This walk takes you to another of the local trig points - on Sharp Haw. (Locals pronounce it sharp'a.) This is one of the two 'haws' north-west of town. It looks steep but it's actually not too bad. It is a 'marilyn' and has a bench on top.

And the views, as you would expect, are wonderful.

The initial route up to the hill can be very muddy after rain. Then after the hill we go through an extremely boggy area down to the hamlet of Flasby. This is boggy even after dry weather, so can be hard going after rain.

Then it's easy farm land up onto the forest roads of Crag Wood. There are excellent views over Gargrave. Finally there's a few more fields back to our starting point.

I have also included a shortcut which cuts a third off the route and completely misses the notoriously boggy area - Flasby Fell.

Much of this walk is on The Dales High Way.

I leave it up to you how you get from town to the fell. An obvious route is to follow the Dales High Way, but this involves crossing the busy A65 bypass, which I try to avoid.

So either walk the lanes through Stirton - possibly taking a shortcut through the Tarn House caravan site, or cheat and take an Uber!

We start the main part of this walk from the gate on the bend of Bog Lane. You will see the unmistakable silhouette of Sharp Haw in the distance.

Follow the broad track, then through a second gate, then turn off right onto the the fell and towards the hill when you see a sign post.

After a while pass through another gate and keep heading towards the hill. It can now get very muddy. These photos were taken after three and a half weeks of dry weather, and the ground was bone dry. You can see that it would be a mess after rain. There are a couple of 'plank' bridges to help you on your way.

After the mud, the hill will rise in front of you. Just follow the obvious path up to the top.

As you approached the hill, you probably noticed something glinting in the sun near the top. You will now see that it is a stainless steel bench. Most welcome. Take a seat and enjoy the views.

Behind the bench is a ladder stile which takes you the last few feet up to the trig point. The views are excellent.

You now have a choice.

You can turn right off the summit and follow the Dales High Way down to the hamlet of Flasby. This takes you through some gorgeous country, but also through a very boggy area.

Alternatively, you can carry on along the spine of the hill, then descend down to the left where you will find a 'shortcut' path down into Crag Wood - thus missing both Flasby and the boggy stretch. See the map.

This section assumes you are heading to Flasby. The shortcut is described at the bottom of this page.

From the trig point you will see a path descending down to the right towards a gap in the wall. Follow this down until you meet the 'main' path again near a sign post, then go left. Pass through the gate that takes you to the start of the boggy section.

You will see a series of blue-topped poles marking the path. They are easy to follow initially, but as you descend the terrain gets worse and the path gets harder to make out. There are multiple boggy sections where the path crosses various small gills.

After more than three weeks without rain, this section was still wet on the day I took these photographs.

But eventually you will make it through, and will arrive at the gate which leads you into farmland. Go left then head across the field to another gate in the far corner. Walk along the only carpeted farm road I know.

Next is a pretty 'green lane' which will eventually bring you to the hamlet of Flasby.

In Flasby, turn left on the tarmac road alongside a large barn. Follow this road as it leads you to the farm at New Laithe. Go straight past the farm, through the big gate, and into the field.

Follow the main track for a hundred yards or so, then go right, up hill, over the field. Our exit point is a kissing gate in the far wall, just to the left of the little grassy mound.

Beyond the gate is a wide path which will take you upwards into the wood. As you gain height, be sure to check out the views to the right.

This next landmark is another stainless steel bench - just when you need it after the slog up the hill.

(Behind the bench, in an area of newly planted trees, is where the 'shortcut' path emerges. See below.)

After the bench carry on in the same direction - slightly downwards through some trees. You will then see a junction of forest roads. Take the higher road on the left. Follow this road for the next half an hour or so. Notice the views over Gargrave and the Leeds and Liverpool canal on the right, and the impressive crags above you on the left.

After a while the lower path rejoins and we carry on straight ahead. Last time we did this walk we saw deer here.

Eventually you will pass a cabin, then in a couple of hundred more yards the road bends left, and on the bend you must turn off down an easy-to-miss narrow path into the trees. After a hundred yards or so, this brings you to a 'squeeze' stile and you're out on to open land again.

Here I like to divert from the path as shown on the OS map, and go left nearer to the wall. This will lead you to a easy crossing of the gill which bisects this field, avoiding the 'down and up' of the indicated path.

We leave this field not at the first gate, but at the second. A couple more fields and stiles and you're back on tarmac. I leave it to you to choose your route back into town.

I hope you enjoyed the walk.

As stated above, there is the option of not going through the bog and Flasby hamlet, but instead going direct from the trig point down into Crag Wood. This section describes that shortcut.

The first time I tried to find this shortcut I was doing the walk 'clockwise', so I tried to find the path from Crag Wood up to Sharp Haw. I failed, and ended up lost in 'High Wood'. In my defence, the OS map is misleading. It shows the zig-zag path using double dotted lines - implying that it is a wide forest track. It is not. It is just one of the many narrow footpaths amongst the thousands on newly planted trees, with nothing to indicate which one you need.

in fact, I was unable to find this path until I did it downhill. Going downhill you cannot miss it, there is just one gate, exactly where you expect it to be, and the path is obvious once you're on it.

So, assuming you're at the trig point, do not go right, but follow the spine of the hill as it descends down to the left. The path is clear. Follow it down until it runs alongside the wall then dips down into the corner of the field. There you will see the gate leading to the path.

Initially, the path is very narrow, but soon widens a little as you emerge into the newly planted trees. Follow the zig-zags down and you're in Crag Wood near the aforementioned bench.

As stated, if you're trying to locate this path from the bottom, it is much harder. The best I can tell you is that it goes up between the new trees behind the bench, from a position maybe fifty yards south of the bench. The path runs diagonally along the edge of the plantation.