A walk around Masham

Monday 21st March 2022

Walking Diary (All Walks) North Yorkshire & Co Durham Easy Walks Wensleydale

Having had an excellent stay in Harrogate the day before, we decided to call in somewhere on the way home for a small walk. Masham was an ideal choice for this, located in the breathtakingly beautiful region of Lower Wensleydale, Masham (pronounced 'Massam') is famous for its family-run breweries amongst other things. It's a town though, don't call it a village - We did once and got pulled up for it ! But they're a friendly bunch of locals, that's for sure.

The market square is home to plenty cafe's and coffee shops with ample parking in the centre or down by the river where we went (honesty boxes are provided with no fixed charges which makes a pleasant change). The town also has plenty of pubs - and some good ones at that.

We enjoyed the day that much, we decided to stay over for the night too - this proved to be a wise decision as we had drinks all afternoon in the Kings Head and had a fantastic meal in the very friendly White Bear and then sang away the night in the folk club held in the adjacent bar (two Mondays every month apparently).

The walk was a gentle stroll around the outskirts of Masham, following in part the 'Ripon Rowel path' for a couple of miles and then alongside the River Burn and River Ure before returning to the town centre.

A great time was certainly had.

The information contained in the material on this Website is for information purposes only and does not constitute advice.
Distance: 5.7 miles
Duration: 2:15 hours
Ascent: 417 ft
Difficulty: Easy
Accompanied By: Chris, Deb & Al
Weather: Dry, Cool and Sunny

3D outline of route

Parking

Parked up 'down by the riverside'

A short walk over the cricket field, followed by steps up to the market square.

Refreshments before the walk. It was warm in the sun, but we were well wrapped up just in case it changed.

Following the Ripon Rowel path as we headed in the direction of Fearby.

A familiar site - waiting for our girls to catch up. Now if there were Mint Velvet or Reiss stores out here in the countryside, we certainly wouldn't be hanging around like this I can honestly say.

The lane signifies a sharp turn to the left

Crossing the River Burn - A more 'decent' picture than the one of the boys as they crossed the bridge a minute or two earlier (Unable to upload that one unfortunately)

Yep - they are a dangerous bunch. Always wary when walking through golf courses, you're never very welcome and you can actually get lost easily due to the many well warn paths all over the place. This one was easy though, as it's just keeping to the riverside. Never saw any grumpy old golfers either !

The picturesque River Burn

Pretty severe river bank erosion here - The path was once on the other side of the fence. Looks like the fence won't last much longer either.

Time to get to the Masham side of the river.

Now that's what I call great advertising ! Bet my visitor numbers tripled after today - Snazzy tops don't you think ?

The outskirts of Masham can just be seen in the distance.

The last leg of the journey was alongside the River Ure (Or as Deb would say - the River Ooooooeerrrrrrr)

Sea Shanty's, John Barleycorn, Old Peculiar, Bob Dylan and the Beatles - sung and played by The Silver Fox, Susan Boyle and Paul Hollywood with a little help and extreme vocal encouragement from the dynamic duo here ! Fantastic fun night - loved it in the White Bear !!