West Yorkshire 25-45s Hiking Group

Loop - Leaping Salmon, Waterfalls, Caves & Autumn Colours - Settle - 10mi/16km

Sat, Oct 24 · 10:20 AM BST

Settle Railway Station, Settle BD24 9BN, UK, Settle, GB

Start Time: 10:20am (as soon as the train arrives)
Miles/Kilometres: 10mi/16km
Total ascent: 575m
Difficulty: Moderate
Estimated length of time: ~7 hours
Dogs Allowed: Yes
Public Transport: Yes, the 09:18 train from Leeds to Settle (I recommend getting an "Open Return" ticket so you're flexible on the return time)
Parking: There are a few car parks near Settle station
Payment: £1 for the walk - Use this link to pay - https://settleup.starlingbank.com/jamie-pope-b52348?amount=1.00 please put "settle" as the reference

Overview
Join us on one of my favourite walks, deep in the heart of the Yorkshire Dales National Park. This spectacular loop takes in two large waterfalls, great for spotting leaping salmon at this time of year, along with two ancient caves, a tranquil river, a historic market town and, weather dependent, a summit with 360° views across the Ribble Valley, all wrapped in a backdrop of autumn colour.

River Ribble — We'll start at Settle train station and head straight out alongside the River Ribble, following the Ribble Way. This stretch is a gentle, mostly flat riverside path through Langcliffe and on to Stainforth, with the river winding tranquilly past open fields and autumn trees along the way. The Ribble is the only river in Yorkshire that flows west rather than east - it eventually reaches the Irish Sea near Preston, 75 miles away. It once marked the northern boundary of the ancient kingdom of Mercia, and today it's a key breeding ground for the endangered Atlantic salmon - which is exactly what brings us to our first stop.

Stainforth Force — Our first stop is one of the best places in the whole Ribble catchment to watch salmon leaping. Every autumn, salmon that hatched upstream years earlier return from the sea and fight their way back up the river to spawn, hurling themselves up and over the falls to reach the gravel beds where they'll lay their eggs. October and November, especially after heavy rain, is peak time to catch it, so fingers crossed the weather plays ball. If the weather's kind, we'll linger here for pictures and hopefully a salmon or two.

Catrigg Force — From Stainforth we climb steadily up out of the village to our next stop, a hidden gem tucked away in its own secluded wooded gorge carved out over millions of years. The beck tumbles roughly 20ft down into a clear plunge pool below, and the spot was a favourite of composer Edward Elgar, who's said to have hiked up to it often while staying with friends in Settle. It's a lovely, sheltered spot, and likely where we'll stop for lunch.

Jubilee Cave — We'll then follow the Great North Trail to Jubilee Cave, which you squeeze through from one end to the other. Excavations here have turned up Iron Age, Neolithic, Romano-British and Celtic material, so people have been passing through this spot for thousands of years.

Victoria Cave — From Jubilee Cave we follow the path along the base of the limestone hills, with views over the Ribble Valley, to the huge Victoria Cave, where we'll stop to explore. Discovered by accident in 1837, the year of Queen Victoria's coronation, it's one of the most famous archaeological sites in the Dales, home to 130,000-year-old hippo and hyena bones, a hibernating brown bear skull dated to 14,600 years old, and Roman coins and jewellery left behind by later craft workers.

Warrendale Knotts — From Victoria Cave we continue along the foot of the limestone cliffs before heading up Warrendale Knotts, a group of rocky limestone knolls high above Settle and Langcliffe. At around 450m it's not the highest, but it's a cracking 360° viewpoint with sweeping views over Ribblesdale, and the rocky outcrops make for a bit of a scramble for anyone who fancies it. The south-facing scars and gullies are part of the Mid-Craven Fault, which shaped much of the landscape around Settle. It's very much a weather-dependent stop, so fingers crossed for a clear day.

Settle — We'll then turn back on ourselves and head around the dramatic limestone cliffs of Attermire Scar to join the Dales High Way, following it back towards Settle. On a good day, golden hour should treat us to magical views across Settle as the sun sets. Finally, we'll drop back down into the quaint market town, whose name comes from the Old English "Setl" meaning a dwelling, and which has held its market charter since 1249, and finish with a celebratory pint.

Disclaimers

Please read before joining:
The walk organisers have no formal training or insurance. By signing up, you accept that you're responsible for your own safety, and for the safety of anyone you bring along.

Before you leave:

• Check the weather on multiple sites before setting off.
• Wear clothing and footwear suitable for the forecast. Walking boots are advised for any medium or harder walk; trainers are fine for leisurely/easy ones. Bring a coat just in case (it is Britain, after all) and extra layers if it's due to be cold.
• Bring a packed lunch, snacks, and enough food and water for the estimated duration.
• Bring some cash, just in case — not everywhere takes card yet, especially parking.

All proceeds go towards equipment for leading walks, group events and trips, with a percentage donated to charity.

If you have any questions, don't hesitate to contact the walk organiser.

Leeds Light Night - group walk around city centre

Wed, Oct 28 · 6:00 PM GMT

City Square (Leeds), City Square, Leeds LS1 2HA, UK, Leeds, GB

New members are welcome. Come along to chit-chat, take photos and explore Leeds Light Night in city centre. It's free to attend. ♡

• Start time: 6:00pm
• Duration: 3 hours
• Meet-up spot: City Square near the train station, outside Banyan.

What is Leeds Light Night?
It's the UK’s largest annual arts and light festival. For 2 nights only, Leeds city centre will be transformed into a massive, open-air gallery of lights, 3D projections and interactive installations.

You can see the installations/locations for Light Night 2026 here.

The walking route:
• 6pm-7:30pm: We'll walk through the Millennium Square zone to see the main architectural mappings, then through the High Street / Briggate displays.
• 7:30pm-8:30pm: Explore the South Bank or Wellington Place zone to catch the street installations and light art.
• 8:30pm onwards: Option to finish at the pub for a drink and chat.

There'll be endless amazing photo opportunities so if you've got a fancy camera, bring it. Or be basic like me and just use your smartphone. <3

Disclaimers:
We take photos/videos and use them online. If you don't want to be photographed, please let the walk organisers know.

The walk organisers do not have training or insurance. Attendees are accountable for their own safety.

Loop - Autumnal Woodland Hike - Hebden Bridge - 10mi/16km 🎃

Sat, Oct 31 · 9:45 AM GMT

Hebden Bridge Station, Station Rd, Hebden Bridge HX7 6JE, UK, Hebden Bridge, GB

Join us for our highly anticipated annual autumnal woodland hike at the picturesque town of Hebden Bridge nestled within the Pennines in the middle of the beautiful Calder Valley.

Start Time: 09:45am
Miles/Kilometres: 10mi/16km
Total ascent: 575m
Difficulty: Moderate
Estimated length of time: 5-6hrs
Dogs Allowed: Yes
Public Transport: Yes, train leaves Leeds at 08:58am arriving at 09:39am.
Parking: There is a pay & display car park that uses the app APCOA in between the river and canal, before you reach the train station. If full, there's other options nearby.
Payment: £1 for the walk - Use this link to pay - https://settleup.starlingbank.com/jamie-pope-b52348?amount=1.00 please put "Hebden" as reference.

There will be a Halloween/autumn-themed dress code for this walk on 31 October. We’ll also be running a competition for best dressed on the day, so feel free to get creative!

Please bear in mind that the weather may be poor (last year it rained for most of the day), so make sure your outfit is suitable for walking and the conditions.

We will try and make the voting democratic by putting a poll on our instagram and so that others who can’t make it can get involved! 🎃

Overview

Meet outside the train station. The walk starts by descending down the cobblestones next to the station. We then go under the train station and slightly up the road before veering off on a footpath into the woodland, immediately enjoying the autumn colours. It is a steady 1km long ascent up through the woodland. We do not go to the top of the hill but continue through the woodland along a farm access road, until we come out onto Horsehold Road.

Its a small ascent up this road until we can take another footpath into the woodland on the other side of it. We follow this path along the hillside, it comes out at a recently new Christian Cross with views of Mytholm and hill Heptonstall village sits atop of. We continue along the footpath, crossing a stream that the foliage makes you feel like you are in a rain forest (or in summer it does at least) and takes you back to what woodland on Great Britain used to be like thousands of years ago.

We continue through Callis Woodland and descend down a road towards the canal. Before reaching the canal we veer off onto a footpath walking by some old mill workers terraced houses into the woodland behind. There's a slight ascent (take a rest on the swing here) up to the farm road above. Its then a through some fields before entering more woodland to descend back down the hillside to the canal. We then take a footpath into the woodland on the side of the canal we are on, for a nice walk above the canal through the woods. Will aim for lunch here.

Once ready we continue through the woods, cross over the canal and then up to the A646. We cross over and walk down it briefly until we can take a footbridge over the railway. We then ascend up through the woodland to a country road and follow it up and through a farm. We then take footpaths along the hillside then descend into woodland, we may walk past the ruins of a mill but I think it may have been knocked down recently due to health & safety.

We cross over the stream in this little clough and take a footpath along the hillside opposite through the woods until we join the Pennine Way. We follow this footpath up the hill slightly until we can veer off through fields along the hillside, enjoying views of where we were earlier and down the valley to Hebden. We exit the woodlands into Mytholm and take a dirt road through the woodland here, if there's been enough rain there is a waterfall here that used to power a water wheel for a mill that was here when I was a kid.

Its then the last ascent of the day up the road until we can take footpaths through the woods and then along the clifftops of Hell Hole Rocks for views of the valley towards Todmorden. We then enter into the village of Heptonstall and can take time to explore the ruins of the 11th Century church that is here.

The walk ends by walking through Heptonstall's medieval/victorian streets to descend down into the woodland below and then down to Hebden Water. We then follow the river back through the woods here to Hebden Bridge, where we can then go find a pub for food & drink.

Disclaimers
The walk organisers do not have training or insurance. Therefore, anyone who joins the walk is accountable for their own safety and anyone they bring with them. By signing up you accept this.
Check the weather (on multiple websites) before leaving your residence.

Bring clothing & footwear suitable for the forecast. We advise you to bring walking boots for any medium or harder walk. Trainers are only recommended for leisurely and easy walks. Bring a coat just in case (this is Britain after all...) and extra layers if it is going to be cold.

All proceeds go towards equipment for leading walks, group events & trips. A percentage will go to charities.
Bring a packed lunch and snacks. Bring enough food & water to last the estimated time.

We recommend bringing some cash just in case. Especially if parking. Not everywhere is contactless yet.

If you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact the walks organiser.