Do you feel an odd pang of guilt as your foot presses the throttle on the way to yet another car-borne expedition into the high country?

The Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority may have the answer. It’s teaming up with the Yorkshire Dales Public Transport Users Group (snappy title, we know, but it does what it says) to ensure you can keep walking through the winter with minimum environmental damage.

Above, winter in the Dales: Buckden Pike from Horse Head

You can leave the car at home and hop on a bus deep into the heart of the Dales at Hawes. The service starts in the dark, satanic urban confines of Wakefield and runs through Leeds, Otley and, admittedly less satanic, Ilkley. The Sunday service, which is being run for the third year on the trot by the authority, passes through Grassington and Wharfedale en route.

The service runs every Sunday from this weekend and continues until April next year. It’s a continuation of the link funded by North Yorkshire county council in the summer.

There is also a series of guided walks in Wharfedale, Nidderdale and Wensleydale run by the Dalesbus Ramblers to co-ordinate with the bus service.

Details are on the Dales Bus website.