West Burton to Walden Circular Walk

7 miles:  3 ½ hours

Moderate

The walk starts from West Burton village green.  Free on-street parking. 

The village has a pub serving food, teas, and coffee (The Fox and Hounds), a Café, a village shop with a wide selection of foods including pies and sandwiches.  There is also a village butcher and an antique shop, though not open all the time.

The walk is mostly on single track dead-end roads, so traffic is very limited and this is a good walk if the weather has been wet because there is very little off-road walking.

  • With the Fox and Hounds pub on your right, walk up the village green heading south until you come to a fork in the road. Take the left fork and follow the road uphill passing between houses for around ¼ of a mile.
  • You come to a second fork in the road take the right fork towards Walden.

The road rises quite steeply, and it is worth turning around to take in the view of lower Bishopdale looking across to Bolton Castle

  • You pass two areas of newly planted trees on your right and your return road can be clearly seen across the valley on your left.
  • As you walk along the road, you come to a steep decent and bridge over a delightful fast-flowing brook and ascend the other side of the brook.
  • Passing Hargill Farm, Haw Farm, and Bridge End Farm you finally pass Hill Top Farm (badly named as it is NOT on a hill top) and one field further along on your left is a footpath sign turning back on yourself and dropping down across the field.
  • Passing through three stiles you cross a streem to reach a track and turn right down towards Bridge End Farm.
  • The path goes to the right of the farm turning immediately left beyond the garden to a large bridge across Walden Beck.
  • Cross over the bridge and turn immediately left and follow the track as it leads diagonally and steeply up across the field to a gate in the top corner.

The ground can be boggy after the bridge, after rain, but not impassable.

  • Passing through the gate there are two footpath signs, follow the right-hand sign leading straight up the field in a very steep climb.
  • At the next footpath sign, follow the waymark, turning 90 degrees left and passing below the farm (Nell Bank) accessing the metaled road through a gate.
  • The walk now proceeds on a steady descent, on this metaled road, back down the side of the valley towards West Burton.

Take in the magnificent views and the peace of the valley

  • Follow the road 2 ½ miles until you reach the bridge back over Walden Beck. There is a choice here, to continue on the road, or turn right alongside the streem and then over fields (Both are the same distance).
  • If you take the footpath by the streem you will come to a footbridge, cross the bridge and then rise up the next field, bearing right to a stile in the far corner of the field, to regain the road.
  • If you stay on the road you will walk back into West Burton
  • You are now on the road you started on, walking the ¼ mile back to the village green.