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01694 723600
You matter to us & we promise to provide you with a superb walking & social holiday, tailored specifically to your needs. We provide walking holidays for walkers & as walkers ourselves, we appreciate & understand the requirements of a walking holiday.
The Yorkshire Dales never fail to impress the walker – fabulous upland scenery, well maintained paths. Our solos guided walking holiday is based in Clapham renowned for its beauty, rural charm and great walking from the village and surrounding valley.
We specialise in guided walking holidays for solos and singles in some of the world’s most magnificent landscapes – Europe and the UK. We have an extra speciality in that we also design bespoke holidays for special groups.
We stay in the lovely village of Clapham at the New Inn Hotel. We stay for four nights.
The New Inn was once an eighteenth century coaching inn but now welcomes travellers coming in by both car, train and bike. The tiny Croft Café is also popular with cyclists on the Way of the Roses and Yorkshire Dales Cycle Way which passes through the village as does the Pennine Bridleway. The village has a variety of interesting shops selling everything from knitting yarn to locally-made crafts. The village shop and post office is now operated as a community shop.
Rooms are spacious, en suite and the hotel is lively in the evening with its roaring fires. Excellent bar and lounges.
Dinner is taken in the hotel’s dining room.
Lunch will either be at one of the local pubs or cafes, or packed.
There is plenty of parking available at the hotel.
There are other walking holiday companies that cover the countryside but we believe we offer the best value for many reasons….
Clapham does have a rail station on the Leeds to Morecambe line. Also Settle is 5 miles away – more taxi provision there.
By road – Clapham is between Settle and Ingleton – Sat Nav – LA2 8HH
We walk for three full days and two half days on this holiday. The exact choice of walks for the three full days will be at the discretion of the leader according to the weather and conditions underfoot. Although limestone is fast draining and therefore not ‘boggy’, it can be slippery on wet days.
There are many walks we can choose from – samples are shown here.
Arrival Day
We will begin our walks on the first afternoon with a short walk, 2 to 3 miles, through the village along Clapham Beck. This is a good track through woodland with an impressive waterfall. Further along the track is the famous Ingleborough show cave and nature trail.
Ingleborough 10 miles
This is the highest of the Yorkshire Three Peaks at 723m. There are a number of ways up the hill, but conditions permitting, we will head up Clapham beck and past the massive Sink Hole of Gaping Gill. The views from both the ascent and decent of Ingleborough are fantasic. Our return route will be initially westward towards Ingleton, but then back east along the lower slopes of Ingleborough. This walk is approximately 10 miles and has some strenuous stretches on the approach to the peak.
Crummackdale 10 miles
Walking from the hotel we head east to the picturesque village of Austwick. A gradual ascent takes us up to the limestone escarpment of Moughton Scar at the head of Crummackdale. We cross this amazing feature with its clints and grykes and return via the hamlet of Wharfe in a landscape little altered for centuries. Please note that boots with ankle support are advised when crossing Moughton Scar. For safety this traverse will be omitted in very wet weather.
Ingleton Falls Kingsdale 9.5 miles
Starting in the pretty village of Ingleton we begin our walk along the famous Ingleton Waterfalls trail. Once beyond Thornton Force we extend our walk north and walk along the lower slopes of Gragareth Scar. We drop down into Kingsdale Valley for the return journey. There is the opportunity to go into Yordas Cave. Bring a torch for this. Heading south the route reaches the end of Twislton Scar and re joins the Ingleton Waterfalls Trail for our return to the village.
Final morning Norber Erratics 6 miles
There will be a 6 mile walk from the village, mainly along old drove roads, but some rougher tracks. There is an area of glacially deposited rocks known as the Norber Erratcis. With luck, you will see the magnificent views down the valley to Austwick
Note
Alternative to any of the full days would be a walk to Settle. Take in Stainforth force and Lancliffe, come back via train from Giggleswick or bus from Settle.
Its all about meeting new friends. Each holiday is designed to be a friendly, relaxed and stress free occasion. Talking is as important as walking on Secrethills Walking Holidays. We don’t go in for discos, we may use an event that is taking place in the area we are in to boost the weekends activities – but its good, old fashioned chat that makes our short breaks successful.
“Make new friends that turn into old friends” – that’s our motto.
You might be surprised by what fun you’ll have with people who are older or younger than you during a holiday with us, and that’s exactly the sort of atmosphere we encourage; people find it very rewarding. It doesn’t matter what your reasons for traveling with us are, we’ve had people who are single, divorced or widowed, people who have partners that are unable to travel, and people who can’t holiday with their friends anymore as they’ve all got married themselves. There are people who want to make friends, see sights, and experience something completely new. Whatever your reason, we’ll welcome you with open arms and our friendly hosts will help you to get the most out of your holiday.
Don’t worry if this is the first time you have ventured to join a group holiday – its always a bit daunting – but we will look after you and ensure that you get used to being amongst friends again. Trust us to to get you back into the swing of things.
Oh – by the way – its not a dating agency – over the years we have had people meet and fall in love – but that’s just chance. Our aim is that you make like minded friends – just relax and enjoy.
Just arrive and enjoy.
To reserve a place on any of our holidays, please follow these simple instructions.
Reserve online – once you have chosen your holiday, click on Proceed Booking and complete the online form. If you have difficulty reserving online, please contact us (tel: 01694 723600, email: info@secrethillswalking.co.uk) and we will assist you to complete your booking.
Payment
Please note we cannot take credit/debit card details over the phone. You may pay by the following methods when you book online…
Please note than an initial deposit is required with each booking regardless of which payment method you choose. Your booking will be accepted when your payment (deposit or full balance) is received. Note – if you are reserving a holiday within a month of the start date then the full amount is due immediately and no deposit should be paid.
It is important that you read the terms and conditions before you sign the booking form.
Note – if you are reserving a holiday within a month of the start date then the full amount is due immediately and no deposit should be paid.
The Yorkshire Dales was designated a National Park back in the 1950s, largely due to its fascinating geological history. The Dales as they are today were primarily formed by glaciation and the natural weathering of the carboniferous limestone that characterises much of the area.
Carboniferous limestone is a soft rock and if you scratch it with a sharp object it will mark quite easily and produce powdered rock. It’s also soluble to rainwater over a very long period of time and eventually, the many joints and fissures in the rock get eroded away. So this means we have many caves and rock features that add to the interest on our walks in this area.
Gaping Gill would be an example, as well as the limestone pavements that abound. The action of rainwater on limestone, as well as the numerous waterfalls and streams, has shaped this magnificent walking area. The area drains well through limestone so there are few boggy and wet areas.
There are many lovely villages, each with their own special “feel” about them, such as Settle, Ingleton and Austwick.
Another lovely walking holiday with Secret Hills. As ever it was very well organised. It was a lovely group of people and we all got on well together both whilst walking and in the evening. Keith and Catherine were very good hosts and the food at the hotel was excellent.
A very enjoyable week & am always grateful to Alan et al who are kind enough to collect me from various stations…a nice Secret Hills personal touch.
Dear Alan, A super introduction to UK guided walking – thank you so much and I will be booking through you again. The rest of the group were lovely and I had a very relaxed time. I personally enjoyed chatting to the other guests, finding out about their holidays and joining in the quizzes in the evening. You are doing a wonderful job, please continue.