HARROGATE RINGWAY FOOTPATH

On Monday 26th June 2000 I finally achieved my ambition to complete the Harrogate Ringway Footpath in a one day walk. This may not sound much to long distance walkers but it was the longest distance I have ever walked in one day.

The Ringway Footpath is a large circle of linked paths which runs all the way around Harrogate in North Yorkshire. The official length is about 20 miles, although some people say 22 miles.

As The Ringway is a circular path you can start anywhere along the route and do it in either direction. The whole path is covered by Ordnance Survey Pathfinder 663 Harrogate. Harrogate Borough Council have produced a leaflet about the path which also includes some short circular walks. The leaflet is available from Tourist Information.

There are several suitable areas to park near the path e.g. Nidd Gorge, Knaresborough, Knox, Stone Rings Lane. It would also be easy to join the path from Knaresborough Station and several bus routes.

The footpath runs through the Nidd Gorge, Knox, Jennifields, Oakbeck, Birk Crag, back of Harlow Carr Gardens, Beckwith, Burn Bridge, Pannal, Crimple Valley, Forest Moor, Knaresborough and back into the Nidd Gorge. It covers a mixture of roads and paths and can get very muddy and overgrown at times. Much of it is well signposted, but some of the signs are quite hard to spot so make sure you have a map too.