THIS spring has seen the release of a new book showcasing the Yorkshire Dales: Trail and Fell Running in the Yorkshire Dales, written by local author Pete Ellwood.

It features a plethora of different routes that reflect the diversity of our beautiful landscape, from classic limestone scenery to high moorland and iconic mountains.

Pete is a member of the Settle Harriers and an experienced fell runner who has regularly competed in fell races and mountain marathons for over thirty years.

He also has a healthy obsession with maps and the Dales, which led to him writing this guide of forty fantastic routes in the area.

He said: “Writing the book was the most incredible experience that gave me a chance to spend many extra hours in the hills I love, and the background research allowed me to discover even more about this beautiful place than I ever thought possible.”

Running is one of the most popular sports in England, reflecting its simplicity and ease of participation.

Coupled with this, running in the hills and mountains of the Dales can provide some of the best experiences in the country.

“You can run through a landscape carved by the ice age and moulded by centuries of human influence; from the Roman legions through ancient lead mining and cattle drives, through to the upland farming and tourism of today,” he added.

This new book includes runs throughout the Dales, from the Howgills in the north west, through Swaledale to Craven in the south.

And many will be familiar to readers of the Craven Herald, covering local beauty spots such as Bolton Abbey and Malham. Running in this part of the Dales is absolutely superb, as Craven has an extensive network of easily accessible and well signposted tracks, which mean you pick and choose your route length and type to suit your experience level and time available!

The routes combine an excellent mixture of trail and fell runs, ranging from five to 24 miles.

They are aimed at all levels of runner, with a combination of easy to navigate runs on good trails (think Bolton Abbey) and harder more difficult runs on small paths in the mountains and hills.

You could also walk the routes and enjoy the scenery for longer!

The book includes stunning photography of some of the most iconic and beautiful places in the Dales, route descriptions, maps, and points of interest, together with sections on the history and geology of the Yorkshire Dales and advice on navigation and what equipment to take.

Many of the routes lie within the Craven District: the three peaks of Whernside, Ingleborough and Penyghent, the stunning limestone scenery of Malham and the awesome glaciated valley of Wharfedale all feature.

The routes provide a great mix of mountain and valley runs on good paths and tracks in the south east Dales, including Malham Cove and Gordale Scar, whilst the Northern Dales are of a different character.

The trails are less distinct, frequented by less people and do not necessarily ‘climb a peak’.

These more remote routes are much more of a journey through the landscape whose completion gives a real sense of achievement.

Typical of these is the run that begins at the ancient Viking settlement of Keld running north to England’s highest inn, the Tan Hill.

Routes cross wild moorland, follow rivers, open up into brilliant views, and touch the tops of the most famous peaks in the county.

All the runs, except one, are intended to be completed in one go.

The exception is the ‘ultra’ a long distance route of 85km (52 miles) that connects the remote Pendragon Castle in Mallerstang to Skipton Castle.

The route links together three long distance trails; the Pennine Way, Dales Way and Lady Anne’s Way and passes through Hawes, Kettlewell and Grassington before finally crossing Embsay Moor to Skipton.

It is split into three to allow you to do one section at a time, but ultra runners may wish to complete all three at once.

Cicerone is celebrating fifty years of publishing guidebooks this year, having started in the small town of Milnthorpe.

It now publishes over three hundred guides covering Britain, Europe and Worldwide.

This guide to the Dales is the third running guide published by Cicerone, the first two being guides to running in the Lake District and Chamonix in the French Alps

If you want to know more visit:

https://www.cicerone.co.uk/trail-and-fell-running-in-the-yorkshire-dales