These are just my personal thoughts on the recently completed Dales Way. As a long distance trail I think The Dales Way disappoints in many respects. It has the feel of a walk cobbled together from shorter walks and therefore fails to give the a sense of being on a continuous journey to a destination.

There are too many paths close to rivers where there are low tree branches, exposed roots, slippery rocks and, because of the rain, mud. Barbed wire fences to one side of the path and the river on the other side creates a sense of being hemmed in. When I am walking I enjoy feeling a sense of space and being corralled is an anathema.

The sheer number of stiles / ladders & gates in some sections becomes very tedious after a few days and hinders walking with any fluidity. In some sections the stiles are in a very dangerous condition and urgently require replacing.

The signage along the route to indicate direction was appalling – the worse I have seen. A GPS unit is essential to navigate with as mobile signal is zero most of the time.

Having said all that I did enjoy the walking holiday and look forward to my next one.

I think if I am considering a long distance trail in future I might find that doing a trail where accommodation is booked along the way with baggage transfer between overnight stops might suit me better. I can then start the days walking early allowing time to stop and look at interesting things along the way instead of rushing because there is a bus to catch.

Happy Walking! 😊