operate from Leeming to Leyburn. For services see Wensleydale Railway Connection from the Settle Carlisle line can be made from Garsdale Station using The Little White Bus and changing to the 156 or 856 in Hawes to reach Leyburn Station. There is a bus service No 73 connecting Northallerton to Leeming Bar. The train service can be used for walks in the Castle Bolton and Aysgarth areas.

This page was last updated on 15-Aug-2024

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©John Carey 2010