9 Best Walks In North Yorkshire
North Yorkshire’s vast and gloriously rugged landscape encompasses most of the North York Moors and Yorkshire Dales national parks. From swathes of heather moorland and deep gorges to peaceful valleys and paths hugging river banks, there’s a wide variety of terrain to cover here on some of the UK’s best walking routes.
In fact, there are so many great trails here that it can be tricky to know which one to pick for your day out. To help you choose, we've picked out nine of the best walks in North Yorkshire here. They’re listed in rough order of difficulty from family-friendly to arduous.
Planning to stay in this spectacular county? Pitchup has got you covered for all sorts of outdoor stays – click the link below to see a huge selection of campsites, glamping spots, caravan parks and even a few biker sites.
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Rievaulx Abbey
Start point: Rievaulx Abbey car park, YO62 5LB
Distance: 2.5-mile (4-km) loop
Difficulty: Easy
Refreshments: A popular café in the abbey’s visitor centre
The 12th-century Rievaulx Abbey was one of England’s most important Cistercian monasteries. It housed over 600 monks at its peak, before being seized by the Crown during Henry VIII’s Dissolution of the Monasteries in the 1530s. The ruins of the abbey still tower over the surrounding Rye Valley, all sturdy walls and pointed arches soaring heavenwards.
Once you’ve explored the abbey itself, take this 2.5-mile circular walk through the North York Moors National Park. Head towards Rievaulx village, then cross the River Rye over Bow Bridge. Stroll through Ashberry Wood for views of the abbey and the neoclassical temples that stand on the Georgian-era Rievaulx Terrace overlooking the abbey. Cross over Rievaulx Bridge to get back to your starting point.
Good to know: Looking for a longer stretch of the legs? Extend your walk to the pretty market town of Helmsley (2.8 miles/4.5 km), where there are lots of shops, cafés and pubs.
Levisham Moor and the Hole of Horcum
Start point: Saltergate car park, YO18 7NR
Distance: 5.3-mile (8.5-km) loop
Difficulty: Easy
Refreshments: Pub in Levisham village
Also known as the ‘Devil’s Punchbowl’, the Hole of Horcum is a huge (121 metres deep) cauldron-shaped natural amphitheatre; it’s one of the most recognisable features in the North York Moors National Park. It's also the central feature on this moorland walk, which combines wonderful scenery with ancient remains.
Starting from the car park off the A169 – which has a great view over the Hole of Horcum – make your way on a clearly defined path across Levisham Moor – where the sharp-eyed can spot traces of ancient human occupation including burial mounds, ditches and ridges for enclosures and agriculture. As you approach the head of the sinuous Dundale Griff valley before heading back to Horcum, you can see the stone remains of a medieval farm. Walk this route in late summer or early autumn to see the moorlands swathed in purple heather.
Good to know: If you want a longer walk, take a side trip to the tumbledown ruins of Skelton Tower; from there you have views over Newtondale and the North Yorkshire Moors Railway –keep an eye out for the steam trains.
The White Horse Walk
Start point: Sutton Bank National Park Centre, YO7 2EH
Distance: 3-mile (5-km) loop
Difficulty: Easy
Refreshments: Café and shop at Sutton Bank National Park Centre
Engraved into the southern flank of Sutton Bank, the great chalk escarpment that divides the North York Moors from the rest of the county, Kilburn White Horse is the UK’s most northerly hill figure. It was created by the village schoolmaster Thomas Taylor and his students in 1857, making it possibly one of the biggest school projects ever – it’s 315 feet/96 metres long and 230 feet/ 70 metres high.
The clearly waymarked White Horse circular walk climbs up from the visitor centre along the ridge of the hill, dipping down into woodland briefly before reappearing above the horse itself – you can’t really see it from this angle but what you can expect is seemingly endless views over the Vale of York.
Good to know: If weather conditions are right, you can watch the gliders taking off and landing from the Yorkshire Gliding Club – great fun for kids.
Malham Tarn National Nature Reserve
Start point: Quarry car park, BD24 9PT
Distance: 4.5-mile (7-km) loop
Difficulty: Easy
Refreshments: Café and a foodie pub in Malham village
Malham Tarn’s giant glacial lake is the highest of its kind in the UK (1,234 feet/377 metres), and the nature reserve around the tarn is home to unique ferns and orchids as well as ample wading birds like teal, moorhens and coots.
For this Malham Tarn circular walk from the Quarry car park, follow the Pennine Way on a gravel track through woodland to the waterside; there’s a bird hide and a boardwalk trail for those who fancy a bit of birding en route. There’s a short section along a quiet lane (follow the road sign to Malham here), still with views across the peaceful tarn, until you come to a crossroads. Take the stile, cross the open field and you’ll come across the remains of an early 19th-century smelt mill – evidence that the Yorkshire Dales have been shaped by man as much as by nature. From there you’re back on the waymarked Pennine Way traversing Dean Moor to the road and back to your starting point.
Good to know: There's another short hop to the dramatic limestone cliff at Malham Cove from its namesake village.
How Stean Gorge, Middlesmoor and Nidderdale
Start point: How Stean Gorge car park, HG3 5SY
Distance: 5.3-mile (8.5-km) loop
Difficulty: Relatively easy with one steep uphill section
Refreshments: Café at How Stean Gorge and pubs in Middlesmoor and Lofthouse
There’s stiff competition for the title of best scenery in the Yorkshire Dales, but How Stean Gorge makes a strong case for winning. Glacier-cut ravines (called ‘ghylls’ hereabouts) slice through leafy woodland like a mini Grand Canyon, against a backdrop of gently rolling hills and reservoirs surrounded by wildlife.
You can pick up the Nidderdale Way here, which takes you through dramatic scenery across the high moor and past rocky outcrops. If you don’t have time for a long-distance hike, follow the circular route up through the gorge and on the quiet lane up to the hilltop dales hamlet of Middlesmoor, where you have amazing views down Nidderdale to Gouthwaite Reservoir. From there, follow the waymarked route along an old drover’s road to How Gill, then steeply downhill to a quiet lane that follows the course of the River Nidd to the pretty village of Lofthouse. From there, How Stean Gorge is just a short return stroll.
Good to know: For an adrenaline-inducing side adventure, go ghyll scrambling along How Stean Gorge under the tutelage of an experienced guide.
Robin Hood’s Bay
Start point: Station car park, YO22 4RE
Distance: 2.7-mile (4.25-km) loop
Difficulty: Easy to moderate
Refreshments: Bistros, pubs and cafés in the village (some are seasonal)
Legend has it (although history isn’t so sure) that Robin Hood’s Bay is named after a victory won by the famous outlaw over pirates in the area. As it’s a long way from Sherwood Forest, this cute-as-a-picture, traffic-free fishing village is more likely to have been named after an elusive forest spirit. Either way, its inhabitants certainly internalised an outlook of ‘steal from the rich, give to the poor’ – by the 18th century, it was Yorkshire’s most active smuggling point.
The village is an atmospheric cocktail of steep cobblestoned streets, fisherman’s cottages and high cliffs overlooking the secluded harbour. For a moderately challenging but short stroll from Robin Hood’s Bay, depart the car park and follow the old railway line south to the bridge. From there, turn off left and head for the sheltered cove at Boggle Hole. Cross Mill Beck to join the Cleveland Way and return to Robin Hood’s Bay – you’ll have awesome views along the rugged coastline as you meander through woods and along wooden clifftops.
Good to know: Looking for more seaside walk ideas? Have a look at our guide to the eight best beaches in North Yorkshire.
River Wharfe and Bolton Abbey
Start point: Bolton Abbey car park, BD23 6EX
Distance: 8.5-mile (13.8-km) loop
Difficulty: Moderate
Refreshments: Shops, tea rooms and pubs in Bolton Abbey village
The River Wharfe grows along its length (65 miles/105 km) – from a tiny trickle at Wharfedale to a wide waterway that joins the Ouse at Cawood south of York. Along the way, it cascades into surging waterfalls, burbles over limestone ledges and snakes across open moorland.
One of the best-known places to take a walk along the banks of the River Wharfe is from Bolton Abbey, which itself makes a great family day out. Start with a stroll around the splendid ruins of the Augustinian priory, destroyed by Henry VIII in 1539. Cross the Wharfe by the famous stepping stones (you’re on the Dales Way here), continue north to the Cavendish Bridge and cross back over the river before entering Strid Wood. Cross at Barden Bridge and head back downstream to end up back at Cavendish Bridge. Cross over and reverse your route from here back to the priory. Expect the entire outing to take around three hours.
Good to know: Make this walk accessible by sticking to the bridges when crossing the Wharfe. For those with mobility issues, we've got suggestions for more wheelchair-friendly walks in the Yorkshire Dales and North York Moors national parks.
Roseberry Topping
Start point: Newton under Roseberry car park, TS9 6QS
Distance: 3.3-mile (5.3-km) loop
Difficulty: Moderate with one steep climb
Refreshments: Pub in Newton under Roseberry
Distinctive, cone-shaped Roseberry Topping is often referred to as ‘Yorkshire’s Matterhorn’. Thankfully, it’s much easier to climb than its alpine lookalike. From the car park in Newton under Roseberry, this circular walk starts with around half an hour of walking on clearly waymarked National Trust trails will get you to the foot of the 1,050-feet/ 320m-tall crag. Get up there by following the log steps through woodland to a track that zig-zags upwards and gets steeper as it climbs. Your reward is far-reaching views to the North Sea and over the moors to Captain Cook’s Monument. When you’ve had your fill of the natural beauty, retrace your steps to the car park.
Good to know: Visit in spring to see Roseberry’s lower slopes awash with a sea of bluebells.
Ingleborough Circular Walk
Start point: Clapham car park, LA2 8EQ
Distance: 10-mile (17-km) loop
Difficulty: Hard
Refreshments: Shop, seasonal café and two hotels/pubs in Clapham village
This may be one of the more challenging North Yorkshire walks (it’s more of a hike really) but you’ll have the satisfaction of knowing that you’ve conquered one of the Yorkshire Dales National Park’s famed Three Peaks. As it climbs steeply up to 2,372 feet/723 metres, this Ingleborough Circular Walk is not suitable for small kids, but reach the top and you have spectacular views over Pen-y-Ghent and Whernside (the other two peaks) and the verdant surrounding dales.
Starting off in pretty Clapham village, the trail climbs past the Ingleborough Show Cave – worth a look if you’ve got time – and through wooded limestone Trow Gill gorge up to Gaping Gill pothole. From there, the route leads up to the summit itself, and then back down to Clapham.
Good to know: If you have the kids with you, you have the option of a nature ramble along the Cave Circuit of the Ingleborough Estate Nature Trail , which takes you through deciduous woodland to a limestone cave full of stalagmites and stalactites.
After more information about things to do in North Yorkshire? We've got lots of great suggestions in our expert guides to North East England. And how about somewhere to stay among all this gorgeous North Yorkshire scenery? Pitchup has a superb collection of campsites, including everything from basic grass pitches to luxurious glamping units.