90 mins - Ben Rhydding to The Hermit
Good family walk with great views
Steady climbs, great views.
Starting at the train station in Ben Rhydding. From the Ilkley bound side of the station, walk through the carpark and cross the road. Walk up the hill for about 50m and where the road curves off to the right, you will see a Ben Rhydding Drive.
Waypoint 1:
The entrance to Ben Rhydding Drive. This is a private road and has two grand looking stone pillars that mark the entrance.
Follow this road for about 1.5 miles. It will gently climb and take you past some lovely houses and occasionally beautiful views off to your left. The road eventually curves to the right and before you, you will see the Audley Clevedon Retirement Village.
Waypoint 2:
The entrance to the retirement village is marked again by two imposing stone pillars. Take an immediate right turn here before you enter the nursing home grounds.
Follow the road round to the left, around the retirement home. You’ll see a lovely stone Dovecote on the right hand side as you walk up the hill and then a car park where there is a sign post marking the same public footpath left up the hill on the road.
Waypoint 3:
The road reaches a dead end at the entrance to a private drive, but the footpath is signposted left through a wooden gate into a small copse with a stream running through it.
Walk down into the copse through a rusty metal gate across a stream then follow the path to the left through a field traversing the hillside and crossing another bridge made of two wooden planks over a stream keeping the stone house on your right.
Waypoint 4:
The path will start looping up to the right through this small field and ends at a metal swing gate which takes you round the side of a private house. The path is marked with a yellow footpath sign.
This short path is very narrow with bushes to your right and a barbed wire fence to your left and ends in a wooden kissing gate. The path should be easily visible through 3 fields, the path traverses the hill and starts with a tumbledown dry stone wall on your right.
On your left you will have expansive views over the valley and on your right, fields leading up the moors.
Waypoint 5:
Head towards the old stone squeeze stile in the wall beneath the tree just beyond a small stream, the path is marked with a yellow footpath arrow.
Waypoint 6:
Eventually you will reach a wooden gate that’s marks the start of 50m narrow section of path with stone walls either side.
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At the end of this a tall wooden gate brings you out on to a old farm track.
Waypoint 7:
Take a right on this track which will take you up the hill for about 150m. At the top of this track, you will reach Stead Hall Farm. Pass through a large metal farm gate (remembering to close it after you) and through the farm itself with an old stone barn on your right.
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Walk down the hill and through another large metal farm gate and you will be on a tarmacked single track Road called Stead Lane . Follow this road all the way, first down the hill and then curving up the hill to the right, and eventually until it passed the Robin Hole Brownie Camp of your right hand side and ends at Moor Road.
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Here you have a choice, you can either take the quick route:
The quick route is to simply follow Moor Road until you hit the Hermit - take a left onto Moor Road, you will immediately cross a stone bridge. Follow this road with the Moor to your right for about 1km. Beware here as the path is narrow and the road can be busy at times.
You will pass ‘The Triangle’ on your left, the triangular shaped Green at the top of Moor Lane. Keep going!
Follow Moor Road for about 200m. You will have houses on your left and the Moor on your right. Once you reach the brow of the hill, the Hermit will appear on your left. And there a warm welcome, beautiful views and great food and drinks await.
Or the scenic route: (adds another 10-15mins)
Cross over Moor Road keeping the bridge on your left. Follow the path up some steps and this will take you through a rutted carpark.
Head through the metal swing gate and then take the left hand path. This will take you down a steep slope towards a stream when you will have to treed carefull across stepping stones.
The path continues up the other side of the stream. Here follow the path through the bracken and heather so you keep the drystone wall to your left and the moor to your right. Don’t climb the hill, merely traverse it, broadly following the line of the drystone wall on your let. After some time you will pass some nice old stone houses on your left, and then shortly after you will see an old water station and metal gate in front of you. Go through the metal gate and you will have Moor Road in front of you, with The Triangle ahead of you and to your left.
Take a right on Moor Road and head up the hill.
Follow Moor Road for about 200m. You will have houses on your left and the Moor on your right. Once you reach the brow of the hill, the Hermit will appear on your left. And there a warm welcome, beautiful views and great food and drinks await
The return back to Ben Rhydding:
You can either retrace your route back to Ben Rhydding or let the train take the strain - a quick 15 minute stroll down Moor Road to Burley in Wharfedale train station will link you directly to Ben Rhydding Train station via approximately half hourly rail services.