[1] Walk along the ‘No Through Road’ through Halton Gill (SD881765). Just after the lane bends left at the edge of the hamlet, turn right up the gated hill track, prohibited to motor traffic ‘except for access’. This rough old moorland road immediately starts up the flank of Horse Head Fell, goes through two more gates and climbs easily above Halton Gill Beck, crossing this before reaching the double gateway onto the wide ridge at Horse Head Gate. Already a magnificent series of views has opened out along the flat-bottomed Littondale and west along the various becks that nibble at the eastern flanks of Plover Hill and Pen-y-ghent, with Ingleborough’s distinctive peak completing a luscious horizon.
[2] Turn right through the gate, commencing an undulating wall-side ramble that toys with the 600m contour for the next 5km/3 miles. The path is sparse and can be very boggy, so persevere or diverge across nearby peat hags to avoid the marshiest bits. When the wall peters out, a fence takes over. Simply keep this to your right and continue south-southeast along the wide flat ridge, enjoying the ever-changing panorama across the Three Peaks off to your right and the great chasm of Langstrothdale to your left. You’ll eventually pass through a small double handgate, then a kissing gate shortly afterwards. A dribble of small, shallow tarns (not shown on the maps) heralds a corner with a double handgate to use. Beyond here, advance by the wall to a ruined stone shelter. Bear left to the nearby Birks Tarn, the haunt of black-headed gulls, curlew and oystercatchers.
[3] At the far side of the tarn is a low, tumbled wall. Turn right beside this and trace it above the depths of Wharfedale, with superb views to Buckden Pike and Great Whernside, rising above the toytown-sized villages far below.
[4] At the more pronounced crossing of walls in 800m, turn right on the well-used bridleway. This slips through the wall, then continues beside it before angling away as a paved path to reach a corner-gate. Use this and remain on the R-hand paved path beside the wall. This shortly dissolves into a steepening, rough, obvious track plunging down into Littondale. As the slope lessens, the way curves grassily left then bends right as a pronounced sunken track through the wall and down to a wooded corner. Stay with it beyond the gate, over a footbridge and along the walled track above the farmhouse, before passing through a farmyard to reach Litton and the Queens Arms inn.
[5] Turn right on the lane and walk through the village, continuing this route along the floor of Littondale for a further 3½km/2 miles to reach Halton Gill. In late spring and early summer the haymeadows along the dale are very colourful; in autumn the woods, bilberries and burnished heather of the steep dale-sides offer a similarly explosive raft of colour.