A moody Yorkshire Dales
Established in 1954, the Yorkshire Dales National Park is a spectacular area of countryside covering an area of 1762 square miles lying to the north of some of Northern England’s biggest cities.
Wild expanses of desolate moorland, green and pastoral valley bottoms (dales) and the home of the quintessential English pub with roaring fires, hearty food and a good pint, this is great walking territory for all ages. It is not hard to see why the Yorkshire Dales are the setting for so many films – from the windswept scenes of Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights, the desolation of Malham Cove used in the Harry Potter films or the gentle rural idyll used as the backdrop in the TV adaptation of James Herriots ‘All Creatures Great and Small’ the Yorkshire Dales are an inspiring landscape.
Those walking with babies and small children will find plenty to keep them busy in the way of child-friendly walks. Do try out any of the growing suggestions for Baby Route walks below. You may also find useful the following websites offering inspiration for family outdoor days in the Yorkshire Dales and baby-friendly walking.
- Yorkshire Dales National Park – the official website for the Yorkshire Dales has plenty of information on the area. Those with pushchairs or wanting to avoid stiles with a baby in a backpack will find the Miles without Stiles section of the site particularly handy with plenty of walk ideas.
- Walking Englishman -as ever, Walking Englishman provides some great ideas for walks with no exception for the Yorkshire Dales. All walks are handily graded according to difficulty although no indication is made specifically for pushchair users.
