Ghostly Walks

Walks with a Ghost Story in the Yorkshire Dales

The Yorkshire Dales is PACKED full of ghost stories…

That it was SO easy to put them all together into a walk section! (And of course SO enjoyable…. Hi! Ghost geek here!)

All of these walks touch on one or more Yorkshire Dales Ghost Story (yes, there are some that have more than one, Burnsall, I’m talking to YOU!)

So if you are a fan of the spectral residents of the Yorkshire Dales, then look no further! We are talking anything from the deepest darkest tales that will chill you to the BONE… (oooooh, probably best not tell the kids about those ones… ) to the more light hearted stories about narked ghostly fiddlers and maybe even a hoax or two….

Whilst some of the tales might be best kept to the grown ups, the walks are ALL family friendly. So have fun!

Scroll to the bottom, you’ll find the full ghost stories all in one place

Do You have a Yorkshire Dales Ghost Story? Email me at sam@thereluctantexplorers.com to let me know!

Walk Difficulty Ratings

All of our tried and tested kid friendly walks have been divided into 3 categories dependant on difficulty, length and terrain:

⭐ Little Monkeys:

Walks suitable for younger children. Shorter length walks with occasional pushchair access.

⭐⭐ Little Adventurers:

Walks suitable for pre-schoolers. Medium length/ difficulty walks.

⭐⭐⭐ Superstar Hikers:

Walks suitable for older children. Longer length walks with some difficult terrain.

Silhouette of a witch in a cave

Walks at a Glimpse

Here is our quick look key so you can identify what each walk has without taking too long!

👶 Suitable for Pushchairs

🎒 Suitable for Carriers

🚘 Car Park/ On Street Parking

🚌 Public Transport Links

🐶 Dog Friendly

🥾 Sturdy Footwear or Wellies

🧒 A park or play area

🦆 Ducks to Feed

💦 Water play/ paddle/ swim

✨ Cool history or geology

👻 Legendary Story

🌳 Walking Games

Looking into a mine tunnel

Prior Moone and The Butcher

Bolton Abbey Priory Ruins

⭐⭐ Little Adventurers

📍 Wharfedale, The Yorkshire Dales National Park (SE)

📏 3 miles

🎒🚘🥾💦✨👻🐶🚌🌳

If you’ve ever been to Bolton Abbey, you will have paid a visit to the Priory Ruins! But did you know that the remains of the old priory are the home of the ghosts of Prior Moone and the grizzly Butcher?

Head to the walk to find out how to explore the favourite ‘haunt’ of these two ghouls and check out the ghost stories of the Yorkshire Dales to find the full story!

The Barden Tower ruins on the Bolton Abbey Estate

The Barden Tower Screamer

Bolton Abbey

⭐⭐⭐ Superstar Hikers

📍 Wharfedale, The Yorkshire Dales National Park (SE)

📏 5 miles

🎒🥾🦆🚘💦✨👻🐶🚌🌳

Barden Tower is a Grade I listed hunting lodge on the Bolton Abbey Estate, which was rumoured to be haunted by a disembodied scream…. want to explore it? Check out the walk!

The tunnel of the Greenhow Lead Mines

The Ghostly Miners of Greenhow

Greenhow Lead Mines

📍 Greenhow Hill, Nr Pateley Bridge, Nidderdale

⭐⭐⭐ Superstar Hikers

🚘🥾💦🎒✨🌳🧒👻🐶

📏 Circular walk, 4 miles

The crumbling remains of the Greenhow Lead Mines are testament to a once thriving industry that filled the remote moors above Pateley Bridge and Grassington. Now, they are a crumbling relic of the past… legend has it that the sounds of the miners can still be heard below the ground in the buried levels underneath your feet…

The Children of Thruscross Reservoir

Thruscross Reservoir

📍 Washburn Valley, near Otley/ Harrogate/ Pateley Bridge

⭐⭐⭐ Superstar Hikers

🚘🥾✨👻💦 🚌🐶

📏 6 miles

Thruscross is the highest of the Washburn Reservoirs and in dry weather, you may even see the remains of the submerged village of West End, that usually lies below the surface of the water. The story goes that one such drowned building was a workhouse for children, the cries of whom can be heard still above the surface of the dark, cold water….

walking towards the bridge over the river with birds in the sky

The Ghost of Stainforth Bridge

Stainforth Force and the Hoffman Kiln

📍 Stainforth, near Settle South Yorkshire Dales

🥾🎒🚘💦✨🌳🚌🐶

📏 4 miles

Overlooking the famous falls of Stainforth Force (epic in the Autumn I might add!) lies the stunning stone listed bridge, allegedly haunted by one man and his dog… two ghosts that were relocated from the nearby Knight Stainforth Hall when it burned down…

The sun setting behind thearches of the Ribblehead Viaduct

The Ghosts of the Ribblehead Workers

Whernside

📍 Ribblehead, Yorkshire Dales National Park

⭐⭐⭐ Superstar Hikers

📏 Circular walk, 11 miles

🥾🎒🚘👻💦🌳🚌🐶

Ribblehead is a pretty epic place with a brutal history, resulting in it being the hub for several ghost stories! From phantom phone calls, to grizzly ghouls haunting the train lines and moors surrounding this incredible feat of architecture, you can explore the whole area, and climb the highest of the Yorkshire Three Peaks on this walk!

The ruins of Crackpot Hall

Alice of Crackpot Hall

Swinner Gill and Crackpot Hall

📍 Keld, Swaledale, Yorkshire Dales National Park (North)

⭐⭐⭐ Superstar Hikers (some unguarded drops)

🥾🎒🚘💦👻🌳🚌🐶

📏 4 miles linear - some testing terrain

Crackpot Hall is an incredible ruin in the upper reaches of Swaledale. It’s bleak and isolated position has prompted many a ghostly tale to be written about this place…. but can it be true?

In the Gaping Gill cave shining a torch

The Monk in Gaping Gill

Gaping Gill, Clapham

⭐⭐⭐ Superstar Hikers

💦🚘🥾🎒🌳✨🧒🐶🚌

📏 8 miles linear (there and back again) walk

📍 Clapham, North Yorkshire, Yorkshire Dales National Park

Gaping Gill is a gigantic black hole into which the country’s tallest single drop waterfall, falls. But not only is the cave underneath the home of an epic waterfall, and the location of a legendary winch… it’s the home to the ghost of a monk…

Standing on Burnsall Bridge with birds flying in the background

The Ghostly Residents of Burnsall

Burnsall to Hebden

📍 Burnsall to Hebden Circular

⭐⭐⭐ Superstar Hikers

📏 Circular walk 3.5 - 4 miles

🥾🎒🚘👻🧒💦🌳🐶

Burnsall bridge is a quintessential packhorse bridge in the chocolate box village of Burnsall. Pretty perfect by Yorkshire Dales standards. Although if you cross the bridge, you might bump into a hiker of the more spectral variety… or if you wander into the village maybe you might encounter a stubborn fiddle player…. or have a pint tampered with by a mischievous ghostly resident of the Red Lion beer cellar…. quite a few phantom residents for such a tiny village right?!

The Spectres of Aysgarth

West Burton to Aysgarth

📍 West Burton, Wensleydale Yorkshire Dales National Park Central

⭐⭐⭐ Superstar Hikers

📏 Circular walk, 5.5 miles

🥾🎒🚘💦🌳🚌🐶

Yet ANOTHER tiny part of the Yorkshire Dales that appears to house many, many ghostly residents! This time, ghostly horses and carriages, a phantom lady who appears to be so lifelike, that many mistake her for human and finally the ghost of an alleged philanderer, who was on the rough end of some vigilante justice….

Crossing the stepping stones at Linton

The Linton Headless Horseman

Linton Falls and Stepping Stones

📍 Linton, Wharfedale, Yorkshire Dales South East

⭐⭐ Little Adventurers

🚘🥾💦🎒✨🌳👻🧒🐶🚌

📏 2 miles circular walk

I mean…. can you even do a Ghost Walk section if you haven’t included a headless horseman?!

Well, if you’re searching for one, then Linton is your place! That and a ghostly monk. Yes, another one. Plenty of them around in Wharfedale!

Sitting in the ruins of Stalling Busk church

The Most Haunted Place in the Dales?

Semerwater

📍 Raydale, just up from Bainbridge Wensleydale

⭐⭐⭐ Superstar Hikers

🥾🚘🎒🌳👻✨🐶

📏 5 miles circular walk

Well. If you’re looking for a bumper collection of ghoulish tales then Semerwater has them in their droves! One of the most remote parts f the Dales and one of the only lakes, Semerwater has a whole host of creepy tales, from grey ladies to phantom horsemen! Remember we have all of the ghost stories in one place, so head to the bottom of the page!

Reading the Drummer Boy Stone

The Tragic Legend of the Drummer Boy

Easby Abbey and Richmond Foss

📍 Richmond, North Yorkshire

⭐⭐ Little Adventurers

🚘🥾🎒💦✨🌳👻🐶🚌

📏 4 miles circular walk

The legend of the Richmond Drummer boy is a sad one…. and of course because it’s so well known, it has several different versions! The well known story goes that a poor young soldier was send to explore a subterranean tunnel, drumming as he went so the soldiers above could track his progress…. the point at which his drum fell silent is marked by the Drummer Boy Stone (pictured)….

Ready to Read…

The Ghost Stories

Scroll using the arrows for all our Family Friendly Walks

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