Herriot Way

Herriot Way Overview

The Herriot Way is a 52 mile circular route running through some of the most beautiful scenery in the Yorkshire Dales. Based upon a walk taken by the well-known veterinarian and writer James Herriot,it visits his favourite locations and made famous in his books “James Herriot’s Yorkshire” and “All Creatures Great & Small"

This walk passes through a number of the places where James Herriot lived and worked: Wensleydale, famous for its cheese and its waterfalls, Swaledale with its wildflower meadows and its rolling landscape of dry stone walls and barns made from limestone, as well as the thriving market town of Hawes. The Herriot Way is a circular route so you can choose to start in any location. Our itinerary is described as starting from Aysgarth, in the heart of Wensleydale, and progresses in a clockwise direction. This is the traditional way to walk the Herriot Way and is also how the guidebook describes the route. You can visit some of the area's natural phenomenon: Hardraw Force, which at 100ft is the highest single-drop waterfall in England, and Aysgarth Falls, a triple flight of waterfalls, surrounded by forest and farmland, carved out by the River Ure, which featured in the Kevin Costner film "Robin Hood - Prince of Thieves". Explore pretty villages such as Thwaite, a largely unspoilt village in heart of the Yorkshire Dales National Park and Askrigg, a pretty village which enjoyed television fame in the 1970s and 1980s as home of the vet James Herriot. Stay in the market town of Hawes, home of the Wensleydale Creamery where the world famous Wensleydale Cheese has been hand-made for more than 100 years.