Dales Way
129 km (80 miles), in England, through 2 national parks. The line passes 2 listed summits.
- Distance
- 129.2 km
- In miles
- 80.3 mi
- Day stages
- 7 at ~20 km
- Typical trip
- 5–6 days
- Countries
- England
- National parks
- 2
- Highest ground nearby
- Great Knoutberry Hill 672.5 m
- Listed summits within 2.5 km
- 14
How long it really is
We measure Dales Way at 129.2 km (80.3 miles), computed by walking the OpenStreetMap route geometry point by point. The route is tagged in OpenStreetMap as 129 km; where that differs from our figure, the difference is usually alternative sections, spurs, or a published distance that rounds.
This is horizontal distance only. Our trail dataset carries no elevation profile, so we will not quote a total climb or a confident walking time — on hill routes ascent can add hours a day. A flat-ground pace gives roughly 30 h 43 min of walking for the whole route, which is a floor, not an estimate. Add your own ascent figure in the walking-time calculator for something usable.
Access rights along the way
The route stays within England, so one access regime applies along its length.
England
Conditional Right to roam: Right to roam only on mapped CRoW open access land.
Conditional Wild camping: Permission needed — except on the Dartmoor commons.
A waymarked route is a route you may walk — it does not follow that you may camp beside it, leave it, or take a dog on it. Long-distance paths cross farmland, estates and access land in turn, and byelaws and seasonal restrictions override the general position. This is general information, not legal advice. Check a specific spot with the access checker.
National parks on the route
The line passes through 2 national parks, each with its own byelaws and camping position.
Summits on and beside the route
Listed hills from our hill dataset whose summit lies within 2.5 km of the line — 2 of them within 350 m, so effectively on the route itself. Distances are measured from the nearest point of the path, not from a trailhead.
| Summit | Height | From path | Lists |
|---|---|---|---|
| nameless (School Knott) | 247 m | on route | Wainwright Outlying Fell |
| Grandsire | 251 m | on route | Wainwright Outlying Fell |
| Brant Fell | 191 m | 0.4 km | Wainwright Outlying Fell |
| School Knott | 231.7 m | 0.4 km | Wainwright Outlying Fell |
| Reston Scar | 255 m | 1.4 km | Wainwright Outlying Fell |
| Hugill Fell (Wainwright summit) | 265 m | 1.8 km | Wainwright Outlying Fell |
| nameless (Potter Fell - 1) | 395 m | 1.8 km | Wainwright Outlying FellSynge |
| Yockenthwaite Moor | 643 m | 2 km | HewittNuttall |
| Birks Fell | 610.4 m | 2 km | HewittNuttall |
| Dodd Fell Hill | 668 m | 2.1 km | HewittNuttall |
| Great Knoutberry Hill | 672.5 m | 2.1 km | HewittNuttall |
| Cunswick Scar | 207 m | 2.3 km | Wainwright Outlying Fell |
| Orrest Head | 238 m | 2.4 km | Wainwright Outlying Fell |
| nameless (Potter Fell - 2) | 390 m | 2.5 km | Wainwright Outlying FellSynge |
The route in day stages
Dales Way cut into 7 stages of roughly 20 km, measured along the line itself. These are equal-distance splits computed from the geometry, not an official itinerary — they will not always land on a village, a bunkhouse or a station, and the real day you walk should be set by where you can sleep.
OpenStreetMap does not hold Dales Way as one continuous line, so the stages below run through the pieces in order of length and the joins between them are not walking distance. Treat the stage boundaries as approximate, and check the official route for the sections between them.
| Stage | Distance | Cumulative | Starts near | Ends near | Flat-ground time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 20.3 km | 20.3 km | SE 1122 4807 | SE 0323 6118 | 4 h 28 min |
| 2 | 20.1 km | 40.4 km | SE 0323 6118 | SD 9430 7570 | 4 h 25 min |
| 3 | 20.2 km | 60.6 km | SD 9430 7570 | SD 7921 8023 | 4 h 27 min |
| 4 | 20.7 km | 81.3 km | SD 7921 8023 | SD 6964 8745 | 4 h 33 min |
| 5 | 20.1 km | 101.4 km | SD 6964 8745 | SD 5937 9555 | 4 h 25 min |
| 6 | 20 km | 121.5 km | SD 5937 9555 | SD 4412 9650 | 4 h 24 min |
| 7 | 5.6 km | 127.1 km | SD 4412 9650 | SD 6999 8736 | 1 h 14 min |
Positions are 8-figure (100 m) OS grid references for points on the line, computed from WGS84 coordinates. Flat-ground times are Naismith at 5 km/h with a 6 min/hour rest allowance and no ascent — add the climb in the walking-time calculator before you plan around them.
Conditions on the route
Weather at the route midpoint live
Loading forecast for the midpoint of the route…
Forecast for the midpoint of the Dales Way, at MET Norway's own ground level — we hold no elevation profile for this route, so nothing here is altitude-adjusted, and conditions vary considerably end to end on a route this long. Weather data from MET Norway (CC BY 4.0).
Daylight at the midpoint today
- Sunrise
- —
- Sunset
- —
- Daylight
- —
- Civil twilight ends
- —
Computed astronomically for 54.257, -2.344. Set a turnaround with the daylight safety planner.
Plan this walk
- Walking-time calculator — add ascent, terrain, pack weight and fitness to get a usable time.
- Pack-weight calculator — multi-day routes live or die on base weight.
- Kit-list generator — season and terrain aware.
- Access checker — what a specific grid reference on the route allows.
- Best month to walk — historical rainfall, temperature and wind by area.
- Safety notes — conditions change fast; build in margin.
Other long-distance paths nearby
Sources for this route
- Route geometry, name, waymark and operator: OpenStreetMap relation 29302 — © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL.
- Distance, stages, country crossings, park crossings and summit proximity: computed by OpenFell from that geometry.
- Boundaries: Office for National Statistics (OGL v3.0). Summits: Database of British & Irish Hills v18.3 (CC BY 4.0).
- Official route website: www.dalesway.org.uk
- Background reading: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA).
OpenStreetMap data is licensed under the Open Database Licence. Our derived trail measurements are published under the same terms — see data sources.