Distance 5.5 miles (8.9 km)
Classification Moderate
Duration 2 hours 30 minutes to 3 hours
Begins Street Gate off-road parking site
OS grid reference SD905657

Walk in a nutshell
A route that describes a kind of bendy parallelogram across a beguiling stretch of stone-strewn fields and hills. It passes a Roman camp and touches the shores of Malham Tarn.

Why it's special
This is a walk to warm the cockles, and indeed the mussels, of any amateur archaeologist's heart. This area of ancient limestone pastures has been familiar to humans since the Mesolithic era (that's 7,000-12,000 years ago) and the remains of the occupation scatter the land to this day.

Keep your eyes peeled for
The low banks of a Roman camp that Mastiles Lane cuts across. New Middle House Farm is recognisable by its steeply pitched roofs. Old Middle House, by comparison, is a derelict 16th‑century farmhouse whose vernacular style is strikingly different. The Monks' Road follows the edge of the fellside to Arncliffe and once formed part of an important long-distance route to and from Fountains Abbey, near Ripon. It's at Malham Tarn that you get sucked down the tunnel of time into prehistory. Flint artefacts from the Mesolithic to the bronze age mark this area out as an important seasonal hunting ground. Much later, from medieval times onwards, the tarn was stocked and used as a fishery by the monks of Fountains Abbey, thus providing another use for the Monks' Road.

Recover afterwards
At Settle's Little House Restaurant whose two chefs seek inspiration from all over Europe and whose menus change as seasonal ingredients become available.

If it's tipping down
Make a picnic and go for a trip on the Settle to Carlisle line, one of the prettiest in the land, even in the rain (adult day return £22.30, child £11.15; northernrail.org).

How to get there
From near Gargrave railway station, take the 210 bus towards Malham; or hop on the National Trust shuttle bus (Easter to October; 01729 830416) from Settle to Malham, via the Tarn.

Step by step

1 Pass through the gate and follow the wall on your right along Mastiles Lane to the Roman Camp.

2 Turn left, taking the footpath across the north-east corner of the Roman Camp, and follow towards Middle House Farm.

3 From Middle House Farm, you can wander up the hill to the left of the farm to look at the 16th-century farmstead of Old Middle House.

4 Return down the hill, pass through the gate and then follow the path to your right.

5 Follow the old Monks' Road to Malham Tarn.

6 When you reach the shores of Malham Tarn, turn left and then take the left fork on to a grass track that goes beneath Great Close Hill, away from the tarn.

7 Pause at Great Close Plantation and take a look around you. This was the site of the great cattle fairs of the 18th century. Drovers from Scotland would bring up to 20,000 cattle over the summer to trade here, enabling local farmers to supply nearby towns and cities with meat and dairy produce.

8 After Great Close Plantation, bear right to join the track and return to Street Gate.