If you are looking for the perfect circular walk in the Yorkshire Dales, this route around the historic Bolton Abbey estate is hard to beat. Combining the ancient ruins of a 12th-century priory, the dramatic gritstone outcrops of Simon's Seat, and the treacherous, swirling waters of The Strid, this trail offers a quintessential slice of Northern England’s landscape. Whether you are seeking a challenging moorland climb or a peaceful riverside wander, this guide covers everything you need to experience the best of Wharfedale.
Simon's Seat, The Strid & Bolton Priory
📍 YORKSHIRE DALES NATIONAL PARK
Distance19.0 km
Duration04:32 hrs
Elev Gain+788 m
Elev Lost-792 m
Date
07 March 2015
Starting Point
Bolton Abbey
Difficulty
Moderate
Pace / Gear
4.2 km/h — Full day pack
Highlights
Valley of Desolation, Barden Bridge, The Strid Bolton Priory
🗺️ Interactive Route MapPinch or use wheel to zoom
This hike combines two previous routes around the fabulous valley of Wharfedale. The first half centres on Simon's Seat, a rocky outcrop reminiscent of those found in the Peak District, taken from our earlier walk. The second half repeats the riverside path along the River Wharfe from the Barden Tower, The Strid, and the Bolton Priory route. In essence, it takes the best parts of two walks and combines them into one even better experience.
We started from the car park of Bolton Priory. It's expensive (£15 or £12.50 online) but does allow guilt-free access into the estate where much of this walk takes place. Obviously, if you move your start point to somewhere like Drebley or Appletreewick, you could avoid the fee, but the car park at Bolton Abbey is convenient.
From the beginning, the route enters the estate of Bolton Abbey—a ruined 12th-century Augustinian monastery. Founded in 1154, it remained a functioning religious site until the Dissolution of the Monasteries in 1539. We crossed the river, opting for the footbridge to avoid the partially submerged stepping stones, and followed the Dales Way as it set off northwards towards Burnsall.
The grounds of Bolton Priory
Bolton Priory
The unfinished east end of Bolton Priory
Heading along the Dales Way
We left the Dales Way after a short distance, choosing to use one of the estate's many footpaths as it climbed up the hillside above the River Wharfe. It was obvious that the path had been recently reconstructed—or perhaps even newly constructed—as it was in perfect condition. This was proof that the car park fee is likely well-spent on the upkeep of the estate. As a route of efficiency, however, this path was a mistake; no sooner had we climbed a fair distance than we were back down by the river, fording the small stream of Pickles Beck. Still, it was an enjoyable diversion.
The immaculate path above the Wharfe
The Wharfe as it braids at Sulphur Well
We continued along the riverside, past the footbridge near Sulphur Well, to Posforth Bridge, where we left the crowds on the Dales Way and started up the valley of Posforth Gill. There are two parallel tracks that follow the valley; the main one is well-signposted for Simon’s Seat but looked to be of little interest. The second, smaller track runs up the opposite side of the valley, high above the stream. While I am not 100% sure if we were strictly permitted to use this route, it is marked on the map as a public right of way, and no one was around to tell us otherwise.
The track climbs steeply at first
Before levelling out
Posforth Gill lies in the valley below
The valley sides are certainly steep
Eventually, we came across Posforth Force, a superb waterfall partway up Posforth Gill. The falls mark the entrance to the Valley of Desolation—a name that instantly captured my attention while researching routes around Bolton Priory. What could be so desolate about it? We ventured in to find out.
The magnificent Posforth Force
It turns out that the valley really is desolate, relatively speaking. All of a sudden, it feels much more open, with fewer trees and less vegetation covering the surrounding hillsides. The reason behind this—and its rather ominous name—was a great storm that hit the valley in 1826, laying waste to many of the mature trees. The skeletal remains of some of these can still be found today, standing as silent, weathered monuments to the power of that Victorian-era tempest.
Sara above Posforth Force
The Valley of Desolation
The Valley of Desolation
The valley does not last long, and we were shortly in the plantation of Laund Pasture. On the other side lies the open moorland of Barden Fell, crowned at its summit by Simon's Seat. The track from the plantation climbs directly up the hillside alongside Great Agill Beck, crossing the stream at Great Aygill Head. It is a well-built path, originally designed to shuttle shooting parties up onto the grouse moors.
While the climb is straightforward, we had to endure thick smoke for most of it, thanks to ongoing moorland management on Carncliff Top. This is part of a traditional cycle of controlled burning—or "muirburn"—where patches of heather are carefully scorched to encourage new, nutrient-rich growth, which in turn supports a healthy population of red grouse.
Laund Pasture
Open moorland – the track leads all the way to Simon's Seat
Reaching Great Aygill Head
Heather burning on Carncliff Top
Past Great Aygill Head, a smaller path winds off to Truckle Crags, where we hid away from prying eyes for lunch before venturing further across the moor. Simon's Seat is an obvious arrangement of rocks, made all the more prominent by the crowds gathered around it and the trig pillar. We milled around for a while, pretending to admire the excellent views while waiting for a clear moment to photograph the summit; eventually, I had to concede defeat and use the magic of Photoshop to produce the following unspoilt photos. Standing at 485 metres, Simon’s Seat is the highest point on Barden Fell, and its distinctive gritstone formation is a fine example of weathering where, over millennia, wind and rain have eroded the softer layers of rock, leaving behind the impressive, jagged outcrops that have dominated the skyline for centuries.
Investigating Truckle Crags
Truckle Crags
Simon's Seat dominates the skyline
Simon's Seat
Sara surveys Wharfedale below
Simon's Seat trig pillar
The sun illuminates Wharfedale
Leaving Simon's Seat
We left the grey-haired masses behind and followed the path heading southwest, passing the Devil's Apronful cairn to the top of a steep track that winds down through the Lower Fell Plantation to the hamlet of Howgill. The "Devil's Apronful" is a classic example of local folklore; like many glacial erratics scattered across the Dales, the site earned its name from the legend that the Devil was attempting to carry a load of rocks in his apron to destroy a local building when the strings snapped, dropping the boulders exactly where they sit today.
Here, or shortly beyond, we rejoined the Dales Way for a long, fairly uninteresting walk along the River Wharfe toward Barden Bridge.
The sun appears as we head down to Howgill
The Dales Way
The River Wharfe once again
Barden Bridge is a picturesque Grade II listed structure crossing the River Wharfe, situated just adjacent to the ruins of Barden Tower. While the first recorded bridge here dates to the 14th century, it was likely not the first. In 1659, £300 was spent on repairs, but by 1673, it was washed away in a "great inundation of water". A tablet on the approach wall now records, "This bridge was repaired at the charge of the whole West Riding, 1676." This marks the beginning of the final section of our walk, heading toward the mysterious Strid.
Barden Bridge
Along the river from Barden Bridge, the path crosses another equally grand bridge and enters Strid Wood—an ancient oak woodland and one of the largest areas of acidic oak woodland in Yorkshire. A number of paths weave through the wood, but they all ultimately lead to The Strid.
Strid Wood is a vital sanctuary for biodiversity, particularly in spring, when the forest floor is transformed into a carpet of bluebells. The ancient, gnarled oaks provide a crucial habitat for a variety of woodland birds, including pied flycatchers and redstarts, which migrate to these northern woods to breed every year.
The second crossing close to Barden Bridge
The Wharfe from the bridge prior to entering The Strid – note its width
The Wharfe enters Strid Wood
The beginnings of The Strid
Named after the Anglo-Saxon word 'Stryth', meaning 'turmoil' or 'tumult', it was corrupted into Strid to suggest it is a 'stride' wide. The Strid is as dramatic as its name suggests. As you can see from the photos previously, the River Wharfe narrows from tens of metres to just a few feet, confined to rage as a swirling torrent between a narrow rock passage. The Strid was formed by the wearing away of softer rock by the circular motion of small stones in hollows, forming a series of potholes which in time linked together to form a deep, water-filled chasm. Many of these potholes are visible on the banks either side.
The turbulent waters of The Strid
The Strid
Some of the many potholes that litter the banks
The Strid
Despite its narrow appearance, which might tempt a hiker to jump across, The Strid is deceptively dangerous. It is not just a surface-level gap; it is a deep, underwater cavern system with powerful currents that have proven fatal for those who have underestimated it.
Things begin to calm down a bit
Passing the dangers of The Strid, we returned to the high-level path that leads back to the stepping stones and Bolton Priory—the ruins that give the Bolton Abbey estate its name. Although it is commonly called an abbey, it was founded in 1154 as an Augustinian priory and was led by a prior. Remarkably, the nave of the priory church has been in continuous use as a parish church since about 1170, allowing it to survive the Dissolution of the Monasteries. Construction was still underway when the priory was formally dissolved in January 1540, leaving much of the structure unfinished. Today, the ruined east end serves as an icon of the estate, most notably the tower begun in 1520, which was left half-built; its base was later modified with a bell turret and converted into an entrance porch.
The ruins of Bolton Priory are a poignant reminder of the sheer scale of the Dissolution of the Monasteries under Henry VIII. While many similar sites were completely demolished for their building materials, the preservation of the nave allowed the local community to retain their place of worship, effectively anchoring the history of the site in the daily life of the parish for nearly nine centuries.
The Wharfe at Sulphur Well
Bolton Priory looking resplendent in the afternoon sun
The Bolton Abbey estate holds some of the Yorkshire Dales' most fascinating scenery—a mixture of natural and man-made sights that make for a great day out. We are lucky that these kinds of excursions are right on our doorstep in Yorkshire. I believe this walk visits the most interesting parts of the estate, though any section can be tackled as a short afternoon stroll, such is its accessibility. We come to Wharfedale often, and I am fairly confident that we will be back again.
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