The Ingleton Waterfalls Trail is probably one of the most picturesque walks in Yorkshire… but it’s also one of the busiest. If you do get the option to avoid weekends and school holidays, definitely try to do that!

What is the Ingleton Waterfalls Trail?

A beautiful eight kilometre walk in the Yorkshire Dales taking in 6 breathtaking waterfalls. To help maintain the paths (you will no doubt realise the need when you get there), you will need to pay on entry. A one way system has been put in place to assist social distancing, so once you start there is no turning back!

Website: https://www.ingletonwaterfallstrail.co.uk

Walk Review Of the Ingleton Waterfalls Trail

Parking and Facilities

Parking is at the start of the walk, with toilets and a cafe. Be warned the carpark gets REALLY busy with long 1 in 1 out queues so get there early. The parking fee is covered by admission.
On the route itself, there are two ‘official’ refreshment stops, and one of those has a toilet. We also found an ice cream van had pulled up, as well as a catering van outside a farm.

There are plenty of places for picnics, but the first few kilometres of the walk are single file with limited places to stop.

What are the paths like?

Whilst much of the path is a relatively easy, gritted path, there are also a fair few steps, some easy scrambling and steep sections. Unsurprisingly with so many waterfalls, you’ll be climbing to 300m above sea level. Many people on the trail seemed to be unprepared for a Dales Walk, starting in canvas shoes or sandals and carrying picnic boxes and carrier bags. I think they’d find some sections really difficult, particularly the descent! If you have small children with you, make sure that you have a carrier or are confident they can walk 4.5 miles unaided.
Also consider that for the start of the walk it is single file. If you visit on a busy day as we did, you’ll find yourself walking in a long line of people in parts. This makes it difficult to stop, and a somewhat uneasy pressure to keep up a pace (or be forced into a very slow pace).

Walking the Ingleton Waterfalls Trail

On reflection, we should have avoided the Bank Holiday Weekend to try this walk, but that’s when we found the time…and despite the throngs of people, I don’t regret the visit for a second. I definitely wasn’t prepared for how beautiful this walk would be, it’s a photographers delight! We were given a leaflet with a map on arrival to the car park, but (accidentally) left it in the car. There is no real need for it though, the route is obvious and well-signposted… and really, just follow the crowds!

The walk starts in a gorge, with the water running against an impressive cliff. Jess was on side early when she found a money tree.

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It’s only a couple of kilometres before you see your first Waterfall, Pecca Falls, and it’s fantastic. The route crosses a bridge right in front of the waterfall, which did cause a bottleneck of people taking pictures, but it was worth the wait… as was the steps up to enjoy more of the view.

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Hollybush Spout sits just behind, and then it’s a short walk to Thornton Force, where many families had stopped for a picnic break.

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After three falls in relatively quick succession, there’s a short climb to give some spectacular views, and where we enjoyed our lunch stop. The path leads to a track that takes you all the way to Beezley Farm where refreshments and toilet facilities are available. A little before here, a farm had taken advantage of the passing trade to sell ice creams and drinks if you can’t wait that long!

After Beezley Farm the path is mostly downhill on a rocky path…. but the views are awesome!

Beezley Falls is followed by Baxenghyll Gorge, where a platform has been built for you to walk out over the gorge.

At one point on this part of the trail there’s a little rocky beach area, another good spot to climb down to and picnic.

Finally you pass Snow Falls, and then cross a gorge on a rather narrow bridge to the final part of the walk that returns to the village.

We finished the walk by enjoying one of the village pubs, there are also a few cafes and shops to mull about in.

Overall, this is a great walk with jaw-dropping views. If you live in Yorkshire and haven’t visited, then you should- it’s one of our real highlights. Just be prepared to share your experience with plenty of other people! I think we’re often spoiled in Yorkshire that many of our gems are able to be accessed whenever you like, so you can often find a quiet time. I don’t think this is much different to when you visit natural attractions and sights abroad- for me it was just unexpected because I haven’t seen it here! So definitely don’t let it put you off a visit.