West Burton - Templar Chapel - Aysgarth

Sam Roebuck

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You can see why James Herriot was so fond of West Burton, it really is a thoroughly pleasant place. West Burton Falls are hidden away in a secluded glade just below the village. You'll want to linger and take a photo, but after you do, the walk takes you over the pastureland below Penhill as far as the ruins of the Knights Templar Chapel near West Witton. On your way, keep a look out for the views along Wensleydale and Bishopdale and over to Castle Bolton.

From the Templar Chapel, you drop to Temple Farm and an unfortunate but necessary kilometre along the A684. Don't worry, it wasn't as bad as I thought it might be. This leads you to the River Ure and the first two of the three Aysgarth Falls, Lower and Middle Force. All too soon, the path leaves the river to pass by the charming Aysgarth Church (and an optional visit to High Force) and on to Aysgarth Village.

After refreshing yourself at the George and Dragon Inn, it's just a short couple of kilometres back over pastureland to West Burton.

Dog-owners please note, there are one or two dog-unfriendly stiles en route and sheep a-plenty - so please keep them on a lead. There is also the stretch along the A684 to consider if your pooch isn't too keen on fast traffic.

England - North England - Yorkshire - Yorkshire Dales - Wensleydale

Features

Ancient Monument, Castle, Church, Food Shop, Gift Shop, Good for Kids, Great Views, Hills or Fells, Play Area, Pub, Public Transport, River, Waterfall, Woodland

1/16/2022 - STEVEN BLOWER

Completed this lovely walk. No problems. Very good directions. Easy to follow.

5/27/2021 - James Brinkworth

What a great day out in James Herriot country we had on this walk. I found all the directions clear and easy to follow, including WM19. I can't understand why some people found this troublesome. It was all very straightforward and very enjoyable. I also enjoyed the well earned pint at the end! Thanks, WalkingWorld, for yet another great country walk!

10/12/2018 - Sheila Spencer

Lovely walk but a few points need amending: 1 & 2. The shop in West Burton no longer has a Post Office and the next bit of the instruction is a little unclear. The instructions would be better saying: "Stand with your back to the shop in West Burton, cross the green in front, turn left at the road and turn right where you see the signs for the Falls. 6. Take the footpath signposted to Templar Farm (this comes after the one to Templar Chapel). 8. Cross to the right side of the road after the first 50m or so, to be safer for the bend. 16. In the second field, it's not half-right, it's half-left. 19. There's no sign for Eshington Bridge at this point.

4/8/2013 - Adrian Mabe

Walked on 4 April 2013. Another bitterly cold day didn't spoil our enjoyment. Started the walk at Aysgarth rather than West Burton. No problems with route finding, even at WM 19. At that point some other walkers passed us on the other side of a hedge, but we are fairly confident we were on the right of way! Fair amount of mud, and still some lying snow, particularly near the Templar Chapel.

2/23/2012 - Ian Dodd

Walked 5/2/12. Don't know how to improve on the instructions at the tricky WM19 - we followed the right route but felt uncertain. A footpath signpost would be good at this point! We had tea and cake in the Hamilton Tearooms in Aysgarth, just off-route, and would highly recommend it. A warm welcome on a bitterly cold day just before the snow arrived.

10/23/2011 - Philip Scott

Completed this walk recently on a lovely sunny day, the day after rain so the water falls were all in full spate. Scenery is lovely and views over the valley magnificent. Didn't find any problems with navigation at all. If there was any criticism of the walk is that according to my Gps it is slightly longer than advertised at 6.5 miles but that made no difference to a lovely day out.

10/29/2007 - Paul Paintin

Completed this Monday October 22nd 2007. Good route (road section ok). Recommend the Millrace teashop at High Force - great soups and Rich Mans Beans on Toast!

3/29/2006 - Deborah Sloan

I did this walk on 25th March, using the amended instructions and managed to successfully follow the route at wm19. I found the walk was quite easy with good views.

2/21/2006 - Walkingworld Administrator

Instructions at wm19 are corrrect but this is a tricky part of the walk. Sam has reworded the text here, hopefully to clarify the route.

2/8/2006 - Heather Gorrod

Did this walk on Sat 4th Feb. It was a beautiful day and the views were fantastic. Not many walkers about but can imagine it would be a very popular walk in the summer. Stopped for lunch at the Palmer Flatt Hotel just past the church in Aysgarth. A very warm welcome and a very nice sandwich.

Managed to go wrong at point 19 somehow. We went through the stile but when we went half left it was down quite a steep rough field with no way out of it. We retraced our steps and went off in roughly the right direction and eventuall saw the track we should have been on over in the distance! Don,t really know what happened but it didn't spoil a lovely walk.