Our walk today follows part of the route of the Dales way walk. It is a classic walk which the club has done several times, following the route of the river Wharfe along one of the prettiest parts of the Yorkshire Dales National Park. Although the ascent count of 1557 feet sounds a large amount, there are no real hills in this walk, more a few undula-tions which added up along the entire walk give the above total. This is a reflection of the fact that plotting the route on a computer measures every nook and cranny, rather than the old-fashioned way of measuring on a map. We start the walk at BOLTON BRIDGE to follow the Dales Way and the western banks of the river Wharfe to find excellent views of BOLTON ABBEY, which has stood on this site since 1154, from its southern aspect. At the abbey we cross to the east side of the river which we follow as far as the visitor amenities at Cavendish Pavilion. We continue on the western banks again to pass through Strid Wood. Here the river narrows to a very small channel called the STRID which pro-duces powerful and dangerous currents when in full spate, and can make interesting viewing. After a short while we cross to the eastern banks of the river again, where we can see BARDEN TOWER on the opposite bank. We continue along the river passing Howgill, until approaching APPLETREEWICK where we make a short diversion away from the river to visit the CRAVEN ARMS for our Lunch Stop, a pub we have used several times. After lunch we return to the river and continue to reach the very pretty village of BURNSALL, one of the most popular villages in the Yorkshire Dales. We cross the river and follow the western side of the river once again for a short while before crossing the Hebden Suspension Bridge and on to the eastern banks passing the weir at Linton. A little further on, a short ascent from the river takes us up to the Yorkshire Dales National Park Visitor Centre Car and Coach park, to meet the bus at the end of the walk in the delightful Dales village of GRASSINGTON.