How to walk to Hebden from Burnsall

Directions (To be used in conjunction with a map)

1. From the Car Park in Burnsall, head towards the Red Lion Pub, then take the path that heads down to the Riverside by the edge of the bridge. Follow the path, keeping the river to your right and the pub to your left. This clear and well defined path will take you past Loup Scar and all the way to the suspension bridge. The distance from Burnsall to the suspension bridge is around 1 mile.

2. You need to cross the bridge, then at the end head straight on, on the path that will take you to a quiet road, Mill Lane. When you reach the road, turn left and head up the hill. This is a very quiet road, but be aware of cars.

3. The road will continue upwards and then bend round to the right. After a short distance of around 500 yards the road continues, but a stony track forks off to the left. This is Back Lane, and the track will pass through a farm, then past several buildings before coming out on the main road passing through Hebden.

4. Here you will see the Clarendon Hotel opposite you (a great place to stop off for a bite to eat!) You need to turn right and go down the road in the direction of Pateley Bridge. If you don’t want to go to the pub, you can simply continue along Mill Lane and onto Main Street as far as the Old School Tearooms, where the path returns on the right to Burnsall. Both are well worth a stop, and you will find a little play area at the tearoom too.

5. Turn right onto Main Street and head to the little play area, maybe make a stop off at the Old School Tea Rooms for a hot chocolate and a cake! The path you need to return to Burnsall is a little beyond the tearoom on the left. You will head through a metal kissing gate, passing a signpost for the Suspension Bridge and Hartlington Raikes.

6. Here the path goes steeply downhill (fortunately there is a handrail to help!) to a little metal footbridge. Ignore that, you don’t want to go that way! Keep the water of the beck on your left and head straight on along the footpath to a little gate and stile in the wall. The path thereafter loosely follows the edge of the beck, heads past a little fish farm and then over a footbridge, meeting up with a junction of access tracks.

7. There is one heading off to the right, one (less obvious one heading straight on) and one on the left, which leads away from the fish farm Take the left of all three options.

8. Keep going up the hill a little more on the wide track, until you see a gate and stile in the wall to your left. Head up the grassy bank to this.

9. Head through that gate and over the stile, then you will pass very quickly over another stone stile, where there is a footpath sign pointing in the direction of the farm ahead. Head through the next field on the clear path that takes you to the farm.

10. Head through the gate into the farmyard, then straight through it, bearing right at the dry stone wall onto the stone access track to the farm. The footpath follows the access track downhill as far the road. Here you will join a quiet road again. Turn left.

11. After around 500 yards, you will reach a small wooded area and a signpost for Burnsall Bridge 1/2 mile next to a gate in the wall on your right. The path continues along the top edge of Wilfred Scar with the river down below (there are steep unguarded drops at this point) and then descends the grassy hill, heading over a ladder stile then back down into Burnsall. Head on the path that takes you back to Burnsall Bridge, cross it and go to the pub, you’re done!

12. Should you wish to avoid the steep unguarded drop, then you can continue along the road, then turn right and right again back into Burnsall (although this will add a little more in terms of distance - just over 0.5km extra)

Last walked March 2023