Helgar two

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A delightful walk on lovely old, open and wooded, rural lanes, from start to almost finish. There was one low traffic, tarmac section alongside the River Otter. There were good views across to the surrounding hills throughout.

We left Hellifield by crossing the railway line, climbing up and following a quiet green lane, bounded by green hedgerows and filled with flowers, including orchids, families of snails, bees and butterflies.
The route continued onto grass track and through some woodland. It dropped down into Otterburn, where we walked along a quiet road for a while, with mainly cyclists passing us.
There were lovely views of hills in the distance.
The routes were easy to find and the walking was relatively easy and very enjoyable.
There were not many walkers around, other than dog walkers as we neared Gargrave.
Gargrave itself is busy, with the busy A65 passing right through it. We passed a cafe, but decided to eat our sandwiches by the side of the river Aire instead. All in all a rather beautiful walk.

What a delightful walk with easy route finding throughout. Straight off the busy road of Hellifield, with a short climb up an attractive terraced street, past the recreation ground and over the level crossing. This opened up onto a very pleasant wide track with lovely meadow verges with meadow brown, ringlet and white butterflies as well as numerous house martins, swallows and a swift accompanying us. Sheep and highland cattle were in the bordering fields with rolling hills behind and views into the valley. We saw our first walkers so far on our Lancaster to Leeds Slow Ways route – day 4!

We then reached a peaceful, wooded glen and continued on a beautiful track through the woods. There were lots of butterflies on the grass verges and I would love to come back in May when I imagine it would be filled with birdsong. Good track down to sleepy Otterburn and then a quiet road. There was lots of interest along the way with numerous birds, house martins, swallows, a stonechat family and interesting buildings. We also saw 100 people Lowry style above us on the Pennine Way and we were glad of our more peaceful route. The track of Mark House Lane was again pleasant walking with the bonus hearing and sighting of a spotted flycatcher. We enjoyed lunch on a bench in Gargrave overlooking the River Aire.

NB We were continuing on the Slow Way route to Skipton but a train or bus could be taken from here back to Hellifield to make a delightful half day walk.

(Very close to a 5 star rating - 4+ due to mainly quiet road and track walking rather than paths but still would highly recommend).

This Helgar 2 route was a lovely walk with no route finding difficulties encountered. Start off from Hellifield where there are frequent buses and refreshments. Cross the railway crossing and follow a glorious path with great views where eventually the route took us through an ancient wood, eventually joining up with and following The Pennine Way. No route finding problems or difficult terrain. Plenty of cafés, buses and a public convenience in Gargrave. Very enjoyable but lost a star rating because of the thundering traffic on the A65 right through the centre of Gargrave.

This is a beautiful route, following tracks, pasture, woodland and quiet lanes. There are only two short climbs along the whole route, and the rest is level and on good surfaces. I walked it on a winters day after a long period of rainfall, and athough the tracks were muddy and puddly in places, nowhere was impassable. You leave Hellifield via a network of paths through residential streets, cross the railway track through two gates, and then climb gently up a track for a short while until beautiful views are gained across undulating farmland. Eventually you cross a large field which was the only really soggy part of the walk, but in view of the time of year and recent weather conditions, this was hardly surprising. A gate at the far side opens onto a good track through woodland which eventually leads downhill into the farming hamlet of Otterburn. From here you are on quiet lanes for a couple of miles, following the beckside out of Otterburn and then with open views across grazing land and crossing an attractive arched stone bridge. After this the road is fenced with good verges to either side. I encountered only one car, but several walkers. Bell Busk is a very attractive small hamlet with several interesting old buildings and after this a junction is reached and the route leads on to Markhouse Lane, an ancient bridleway with gorgeous views in every direction, and a handy bench situated at a corner. This track becomes a path and then a track again and eventually becomes a metalled road as you reach the edge of the village of Gargrave. Gargrave has many facilities including a CoOp, pubs, railway station and is on a bus route. I strongly recommend this route.

Easy to follow, with good views. Although part of the route is along a road, its a very quiet lane and vehicles are rare.

This is a gorgeous route! The first third is a steady, but not too steep, climb up a rubbly farm track out of Hellifield, which gradually becomes a footpath across sheep pasture and past woods. The views are lovely, and I could hear curlews. There is a level crossing near the start and there are several gates including kissing gates.
The middle third is a quiet, single-track, country road between the tiny villages of Otterburn and Bell Busk. There was the odd car in the villages, but between them the only vehicles I saw were a tandem bike, and a tractor. The road went alongside Otterburn Beck which was very pretty, with sheep fields alongside. You leave Bell Busk over a bridge that crosses the baby River Aire.
The final third was along a narrow lane, inaccessible to motor traffic, called Mark House Lane. There is a bench at the corner soon after Bell Busk by Crag Laithe. This path was also quite stony and might become a bit of a stream in very wet weather, but there are beautiful views, and curlews were calling. There is a quiet road down into Gargrave, where there are toilets, pubs and cafés.

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