Goathland to Grosmont Walk

We managed to get out for a couple of short walks over the Easter break, this was the longest of them (and even included a visit to a beer festival afterwards), It’s a walk we’ve done a couple of times before and a walk we love doing. Parts of the route can get busy but there’s quite a few options for taking different paths and avoiding the crowds.

Length: 8.5 Miles.

Start/Finish: We parked on the grass verge just near the Mallyan Spout Hotel  in Goathland(Grid Ref NZ 826 006) There are also 2 paid for car parks in Goathland and plenty of places to park just past the hotel.

Refreshments: This walk is blessed with lots of places to eat and drink there’s the Mallyan Spout Hotel at the start and finish, then there’s the excellent Birch Hall Inn at Beck hole which does a cracking pint as well as pies, buns and cream teas. There’s also the Goathland Hotel which is the pub made famous by Heart Beat, The Inn on the Moor, and a few shops and a tea room in Goathland station and high street. Then in Grosmont there’s a couple of shops, a tea room and the Station Inn.

There are also some excellent spots for lunch if you want to take your own sarnies.

Things to look out for: Mallyan Spout waterfall, Steam trains, the route runs along the NYMR which is famous for it’s steam trains, there’s also a visitors centre and engine shed in Grosmont, Goathland was made famous by the TV series Heart Beat so there’s some buildings and cars from that around the village along with the Triumph car from Harry Potter.

There’s plenty of wild life on the moors and on a clear day you can see the radar station RAF Fylingdales in the distance.

Kit Taken: O/R rucksack, Aku Boots,X-socks airforce 1, X-bionic baselayer pants,  Montane Terra Convert Pant, Berghaus Smoulder Hoodie, Rab Super Dru Jacket, Montain Air Pant, First Aid Kit, Leatherman, Buff, Berghaus Tech T, 2 bottles of water, Iphone, Timex Expedition watch, Petzl Tikka Plus 2,  Garmin GPS 60 and paper maps.

Route: (click here to download the gpx file in a zip file)

The route is really straight forward, most of it follows the Rail Trail signs.

If you have parked near the Mallyan Spout hotel, keep the hotel on your left and just after the entrance you will see a footpath sign pointing down a small track, take this and follow the path until you reach the river and a signpost at the bottom. If you want to go and see Mallyan Spout turn left and carefully follow the path round for 130meters until you get to the waterfall, if the river is in full flow it can be quite tricky to get round as the water usually covers the path.

After visiting the waterfall re trace your steps back to signpost near the river, go straight along the boarded walkway and simply follow the path, keeping the river on your left. There are a few steps and gates to navigate but nothing difficult. you will soon reach a clearing with a cottage and a small orchard where they are trying to grow various types of apple.

If you want to visit the pub at Beck Hole turn right through the big double gate and the pub is just at the top of the track, if for some strange reason you don’t want to go and visit one of the cosiest, olde worlde pubs then go straight on across the field.

From here it’s all nice and straight forward, keep following the footpath with the railway on your right and the woods on your right.

You will soon pass a couple of houses and a phone box at Holme house, shortly after this you will be able to see some of the old trains parked up in the sidings and the old train sheds.

Follow the path up the hill, the view from the top over Grosmont and the moor is fantastic and makes a great place to have your sandwiches. At the top turn right past the bench and follow the track down hill, It will bring you out alongside the railway and close to the visitor centre and church.

Walk pas the church on your right and when you reach the road, turn right, the station inn will be opposite. Turn right along the road and up the hill, after a couple of hundred yards there will be a footpath sign on the right (opposite a big red brick house on your left)

Take this path and follow it through Crag Cliff Woods, the path is well defined so you shouldn’t have any problems finding your way through the woods. Once you leave the woods you will find your self on a wide green farm track, follow this track through the gate until you meet a road, turn left onto the road and follow it up the hill, when you reach the top there will be a phone box on your left, turn right and follow the road until you reach a signpost on your left, follow the path on the left that leads diagonally across the moor, it should follow a slight ridge and you will see marker posts ever now and then.

You will soon reach a wall on your left, follow the path keeping the wall on your left. You should be able to see the railway and a bridge in the valley below on your right.

Go through the gate at the end of the path and continue straight on, down the steps that lead to a small river, turn right, you will pass a house on your left before reaching a ford, turn left before the ford and follow the path to reach some steep steps, go up these steps and follow the path until you reach Grosmont Station, go through the gate on your right, cross over the railway track, over the bridge and follow the road past the Inn on the moor on your right and the Goathland hotel on your left, you will pass the garage from Heart Beat on your right and the village shop/tea room on your left.

Once you’ve passed the shops turn left and head back along the path at the side of the road and you should get back to your car.