Here are some of our favourite local walks. These take in the beautiful scenery of the North York Moors and the countryside which surrounds Ladycross.
- Goathland & Mallyan Spout Waterfall
- Howdale Moor & Brow Moor
- Glaisdale & Egton Bridge
- Lealholm to Grosmont
Goathland & Mallyan Spout Waterfall
Long before Heartbeat rolled into town, the dramatic Mallyan Spout waterfall was already drawing crowds. Victorian visitors flocked here in the 1800s to see this hidden cascade deep in the woods.
You can enjoy the same magic on this short, scenic 3-mile circular walk from Goathland. The route dips into the shady valley bottom, follows the waters of West Beck, then returns along part of the original Whitby–Pickering railway line.
Did you know?
Until the 1950s, Goathland's village green doubled as part of a 9-hole
golf course — several drives went straight across the village roads!
Route
- Turn right along Goathland's main road, past the village shops, heading towards Egton Bridge. Use the pavement whenever you can.
- At the Beck Hole junction, curve left (signed 'Church, Mallyan Spout').
- Turn right through the gate beside the Mallyan Spout Hotel — follow the 'Footpath Mallyan Spout' sign — and head down into the wooded valley.
- At the bottom, pick up the left-hand path to go upstream towards the waterfall. You'll need to scramble along the rocky stream edge to get a good view — only for the sure-footed.
- Return to the junction and follow the boardwalk towards Beck Hole. Keep on the path as it crosses fields, climbs above the valley and drops down again.
- At Incline Cottage turn right up the broad incline to Goathland. (Turn left here for a quick detour to Beck Hole.)
- Cross the road, continue uphill, turn right at the top and head back to the car park.
Tips and suggestions
Mallyan Spout
The water tumbling over Mallyan Spout starts life in the moorland springs above Goathland. It snakes downhill until it reaches New Wath Scar — a ravine carved out by West Beck over thousands of years. Here the ravine sides tower almost 70 feet high, leaving the moorland water with no choice but to plunge over the edge. It's at its most impressive after rain, but the rocks can be very slippery, so tread carefully.
Goathland's first railway
Goathland has medieval roots, but everything changed in 1836 when George Stephenson's railway arrived. The final stretch of this walk follows the original railway line — deceptively gentle-looking, but actually a fierce 1-in-10 gradient. Horses couldn't cope, so early trains were hauled up via a rope-and-pulley system attached to a water-weighted wagon. It was slow, noisy and a bit hair-raising, and later replaced with a flatter route, but look out for clues from this early line, including workers' cottages like Incline Cottage.
Refreshments: Cafés, pubs and tea rooms in Goathland. A short detour at Incline Cottage takes you to Beck Hole's tiny Birch Hall Inn.
Tourist information: National Park Village Information Point (in Goathland Post Office).
Terrain: Steps on the descent and ascent, plus gates. Paths can be muddy after rain. The stretch beside West Beck is rocky and tricky, especially when wet.
Great for: woodland wanders, family walks, nature lovers
Time: 1 hr 30 mins
Toilets: Start/finish
Howdale Moor and Brow Moor
Pick a clear day for this wonderful 4-mile circular walk — the views are huge. One moment you're striding across sweeping heather moorland, the next you're looking out over the cliffs of Ravenscar and across to Robin Hood's Bay. The route also passes several prehistoric burial mounds, with the chance to spot birds of prey soaring over Fylingdales Moor.
Did you know?
'Scar' means 'cliff' or 'rocky outcrop' in Old Norse — Ravenscar's name is a Victorian invention.
Route
- Start opposite the transmitter mast. Follow the track/bridleway across the moor (car park on your right).
- After passing a pond on your left, fork right on a bridleway towards Cook House.
- Turn right onto a grassy track heading for a wall corner and a surfaced track. Turn right again and follow it around the moor edge.
- When it bends downhill, turn right over a boardwalk and stay on the path as it heads ahead, then downhill, with walls and fields on your left, before slipping into a small woodland.
- Ford the shallow beck beside a small waterfall. As you leave the trees, follow the clear path uphill through the heather.
- At Stoup Brow Trail Marker Post 7, turn left. Continue gently uphill and bear slightly left to reach Post 6.
- Turn right onto the track around the edge of Brow Moor. Just before Post 5, pop left to the large cairn for superb coastal views, then rejoin the track.
- Carry on towards the mast, cross the track and return to the car park.
Tips and suggestions
The wild birds of Fylingdales Moor
Fylingdales Moor is a real wildlife haven — especially for birds of prey. Unlike most moorland in the National Park, it isn't managed for grouse shooting. The Environmental Steward Scheme uses traditional moorland management to help a mix of species flourish. Some heather is burned to produce fresh shoots for grouse, while other areas are left tall, giving perfect cover for merlins (Britain's smallest falcon) and short-eared owls.
After the Fylingdales fire
This peaceful stretch of moorland hides a dramatic past. In 2003 a wildfire burned for six days, destroying peat and heather over an area the size of 500 football pitches. Beneath the scorched ground, long-lost archaeology was revealed — from prehistoric burial mounds to alum industry reservoirs and World War II training remains. Thanks to years of careful restoration, the moor is now recovering, with heather, cotton grass and wavy hair-grass returning to protect those ancient remains.
Refreshments: Raven Hall Hotel (fab views), Ravenscar Tea Rooms, and snacks at the Visitor Centre.
Tourist information: National Trust's Ravenscar Visitor Centre.
Terrain: Heather paths, rough tracks, sometimes muddy or overgrown; no stiles. Open Access land.
Great for: big skies, history fans, nature spotting
Time: 2 hrs 30 mins
Toilets: Ravenscar
Glaisdale and Egton Bridge
This uplifting 5-mile circular walk links two Esk Valley gems — Glaisdale and Egton Bridge — with a mix of bluebell woodland, riverside paths and high farmland views. You'll wander along ancient stone trods, visit beautifully romantic Beggar's Bridge, and enjoy plenty of time beside the River Esk. Even better, both villages sit on the Esk Valley Railway, so you can start from either station.
Did you know?
The River Esk is the only Yorkshire river where salmon and sea trout thrive. Limber Gravels is a key spawning area.
Route
- From Glaisdale Station, turn left downhill, pass under the railway and cross the river — pause at Beggar's Bridge.
- Just after the 'Limber Hill' sign, bear left along the minor road beside the river.
- Leave the road and turn right up a stone track into Church Dale Farm.
- Follow waymarks through the farmyard and uphill into the woods.
- Through the gate, continue with the hedge on your right.
- Follow the scrubby path, cross the stile and head towards the farm with the fence on your left.
- Bear left at the waymark, go through the gate, then right on the track. Turn right in front of the farmhouse, continue through the gate.
- Follow the path right, cross a stile (hedge to your left), cross another stile on your left and head downhill through fields.
- Cross the stile, drop towards the woods, cross the stone bridge and follow waymarks uphill.
- At the churchyard, go through the gate. Follow the narrow path around Egton Mortuary Chapel, turn left down the track, then left along the road.
- Turn right over a stile, head downhill keeping the fence on your left, then enter woodland and follow the trods.
- Out through a gate, drop across the field, turn left past farm buildings and continue to Egton Station.
- At the road, right at the Postgate Inn, follow the road under the railway.
- Keep straight at the junction and bear right over the bridge.
- Turn right by the Horseshoe Hotel, follow the minor Rosedale road.
- Turn right at the bridleway to Glaisdale and follow it through the woods.
- Turn right down the steps, cross the footbridge, then left and uphill to Glaisdale Station.
Tips and suggestions
Beggar's Bridge
This gorgeous 17th-century bridge comes with a tale straight out of a period drama. In 1619 Thomas Ferries — too poor to impress his sweetheart Agnes's father — tried to cross the flooded river to say goodbye before heading to sea to make his fortune. Unable to cross, he left heartbroken. Years later, he returned a wealthy man, married Agnes and built the bridge so no one else would miss their chance.
Ancient routes
Look out for the beautiful stone trods — ancient slabbed pathways. Some date from medieval times when monks travelled between settlements, though many were laid between the 17th and 19th centuries. The 'Monks' Trod' in East Arncliff Wood and the trod near Egton Bridge may once have led to St Hilda's Church, replaced in 1871 by the mortuary chapel you pass on the walk.
Refreshments: Three great pubs — Arncliffe Arms (Glaisdale), Postgate Inn (Egton Bridge) and the Horseshoe Hotel (on the return leg). More inns nearby.
Terrain: Field paths, woodland tracks, steep climbs, stiles, some road walking. Stone trods can be slippery.
Great for: riverside rambles, woodland wanders, history lovers
Time: 3 hrs 30 mins
Toilets: Glaisdale
Lealholm to Grosmont
This lovely 6-mile linear route links four contrasting Esk Valley villages, each shaped by its landscape. Lealholm, Glaisdale and Egton Bridge all grew around ancient crossing points, while Victorian ironstone mining and the arrival of the railway transformed Glaisdale and Grosmont almost overnight. Catch the train from Grosmont to Lealholm to begin, then follow the 'Esk Valley Walk' signs back.
Did you know?
Lealholm's ornate drinking fountains, installed in 1904, were gifts from local benefactor Sir Francis Ley.
Route
- From Lealholm Station, head to the road, turn right over the railway bridge and walk past the church and school. (Alternative path via the tracks is signposted at the station.)
- After the car park, turn left on the bridleway signed 'Glaisdale, 2 miles'. Follow it to Underpark Farm.
- Bear right then left through the farmyard, keeping buildings on your left. Through the gate, continue along the raised bank beside the River Esk.
- Climb to the handgate and cross the wooden bridge next to the railway. Turn right at the end of the path.
- Cross the river by the bridge and follow the track uphill. Go straight on at the road.
- Look for the footpath on your left — follow it through a gate, down the fields, then right through a waymarked gate. Continue by the field edge into the woods.
- Pass Mill Wood Cottage, follow the long drive through Mill Wood to the road. Turn left downhill to the junction by the Arncliffe Arms.
- Turn left down past the station. The route goes right over a footbridge before the railway bridge, but it's worth continuing briefly to see Beggar's Bridge.
- Back on the route, climb the steps and follow the path into East Arncliff Wood.
- Turn left down the road to Egton Bridge.
- Pass the Horseshoe Hotel. Just before the junction, turn left down the steps to the stepping stones across the Esk.*
- If the river is high, stay on the road to cross by the bridge.
- On the far side, turn right at the concrete area, then left by the wooden fence to reach a road. Turn right.
- At the junction, turn left, then immediately right opposite St Hedda's Church onto the private toll road.
- Follow the toll road under the railway.
- At its junction with the main road, turn right for Grosmont and continue under the railway bridge to the station.
- To stay on the Esk Valley Walk, turn left instead at the road, then right for Sleights.
Tips and suggestions
Lealholm and the River Esk
Lealholm — literally 'the settlement by the willow trees' — grew up around a convenient river crossing, just upstream of a deep ravine. Its bridge, stepping stones and early ford show how important this spot has been for centuries. The river also powered local industry: the 14th-century corn mill worked until after WWII, and a 19th-century paper mill once thrived here too.
Wild about woods
Mill Wood near Glaisdale is classic ancient woodland — alder, birch, hazel, oak and holly with carpets of wood sorrel, bluebells, ferns and woodrush. Ancient woods have been continuously tree-covered for over 400 years, making them rich in wildlife and full of clues to how people have managed woodland for generations.
Glaisdale
Just below the station, romantic Beggar's Bridge tells the tale of Thomas Ferries and his sweetheart Agnes — a story echoed on the Glaisdale–Egton walk above.
Oakley Walls
Until the 1940s the Egton Estate toll road charged for passage — look for the old noticeboard near the toll house. The nearby St Hedda's Church dates from 1867, reflecting the area's strong Catholic heritage. Father Nicholas Postgate, a local priest, ministered secretly during a time when Catholicism was outlawed. He was eventually arrested and executed in York in 1679, aged 82 — one of the last Catholic martyrs.
Refreshments: Pubs and cafés in every village — five pubs in six miles makes this a very well-supplied walk!
Terrain: Mainly easy riverside and woodland paths, plus bridleways and tracks. Gates and stiles along the way. Stepping-stone river crossing (alternative road route available). Expect mud after rain.
Great for: riverside strolls, family walks, woodland lovers
Time: 3 hrs
Toilets: Start/finish
Enjoy a Walking Holiday in North Yorkshire
Many of our guests return to North Yorkshire time and again to enjoy the wonderful scenery. Ladycross is perfectly located to make the most of the North York Moors and coast. We're just a short drive from Whitby - home to fantastic fish & chips! But Egton is also the perfect base from which to enjoy walking and cycling. We hope this blog post has whetted your appetite for the walks and rambles to be enjoyed nearby.
Getting back to nature, enjoying the peace and serenity of woodland, exploring the rugged coastline. A walking holiday is a wonderful way to really get to know a place. Head off the beaten track and take the road less traveled. And after a long day's walking, return to your comfortably and cosy woodland lodge. Enjoy a delicious meal with friends and family, sitting out on the deck under the stars and the night draws in.
For those who love the great outdoors, there's nowhere quite like it. Contact our team to discuss holiday lodge ownership options, or go ahead and book your great escape. We can't wait to show you around!
