North York Moors National Park

Distance: 12mi, elevation:980ft, difficulty rating 3/5 

Start/endpoints: Robin Hood’s Bay/Scarborough

This enormous hiking route covers 109 miles, going from the south west corner of the park, to its most northerly point and back down the eastern edge. It was the second walk ever to be marked by the distinctive acorn symbols of the UK’s National Trails (The Pennine Way, in case you were wondering). The section between Robin Hood’s Bay and Scarborough is well served by public transport, making it easy to walk out and bus back whichever end you start from. It also gives you some lovely views, with the sea on one side and the moors on the other, as well as a waterfall stop at Hayburn Wyke, where an inn of the same name might also tempt you to linger for a while. 

Distance: 7.5mi, elevation:520ft, difficulty rating 3/5 

Start/endpoints: Rosedale Abbey village

With some moderate climbs, tricky footing through fields and definite mud potential, this is a moderately challenged hike for its distance, but it gives you great views of the moors and a mini tour of the area’s industrial history as compensation. Don’t waste time looking for the village’s eponymous abbey (a Cisterian priory that no longer exists) but hit the road either north-east or north-west, depending on the weather. The route runs along an old railway line that follows a pretty exposed ridge, so if it’s nice when you start, consider going out that way instead of coming back along it. You’ll also pass the ruins of the giant kilns where miners “roasted” the iron ore they’d extracted, tipping it in from the high railway line and burning it to remove impurities. Before you set off, or after you’re back, prepare/reward yourself with a trip to Abbey Stores, the village shop and tea room at the heart of scenic Rosedale.

They say that if you stand and listen on a breezy day, you can sometimes hear the wind moaning and sighing through the fissures of the imposing Wainstones, a series of sharp sandstone crags that break the smooth skyline of the moorlands. You might also hear hikers doing a bit of moaning of their own now that they’ve made it to the high point of this up-and-down walk. The route crosses some occasionally boggy moors but is well marked and won’t challenge your navigational skills, as it even picks up the Cleveland Way for a short stretch across the top of the loop. Once you’ve listened for the wind and clambered back down, the garden of The Buck Inn, a short stroll from the trailhead, is a lovely place to find a bench and a beer.

Given that the village of Grosmont was nothing more than a single farm until the Whitby to Pickering railway began to be built in the 1830s, it’s no surprise that this is a perfect walk for getting a train out and hiking back. This 8-mile route is actually the final section of the full 37-mile Esk Valley Walk, but it gives you a flavour of the whole thing and is much easier to pick off in a short trip. You’ll follow the river and the railway line along bridle paths which can sometimes get muddy, there are occasional darts onto the road and a couple of railway crossings, so it does have its hazards, but you aren’t likely to get into the same kind of difficulty you’d find walking wild into the mountains. It’s fun to think, as you plod along and hear the trains whistling past, that when the line was first built the carriages were pulled by horses.

Distance 2.5mi, elevation: 280ft, difficulty rating: 1/5 

Start/endpoints: Rievaulx Abbey

In 2019, the Ryevitalise Landscape Partnership Scheme was created to, if you couldn’t guess, revitalise the landscape around the river Rye as it flows through the North York Moors. This involved the creation of six new walking routes, of which the short and simple Rievaulx Loop is one. You can get to the start on the M4 bus from Helmsley and take a look round the abbey ruins before you trek off into the surrounding woodlands and meadows. There are no steps or stiles on the walk, and although some of the climbs might be testing for some, it’s a pretty family-friendly couple of hours’ amble in the countryside.

Rievaulx Abbey © Emily_M_Wilson

Distance: 2mi, elevation: 230ft, difficulty rating: 1/5

Start/endpoints: Danby Lodge National Park Centre

This gentle stroll takes you around the estate at the heart of which lies Danby Castle, built by the powerful Latimer family in the 14th century. The castle itself is on private land and isn’t open to the public, but what was once a shooting lodge on the land has been turned into the National Park Centre. The walk carries you along quiet country lanes, through fields and over the Duck Bridge where its charming arch spans the river. Rather than being an all-day hike, this is more a pleasant addition to the activities on offer at the lodge and a stop at the Truffled Hog Deli & Kitchen, which makes liberal and indulgent use of both its eponymous ingredients.