Paul Rose in Wensleydale. Photo: BBC

Explorer and presenter Paul Rose returns to television screens this month with a short series on the Yorkshire Dales.

The Cumbria-based adventurer has previously fronted shows on the Pennine Way, Lake District and the Yorkshire Wolds Way.

In his latest three-part series, Rose visits some of the national park’s most popular venues, as well as discovering hidden gems.

Almost five million people visit the Yorkshire Dales each year and England’s second-largest national park is home to more than 23,000 people.

In the first episode, Rose travels by train to Garsdale Head and community-run bus to begin his exploration of Wensleydale.

He visits the market town of Hawes, Aysgarth Falls and the medieval Bolton Castle, following the River Ure before finishing up in Leyburn at the eastern end of the dale.

He is joined by British racing cyclist Annie Simpson, who challenges him to cycle up the Buttertubs Pass, which rises to a height of 526m (1,726ft) and which formed part of the route of the Tour de France in 2014. He also meets a team of visually impaired tandem cyclists from Huddersfield and brings his own tandem to join them for a ride.

At Bolton Castle, he meets Tom Orde-Powlett, a man whose home is his actual castle, and in Aysgarth he has a close-up encounter with a family of Dales dormice.

The first programme in the series is scheduled for broadcast on BBC Two at 7pm on Saturday 18 May.

Episodes two and three of The Yorkshire Dales will see Paul Rose visit Swaledale and Wharfedale.