The Dales Way is a long distance
footpath of about 80 miles (128 km) situated in the north of England and
running from Ilkley to Bowness-on-Windermere.
By following as far as possible riverside paths, it offers a scenically attractive route from urban West Yorkshire to the Lake District, which any reasonably fit family can undertake in a week's holiday. Although not always well served by public transport the Way, by following natural and sometimes ancient lines of communication, passes through many villages, and so accommodation is not a problem, although it is advisable to book in advance.
The Dales Way Association was established in 1991 to help support, maintain and promote the Dales Way Long Distance path.
This year's Dales Way Association Annual General Meeting (AGM) was held on Saturday 27th April in Grassington.
The day began with a short circular walk after the Dales Bus from Ilkley arrived at the National Park Visitor Centre.
Walkers then had time to explore Grassington and get lunch before heading to the Grassington Devonshire Institute for 2.00 p.m. where Colin Speakman gave a lively and interesting illustrated talk on "The People's Path" about the history of the long distance walk that he helped create over 50 years ago. The talk was free and open to the public. It was followed by a short DWA business AGM, finishing in time to get the bus back to Ilkley.
There was some exciting news about a couple of projects the Dales Way Association has been active in supporting to replace some small sections of road walking with new, riverside paths: one on the approach to Bolton Bridge at the start of the trail; and another on the approach to Hubberholme. It is hoped both will be finished this year.
Grassington is a lovely Dales market town and if you are fans of the current TV series All Creatures Great and Small there's lots of opportunities for spotting places associated with the story.
More about Grassington village can be found here.
More information about the National Park Visitor Centre can be found here.
Details of the Saturday DalesBus 74 can be found here.