Skipton Castle Woods

A nice and relatively short circular walking area tucked away behind Skipton Castle.

Woodland areas were well maintained, although a fair amount of rubbish was sadly floating in a section of the canal that runs behind the Castle.

If it's damp weather I'd recommend some hardy footwear as very few of the paths are made from anything other than compacted soil, which easily gets churned up.

We come to Skipton Castle woods quite frequently, it’s so easy to access from the canal towpath from the town centre of Skipton. It’s a very pleasant walk, ideal for dog walkers and children alike, there are some lovely will structures within the woods too, which make interesting points, and if recall there is like activities for children if you follow instructions. All in all a very pleasant walk indeed.

This is a very easy lovely walk. Starts along the canal, before gently working its way up through Elle Brook, beneath the ramparts of Skipton Castle. Eventually you reach the woods themselves. A good part of the path has been surfaced with hardcore and dust. Unless it's really wet you can get as far as the pond in trainers. For those with boots there are additional footpaths which take you above the main brook running through the woods. On a dry week in March all the paths were not muddy. Had we had rain walking boots or wellies would be more appropriate. The main walk is short but pleasant. If take higher left path you find yourself close to the A 65 so briefly you get traffic noise. So if your tired of shopping then go and visit this gem in the heart of Skipton.

We always enjoy a walk through the woods when visiting Skipton and have a leaflet giving three different walks you can follow or just wander around. We joined the path opposite the well known pie shop. The path goes past the walls of the castle. It is pleasant to walk along Eller Beck and Round Dam and there is a very nice willow sculpture of a woman.

Quite hidden and not really well signposted. We asked some locals! They said there were various entrances but we went up from the middle of town, past the corn mill and onto the river. Lovely inside the woods, you immediately see a wicker warrior woman then the paths curve round to a duck pond, where you have further route options. Its very clean, no litter and super peaceful. We found another wicker sculpture, a horse. Really nice, enjoyed it. Came out the completely wrong entrance/exit and had to ask more directions back to town, haha. Skiptoners are very friendly :)

Situated in the centre of town and running past the rear of the castle, this is a very pleasant place to walk. There is varied scenery and the walk takes you alongside stream and canal, through woods and with good views of the imposing tear of Skipton castle.

The footpaths are in good repair (although you get rather a lot of puddles in wet weather) and there are plenty of benches on which to take a wee rest if necessary.

Had a lovely walk round Skipton Woods recently. It was very beautiful but muddy!! You had to be careful walking as some of the paths are a little steep in places. I thought there would be a lot of statues made of reeds but there were only a few but they were really good. Managed to get lost and ended up in some moorland overlooking Skipton but rewarded with a fantastic view. Definately worth a visit. Also Skipton is a lovely little town with lots of fab shops, eating places etc.

These woods are lovely to walk around, several different routes for different abilities etc. Excellent that they are so close to Skipton town centre. We first discovered them in February and had a return visit today and was great to see it full of greenery.

We found this totally by accident after parking in town and strolling the canal. We arrived after some days of torrential rain and the waterways were therefore stunning.
The castle wood walk is fabulous and really shows the beauty of nature on our doorsteps. Clearly marked routes help you choose the right one for your timescales and it was lovely to see so many digs out enjoying their walks (although I didn't see many poo bins along the route)
So glad we found this, we had such an amazing time with our dog exploring

The walk starts on the canal bank walking towards the castle. You walk along the canal bank passing the back of Skipton Castle . You pass the remains of industrial areas and enter the woods. The path carries on past ponds with ducks swimming on them. The wooded Valley sides are full of different wild flowers throughout the year. At the end of the valley you take the path up the righthand side and come back along the top of the woods. You eventually come out onto the road, turning right and coming back into the main street of Skipton by the side of the Castle gates.
This is one of our favourite walks and we always end the walk with coffee and cake in one of the many coffee shops.