Day 4 THE HERRIOT WAY

Day 4 Thursday 27 October Hawes to Aysgarth 13 miles (valley day)          

Leaving Hawes

This was the flattest day of the route, travelling along the valley from Hawes back to Aysgarth. It was also the first day we walked in the rain – until lunchtime it was just a bit damp and misty, but after that it settled into drizzle and the waterproofs had to come out.

Hardrow Falls

From Hawes we headed to Hardrow, and to the Green Dragon Inn. After paying at the bar, we got a ticket to go through the pub and out the other side, where a short walk by a stream takes you to Hardraw Force, the highest single drop waterfall above ground in England. Despite it being midweek on a rather grey day, this was the busiest place we went all week, with a constant trickle of people walking up and down the path to visit the falls.

From here we headed to Askrigg, where many of the scenes for All Creatures Great and Small were filmed. 

Askrigg

We contoured along the valley side, through numerous walls and stiles as we crossed countless small fields in typical Yorkshire farming countryside. We had our lunch sat on a bench in the centre of Askrigg. The dampness in the air was now definitely turning to rain so we put waterproof jackets on for the first time on our trip and headed off again on our final stretch, this time along the valley bottom following the River Ure, all the way back to Aysgarth. 

River Ure

There had obviously been problems with flooding on parts of this route, and at times we found ourselves picking a route through trees to get past. One final short climb up from the river took us back into the centre of Aysgarth and our car. From there we drove back to Hawes to celebrate finishing with some fish and chips.                  

Overall this is an interesting walk, taking us round parts of Yorkshire we hadn’t seen before and with days that are not too long, making it very suitable for this time of year – definitely recommended!