Waterfall barns in Nidderdale AONB
Rock formations, gorge exploring, and pitching by a ruined abbey await Nidderdale campers.
- Nidderdale AONB
Popular camping styles for Nidderdale AONB
Waterfall barns in Nidderdale AONB guide
Overview
Spanning from just north of Leeds up to Wensleydale, the Nidderdale AONB’s 233 square miles yield more of the same valley-divided moorland that the Dales has. It also boasts beauty spots like Brimham Rocks’ wondrous rock formations, stunning ruined abbeys, and historic market towns. Campers should start in Nidderdale valley itself—there are great campsites to be found near How Stean Gorge, plus hikes like the long-distance Six Dales Way, traversing the whole AONB, and Nidderdale Way, a 53-mile circular trail taking in the area’s best scenery.
Where to go
How Stean Gorge
Almost certainly Nidderdale’s most important outdoors hub is this narrow limestone gorge near Lofthouse. Drive, bike, or hike up from Pateley Bridge via Gouthwaite Reservoir to partake in canyoning, navigating via ferrata, gorge scrambling, or rock climbing. The activity centre here has a campsite, and others sit nearby with convenient facilities.
Brimham Rocks
At Brimham Rocks, 100 million-year-old boulders sheer out of the heather moorland in formations whose names evocatively intimate their bizarre shapes: the Dancing Bear, the Gorilla, and the Smartie Tube. This spectacular Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) lies 10 miles northwest of Harrogate, and is a highlight of the Nidderdale Way hiking trail. The closest campsites sit near Pateley Bridge to the west.
Masham & Around
Masham is a likeable market town toward the northern extent of Nidderdale AONB on Yorkshire’s most famous dale, Wensleydale. Its two breweries, arts and crafts galleries, variety of places to eat and drink, and camping and caravan park just east of town ensure it’s a great base for fans of under-canvas sleeping. The 50-mile circular Ripon Rowel Walk passes town and largely follows the banks of the two rivers converging in Masham, the Ure, and the Burn.
Jervaulx Abbey
One of Yorkshire’s great medieval abbeys, Jervaulx Abbey sits near Nidderdale AONB’s boundary within the Yorkshire Dales National Park. The splendid 12th-century Cistercian ruin features a small camping and caravanning site within its walled estate beside the River Ure. You can pick up the Six Dales trail, which runs right across the AONB from north to south, right outside.
