 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
English CountiesNational Parks |
Walking in Yorkshire
The gems of the region are the National Parks, the North York Moors and the Yorkshire Dales, with their very different but equally beautiful scenery; but Yorkshire's abundant beauty has even more to offer in the lovely peaceful Wolds north of the Humber and in the Howardian Hills and Nidderdale, two additional Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Even all these fabulous areas do not exhaust the possibilities of great walks as the numerous guide books listed below illustrate so well. For example the North Yorkshire and Cleveland Heritage Coast offers breathtaking walks along high cliffs cut by bays and wooded 'wykes' and crowned by dramatic headlands.
The delightful, rolling Hambleton Hills, on the edge of the North York Moors, provide excellent walking country and hold many surprises: the imposing medieval remains of Rievaulx Abbey and Helmsley Castle; picturesque villages like Coxwold and Kilburn; landmarks such as the White Horse of Kilburn, Sutton Bank and Lake Gormire; and surrounding all are miles of open moorland just waiting to be explored. The Cleveland Hills, with their rugged, swarthy appearance, stretch from Teeside in the north, through the Guisborough Moors, to the imposing Cleveland Escarpment, and beyond to the foot of the Hambletons. The area includes the picturesque villages of Great Ayton and Osmotherley; hidden valleys like Bilsdale and Scugdale; and landmarks such as Roseberry Topping.
The Wolds, sweeping in an arc from the Humber Bridge to Bridlington on the coast, provide a scaled down landscape full of beauty and with a peaceful backwater atmosphere. There are no towns of any real size within the Wolds and walking here can be a relaxing tranquil experience in good weather. The strength of the Wolds lies in the underlying chalk, for from this bedrock stems its gentleness and boundless charm. Severe contrasts are rare in this peaceful landscape, where the great appeal is the subtleness of the harmonies. Between the Wolds and the North York Moors lie the Vale of Pickering and the market towns of Malton, Helmsley and Pickering. Just north west of Helmsley in the wooded Rye Valley stand the splendid ruins of Rievaulx Abbey; the setting and graceful architecture give a sense of grandeur to this religious site and it provides the focus for a number of enjoyable walks including a route from Helmsley.
Wath - Tucked beneath a fold in the surrounding hills Wath is a small hamlet in Upper Nidderdale, just north of Pateley Bridge and almost at the foot of the Gouthwaite Reservoir dam. This is a Conservation village located in a quiet less commercialised area of the Yorkshire Dales, although Upper Nidderdale is a designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. OS Maps: Explorer™ 298 A Walk from Wath [SE 145678] Redcar and Cleveland - Redcar is very much the holiday resort of Cleveland. The town has three beaches and several long rocky reefs jutting out to sea creating a breakwater which is notoriously dangerous for shipping. Quieter and more attractive locations for walking in the area are around the small town of Guisborough with a wide main street with mellow stone buildings and a market cross; or the fishing village of Staithes with its quaint steep alleyways and fishermen's cottages. Captain James Cook lived here in a cottage near the harbour which unfortunately no longer exists. From Staithes, Cowber Lane leads to Boulby Cliff, two miles west along the coast, and which at 700ft., is the highest perpendicular cliff in England. South west of Redcar lies the pretty village of Great Ayton, nestling at the foot of the northern ridge of the moors. From the village of Newton, two miles back towards Redcar you can climb the distinctive Roseberry Topping. This local landmark, at 1057ft., offers wonderful views of the North Sea, the valleys and the moorlands and is well worth the climb. Captain James Cook also lived at Great Ayton, where he went to school. The monument to Captain Cook on Easby Moor nearby is another landmark which cannot be missed.
When you buy from Walking Pages your complete satisfaction, peace of mind and security are our main priority. Our on-line bookshop is one of the longest established on the internet. We have been serving walkers on line for over six years and have built our reputation on reliable service. Go to our bookshop by clicking on the 'Books' navigation button or one of the walking guide links throughout the site and you will be transferred to our secure server, confirmed by the golden padlock on your browser. Should you decide to purchase you will be tranferred to HSBC plc. secure e-payments for credit card transactions, giving you absolute confidence in your card security. Full information about our terms of trading is provided at the bookshop.
© Copyright 2000 to 2011 Walking Pages Ltd. and its associates. All rights reserved |
Click here to go to our Yorkshire bookshop |
The
proud inhabitants of Yorkshire once defended their beloved county from
their arch enemies the Lancastrians, during the Wars of the Roses. Its
borders finally succumbed to the vagaries of modern bureaucracy, having
been dissected in the name of progress. A sizable part, North Yorkshire,
remains a county of that name; the rest has become either Unitary or
Metropolitan Authorities. In the interests of common sense we will consider
here the historic Ridings of Yorkshire. None of this, of course, affects
the reality of Yorkshire's magnificent natural landscape, or its unquestionable
claim to contain some of the finest walking countryside in England.
We have yet to meet the rambler who has tired of walking in Yorkshire.
The
North York Moors National Park contains the largest continuous expanse
of open heather moorland in England. These wild and remote moors have
a wild drama of their own and are home to precious wildlife such as
curlew and merlin. The Park comes to an abrupt end at high cliffs on
the east coast, interspersed with wide sweeping bays and with attractive
fishing villages such as Robin Hood's Bay and Staithes huddled against
the cliffs. Two long distance paths immerse the walker in the glories
of the Moors. The Cleveland Way National Trail follows the northern
perimeter across heather moorland and continues down the Heritage coast;
the Lyke Wake Walk defiantly crosses the highest open moorland from
Osmotherley to Ravenscar. But there are numerous circular day walks
in which you can explore and savour the moors, all of which are included
in the guides listed.
The
Yorkshire Dales National Park covers a unique area of limestone which
features dramatic cliffs and gorges, the famous limestone pavements
and a landscape of pastoral valleys patterned with dry-stone walls,
barns and stone built villages. There are numerous attractive streams
and waterfalls and, typical of limestone hills, the streams often vanish
into labyrinths of caves, channels and shafts that honeycomb the rock.
On the fells, millstone grit often overlies the limestone, giving a
bleaker, heather-covered aspect to the Park. In late spring and autumn
the fells are a blaze of colour with curlew, snipe, redshank and buzzards
soaring overhead. The lush green meadows of the dales, with their wild
flowers and the clear bright water of the quieter rivers, provide an
inviting contrast to the drama of the fells. Nidderdale is the smallest
of the Yorkshire Dales, between Grassington in the west and Ripon to
the east; Harrogate is at its south-west corner and Middleham is the
northerly point. Within this compact area there are 55 glorious miles
of unspoilt paradise. Lying just outside the Yorkshire Dales National
Park, Nidderdale is a peaceful place to visit, and the upper Dale is
designated as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
The
Cleveland Street Walk covers a distance of approximately 11 miles between
the towns of Guisborough and Loftus. Much of the footpath is across
rolling countryside following an ancient track used for centuries as
a right of way. You can begin the walk at either end as there is a frequent
bus service between the two. Known
at times as 'via de Witbei', 'Back Street' and 'Cleveland Street', history
tells us this route was once a major pedestrian highway, probably linking
the priories of Guisborough and Whitby. Its a changed landscape since
the founding of Guisborough Priory in 1119AD; however, with a little
imagination you can picture the monks tending their crops and fishing
the medieval carp ponds to the rear of the priory. At
Slapewath a number of railway branch lines crossed and went to various
mines; the most impressive reminder of this period is the fine eleven
arch Waterfall viaduct, visible through the trees by Spa Wood. Beyond
Slapewath the path rises to give views across to Margrove Park and Charltons.
These villages were of a particularly high quality and housed miners
who worked nearby.