Horset one

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From Horton-in-Ribblesdale the route along the River Ribble was beautiful in autumn, even though the weather was rather damp. The path was a little bit tricky in places, with a variety of stiles, narrow bridges, and tree roots. There were good views of Pen-y-Ghent, although it was half covered by cloud.
After passing underneath the railway line, the road to Helwith Bridge is fairly narrow, and used a lot by quarry trucks, but the Tarmac quarry company have created a safe path along the edge of the fields here. There is a pub at Helwith Bridge. Then there is a short section of road and a field track (where I saw a deer and a small murmuration), before a longer, but very quiet, narrow tarmacked road to Little Stainforth, with good views and lots of lovely old farm buildings.
There is a campsite here, and a lovely café with bar. Then there’s a very narrow road down to a cute bridge over the river. It’s well worth the short detour here to see Stainforth Force. I was told that salmon leap up it! The little road from here takes you up to Stainforth, which has public toilets, and a pub.
The route from Stainforth takes you through the Craven Limeworks/Hoffmann Kiln, which is great fun. Annoyingly, there are new buildings going up right next to it, but the temporary path past them is clear and it doesn’t really spoil the historic site itself. The limestone cliffs behind the site look wonderful too.
There’s a short steep climb out of Langcliffe, but then the views down into Settle are excellent, especially for me, as the sun started coming out at that point, and lit up the scene beautifully.

I walked this route from Horton to Settle. For a moderate length route, there's so much on offer! An incredibly varied walk.

The north bit is along the Ribble. I found the path to generally be very good quality (a bit wet after rain, but not like from the flooded river or anything when I walked in October). At times, it was a bit unclear exactly which side of a fence or wall I was meant to be walking on, but I encountered no difficulty following the route as drawn generally.

From Helwith Bridge, the route follows roads with lovely views into Stainforth. I found this section of the route really beautiful, with lots of sights in all directions. The bits of wood bewteen Little Stainforth and Stainforth were a real treat. I think there was a waterfall off to the south of the route, but I was in a hurry to get to Settle!

Stainforth to Langcliffe is a nice stretch of easy fields with clear paths. I found the bit around the kiln a bit tricky to navigate the route as drawn, but the paths on the ground were clear to follow. The kiln is awesome, a definite treat of the route!

There is a climb out of Langcliffe was a bit tough at the end of my walk, but the views looking down into Settle were a definite reward. Ending in Settle is great, too, there are lots of shops and restaurants to rest and recover at!

An awesome route with so much to offer, definitely would recommend. Full marks!.

A mainly low level route following the River Ribble between two points on the scenic Settle - Carlisle railway. The train offers a convenient way to return to your starting point. Mainly grassy riverside paths and some low fell paths across fields. The section of the route from Horton in Ribblesdale to Helwith Bridge is by the river, from there the next section to Stainforth is mainly along a tarmac lane (little traffic) - another alternative would be to cross the river and follow the official Ribble Way path along the fellside. Great views up and down the valley either way. Nice cafe just on your way into Little Stainforth, pub and toilets in Stainforth. The route from here to Langcliffe is surprisingly interesting - passing the former Craven limeworks which offers a view into the huge Hoffman Kiln. From the pleasant little village of Langcliffe the route partly coincides with the Pennine Bridleway before dropping down into Settle with its shops and cafes etc. Definitely not a suitable route for pushchairs/wheelchairs but mainly dog friendly gates and stiles (although there are a few ladder stiles over walls). A nice walk on an autumn day when the leaves were falling.

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