There are walks that demand an early start, a favourable forecast and a certain grim determination. This is not one of them. This is a four-mile circuit around a quiet dales village that can be walked in a morning, fitted in after lunch, or stretched out over a whole day with a long stop in the middle. The gradients are gentle, the paths are well trodden, and the rewards — a stretch of open pasture, a cluster of stone barns, and a village green with a bench that has clearly seen decades of use — are out of all proportion to the effort involved.

Before you set off

Allow around two to two and a half hours at a steady pace, or three if you stop for lunch and a wander round the churchyard. The route climbs roughly 150 metres in total, mostly in two short pulls, and there is nothing resembling a scramble. Boots are still worth wearing: the limestone tracks hold water after rain, and the field paths can be muddy well into May.

A few things worth tucking in your pack:

• A paper map and compass. Phone signal comes and goes behind the ridge, and the footpath fingerposts are charming but not always legible.
• A light waterproof. Dales weather turns quickly, even on a still morning.
• Water and a snack for the field section — the pub comes later than you might expect.
• A lead for the dog. There will be sheep, and between March and May there may be lambs.

Village parking is limited, so use the gravel car park behind the village hall if there is space, and leave the lane beside the green clear for residents and farm vehicles. Arrive early on a sunny weekend and you will have the first mile entirely to yourself.

The green, the lane and the first climb

Start at the village green, which is really a triangle of grass with a war memorial at one end and a horse chestnut at the other. Take the lane heading north past the old schoolhouse, then follow it as it narrows between two drystone walls and begins to rise. This first stretch is tarmac and easy underfoot, and it gives you a good warm-up before the real path begins.

After about half a mile the lane bends sharply left at a stone barn and a signed footpath strikes off to the right. This is where the walking proper starts. A stile — a sturdy stone one with a step, not one of the awkward ladder variety — leads into a rising pasture. Follow the wall on your left, keeping the field boundary close, and you will come to a second stile at the top of the rise about ten minutes later.

Across the tops and through the barns

This middle section is the finest part of the circuit. The path runs along a broad shelf of open ground with long views down the valley and, on a clear day, a line of fells beyond. Skylarks sing overhead from April onwards, and if you are quiet and lucky you may hear curlew calling from the rough ground below the ridge.

Watch for the waymarking through here. The route crosses three fields in quick succession, each divided by a wall and a stile, and the correct line is not always the most obvious one. The rule of thumb is simple: keep the wall on your left and the descent in front of you. In the third field the path passes through a cluster of field barns, low stone buildings with slate roofs that were once used to overwinter cattle. Many are now roofless, but the doorways still stand, and they make a fine place to pause out of the wind.

Just past the barns, a short, steep pull takes you over a final shoulder of ground. It is over in five minutes, and the view from the top is a genuine reward: the village laid out below, the green a small green rectangle in the middle of it, and the pub chimney unmistakable.

A welcome stop at the halfway point

The path drops down through a narrow ginnel between two cottages and delivers you onto the lane just above the village. Turn left and you are at the pub within two minutes — flagstone floors, a low ceiling, and a menu that runs to proper sandwiches and a decent pie. Local ale is well kept, and there is a small garden at the back with tables under an apple tree.

Two practical notes. The pub tends to close mid-afternoon on weekdays, so if you are relying on it, aim to arrive between noon and half past two. And if you have walked in wet weather, be kind: muddy boots at the door, please.

The river path home

The return leg is the gentlest part of the walk. From the pub, walk down the lane and pick up the riverside path at the old packhorse bridge. It follows the water for a little over a mile, mostly on the level, past a weir and a small stand of alder. There are a couple of kissing gates and one short flight of steps where the bank has been reinforced, but otherwise it is easy going.

Where the path meets the road again, turn right and follow it back towards the green. If you have time, the church is worth five minutes — Norman doorway, a yew tree that predates it, and a porch with a bench that catches the late afternoon sun.

The whole circuit works in either direction, but the way described here saves the best views for the outward leg and the easiest walking for the end, when your legs are tired and the car is close. Take your time, close every gate behind you, and let the dales set the pace.