Walking the Wharfe: Ode to a Yorkshire River

Walking the Wharfe is by local boy Johno Ellison, who returns from living abroad to walk the entire length of the waterway where he grew up.

Retracing the steps of Victorian writer Edmund Bogg, he begins in the Vale of York, walking upstream to find Victorian spa towns and rare red kites that have returned, thanks to conservation initiatives.

He is seduced into wild swimming a chilly river (not the section notorious for reportedly drowning everyone who has ever tumbled into it). And seeks refuge in a candlelit pub, during a power blackout.

River Wharfe winds for 65 miles through the heart of Yorkshire. It begins in the village of Buckden, then flows through beautiful countryside, before joining the River Ouse.

The river is home to otters, kingfishers and herons, looking for fish. Rare wildflowers and mosses thrive on this river’s limestone edges.

Stay away from The Strid, a dangerous gorge where the river is forced through a gap of 12 feet. With underwater caverns, it has 100% mortality rate, for anyone who falls in. The water can rise 5 feet in minutes, and never increases in temperature, even in summer.