North Stainley, West Tanfield to Masham

Thursday 13th August 2026

North Yorkshire & Co Durham Other Dales

North Stainley, West Tanfield to Masham.

Parking in Masham, we got the bus from the market place in Masham to North Stainley and basically walked back, stopping off at West Tanfield along the way for a beer and a bite to eat.

It's been a long hot summer I know, but with my right foot needing care, I've had hardly any walking this summer and I feel like I need some form of therapy to help me pull through. But with months of rest and specific exercises which included a lot of swimming, I started to consider putting my boots on again.

So I picked a relatively easy countryside walk to start with, I had been doing gentle strolls with very supportive trainers and I felt that I may just be able to ramp it up a bit now.

Not really was the answer, the walk did my foot no good at all and has probably knocked it back a month or so, I'll not be considering trying again until mid-September now.

Plus this walk was done in intense heat with a lot of overgrowth to contend with and not a great deal of the views we had hoped for (this route would be better walked in the spring or early summer if I was to do it again).

The information contained in the material on this Website is for information purposes only and does not constitute advice.
Distance: 10.8 miles
Duration: 4:30 hours
Ascent: 1306 ft
Difficulty: Moderate
Accompanied By: Paul
Weather: Very Hot & Sunny

3D outline of route

Parking

Starting in the market place at Masham, we spotted this sign - it certainly put a smile on our faces.

With Pauls car safely parked up in Masham, We headed to the bus stop and soon a rather larger bus than we had expected turned up on time.

A quarter of an hour later we departed the bus at North Stainley.

After a short walk along the busy roadside we picked up the Ripon Rowel Path (not signposted as such I may note) and headed via some houses into the open countryside.

In the middle of the long hot summer of 2026, we observed the sandy coloured grass that was everywhere.

West Tanfield was soon reached - we were actually only a couple of miles into the walk and it was time for a beer and some lunch.

The Black Bull at West Tanfield - A nice spot by the River Ure for lunch.

Leaving the pub we crossed over the road bridge and soon turned right.

But just before we picked the Ripon Rowel path up again, we spent 5 minutes trying to spot fish.

I saw, what I think was a trout, jump a foot out of the water to catch a fly - pretty impressive.

We walked alongside the river for a lot of the next 8 miles, but saw very little of it.

Levels were low for obvious reasons, but also the late summer growth blocked views to the water throughout which somewhat disappointed us.

The heat was insane - at times we must have been close to 40 degrees.

The woodland shaded us for long periods which was quite a relief.

Out into the open again, as we reach the eerily silent village of Mickley.

St Johns Church, Mickley

Hackfall Woods

Nearing the end of today's walk as we approach Nutwith Cote.

We chose the quickest way back to Masham and stayed on the road after we crossed the River Burn.

There we go - back to Masham on this very hot day, too hot for walking to be honest!

This was a must, even after we started to get a bit of cloud cover.

These didn't hang around for long!