Embsay Reservoir Family Walk | North Yorkshire

I am very pleased to have another Yorkshire family walk from Gemma Holmes of Little Miss Yorkshire. She recently shared her family walks around Malham with us and now has another great walk, the family friendly Embsay Reservoir walk to share.

embsay reservoir family walk with a view

Embsay Reservoir walk is a great starter walk for little ones. It is a short circular walk, only 1 mile long but packs a lot in.

The walk offers stunning views out over Skipton with Embsay Crag and Crookrise Crag a beautiful backdrop behind the reservoir.

The walk starts in the Yorkshire Water car park which is free to park (BD23 6PR).

The terrain is mixed, with a track for half of it, grass areas which can get muddy so pack wellies when required, and the rest stoned up paths.

The route is not pram friendly although in the height of summer you may be able to navigate a good off-road pram round if its dry.

I would recommend doing the route anticlockwise, taking in the crest road first (it will all become clear why!).

Once you go through the gate onto the grassed area there is a sandy beach that appears near the weir when the water level is low in the summer months. This is the best place to paddle and throw stones in the water. The route continues around the reservoir before crossing over a footbridge.

On the top of the hill is perched an old barn which my Little Man loves to explore around trying to see if the Dragon is home. This is also a good distraction to get him past the next beach area. This beach area is the one used by geese so be careful when looking for ‘stones’ to throw in the water!

From this point the path emerges onto the track which has THE best puddles! You can see why I said go anticlockwise as a change of clothing is required immediately!

embsay reservoir boy on a family walk, west yorkshire

There are plenty of benches dotted around for snack spots as well as taking it all in. It really is a lovely spot to just sit and watch; the other families walking, the boats and wind surfers on the water, the dogs swimming and the geese flying in and out.

You can extend the walk by climbing either of the Crags which I would recommend doing at some point.

Thank you again Gemma for your post. Be sure to follow Little Miss Yorkshire for more Yorkshire family adventures!