Route Ref:  YD21

Back to Yorkshire Dales Routes

This is a fairly demanding but straight forward route out of Masham to the edge of Nidderdale. Although I say this is straight forward there is one section where you will need some decent navigation skills. There is plenty of parking space in the village centre on a Sunday with a choice of coffee shops when you're finished.

Start by leaving Masham on the road to Grewelthorpe turning right onto the Ilton road before you leave Masham. Its a steady 4.5km to the small hamlet of Ilton. At Ilton continue straight ahead on the lane marked as a no through road for motor vehicles. This will lead you on to a firm track which climbs to the track junction on Grelethorpe Moor. Turn right at the junction and stay on this track all the way to the Lofthouse road below Ouster Hill. Turn left and then first right onto another track alongside the wall. This track leads to the very edge of Nidderdale and makes a turn to the right and immediately deteriorates becoming stoney and rutted. The views into Nidderdale compensate for the poor track as you pass the shooting lodge on the left.

Stay with this track. It does not get any better and you have another 4km of it before you start to look for the turn off. Look out for the fenced mine shaft on the right just after a water splash. If you hit another water splash then you have gone too far. It is here where you will need to navigate very carefully. There is a little bit of single track leading north from the shaft but this takes you too north and you need to be more north east to the left of Little Haw. This is serious heather bashing and you could be carrying your bike for one km depending on the route you pick through the heather. The track becames thankfully evident again below Little Haw and leads to a gate. The gate was tied up on the day we were there and it meant a climb over. This is a bridleway and you have every right to cross the gate. There is a ridable track on the north side of the gate but this can lead you too far north into the stream corner. Head a little more north west off the track over ridable heather to pick up the wide track in Steel House Gill. Its all easy riding now on good track. The track switches to the right hand side of the stream. It is easier to stay with this track rather than trying to follow the single track bridleway on the north side.

The track leads on to the road which you now follow back into Masham and it's Tea Rooms...and the Black Sheep Brewery!

22 Miles, 35.40 Kms, 2335 Feet, 766 Metres, N/A Gates, 58% Off Road