Route: Whisper Dales and High Dales
Area: North Yorkshire
Date of walk: 24th February 2016
Walkers: Andrew and Gilly
Distance: 8.3 miles
Ascent: 800 feet
Weather: Sun and blue skies, cold
This walk is a good introduction to the beauty of the valleys which run beneath the tabular hills in the Hackness area
We parked near the red phone box in the quiet village of Broxa and after walking along Broxa Rigg for a short distance descended into Low Dales. The valley road is often flooded and was so today, but there is an alternative path through the fields which runs just above the road
A mini network of fords and footbridges took us into Low Dales which in turn leads into the another valley, Whisper Dales, both of them equally charming. At the valley head we entered into Broxa Forest and followed an uphill path which took us to the viewpoint of Reasty Hill Top. After a quick picnic here (it was freezing so we didn’t linger) we walked along the forest paths, eventually descending into another unspoilt valley – High Dales
At the end of the valley we arrived back at Lowdale Farm, which completed the circuit, and from here we retraced our steps back to the start
For other walks here, visit my Find Walks page and enter the name in the ‘Search site’ box
Click on the icon below for the route map (subscribers to OS Maps can view detailed maps of the route, visualise it in aerial 3D, and download the GPX file. Non-subscribers will see a base map)
Scroll down – or click on any photo to enlarge it and you can then view as a slideshow
Long tailed tit in the garden at Derwent View Hackness, where we were staying
The start of the walk from nearby Broxa
We walk along Broxa Rigg, one of the tabular hills in this area, about 500 feet above sea level
Further along the flat summit
We leave the ridge here to descend through Hollgate Plantation into the valley below
The small settlement of Lowdales, which we’ll be walking through shortly
We descend the frost covered field to join the lane below
Haggland Wood
The lane is under water, so we take a path through the field on the right…
Approaching Lowdales
We follow the sign for Whisperdales and will be returning via Highdales at the end of the walk
Low Dales or Lowdales? The OS says the former, the signposts the latter (and the same applies to Whisperdales and Highdales)
The correct spelling may be in doubt, but the beauty isn’t
Looking back along Low Dales as we enter Whisper Dales
Hunter Noddle (that’s the hill not the walker)
Walking along Whisperdales
Start of the uphill section to Reasty Hill Top
We follow the track through Broxa Forest
Looking across Harwood Dale from Reasty Hill Top
We walk along Reasty Hill Top, the views over Harwood Dale to the right being obscured by the trees
We then re-enter Broxa Forest to descend into High Dales…
High Dales
We arrive back in Lowdales to complete our circuit, and from here we retrace our steps to Broxa
On Broxa Rigg again
We arrive in Broxa at the end of a great walk
On the short drive back to Hackness we pass by the old cricket ground, out of use for 10 years, with molehills where fielders used to be
