The Daffodil Valley
The beautiful valley of Farndale lies at the heart of the North York Moors.
Running northwards from Lowna on the Hutton le Hole to Gillamoor road the dale is bounded Blakey Ridge to the east and Rudland Rigg to the west. The old Rosedale Ironstone Railway snakes around the northern end of the dale.
There are two hamlets located at Low Mill and Church Houses with other properties and farms dotted all around the dale. The River Dove runs from North to South through the dale continuing into Douthwaite Dale south of Lowna.
In spring (late March/April) the Farndale daffodil season begins, giving us a world famous tourist attraction of carpets of golden wild daffodils all along the River Dove from LowMill to Church Houses.
The enchanting River Dove meanders through a patchwork of fields and woods where, each spring, Farndale’s glorious daffodils put on one of nature’s most spectacular shows.
It’s often said that medieval monks from nearby Rievaulx Abbey planted the first daffodil bulbs here. But the petite wild daffodil (Narcissus pseudonarcissus) is one of our native plants. It grows naturally in Farndale, and elsewhere in the National Park, where the river banks, damp meadows and open woodlands provide ideal conditions.
The daffodils are protected within the Farndale Nature Reserve which was established in 1955 to safeguard the valley’s famous flowers.
Walks
The Farndale daffodil walk shows you the very best of the wildflower displays. Download the route here, or pick up a Farndale walk leaflet at the National Park’s mobile information point, which is sited at Low Mill car park during the daffodil season. It’s a 3-mile linear walk, to Church Houses and back, with the ‘Daffy Caffy’ on the way at High Mill and the Feversham Arms pub at Church Houses.
Enjoy a classic spring walk in the ‘Daffodil Dale’ & see Farndale’s glorious wild daffodils.
It’s a straightforward 3½-mile linear route alongside the enchanting River Dove, from Low Mill to Church Houses and back, though there is an alternative return route that climbs through farm fields for some lovely valley views.
Depending on the weather, the daffodils are usually out between mid-March and mid-April, but this is a charming walk at any time of year.