| Esk Valley Walk | |
|---|---|
 Westerdale lies on the trail | |
| Length | 35 mi (56 km) |
| Location | NorthernEngland,United Kingdom |
| Designation | Regional Route maintained byNorth York Moors National Park Authority |
| Trailheads | CastletonNorth Yorkshire 54°27′54″N0°56′24″W / 54.465°N 0.940°W /54.465; -0.940 Whitby,North Yorkshire 54°29′10″N0°36′36″W / 54.486°N 0.610°W /54.486; -0.610 |
| Use | Hiking |
| Elevation change | 400m |
| Highest point | 415m |
| Lowest point | 15m |
| Difficulty | Challenging |
| Waymark | Leaping salmon and name on white disc |
| Hazards | Moorland |
TheEsk Valley Walk is along distance footpath inNorth Yorkshire,England. The route first follows a loop on theNorth York Moors to the south ofCastleton, then shadows theRiver Esk on its journey to theNorth Sea. Waymarking uses the symbol of a leaping salmon, with yellow arrows denoting footpaths and blue arrows bridleways.
There are four stages[1] to the route beginning with a loop walk over moorland around Castleton.
The route starts nearCastleton Moor railway station turning right to cross theRiver Esk to the outskirts of Castleton before turning left through a farm and over moorland to the junction of Conforths Lane and Burtree Lane. It follows the latter to its end and across more farmland to pick up Blackrivers Lane. Crossing more farmland the route then heads uphill and crosses the path of both theLyke Wake Walk and the Richmond to Robins Hood Bay section of theCoast to Coast Walk.
At the junction of Blakey Ridge and Blakey Bank the route turns onto the former Farndale Railway following the contours until signposted on the right to ascend to the peak of the walk at the headwater of the River Esk. The route follows the river back into Castleton to the starting point.
From the starting point for the Castleton loop it turns right towards the Park End woods of Danby Park, sharing the route with the Three Ridings route before diverging and continuing toDanby and past the Methodist church. From here it turns south across the river by the Esk Mill to the outskirts ofAinthorpe and then eastwards along Easton Lane. A left turn across fields, over theEsk Valley line and a footbridge over the river brings the route to the car park for the Danby Lodge National Park Centre. After a short trek across fields, the route turns sharply north towards open moorland before resuming an easterly path. A signpost on the right directs southwards and leads through the hamlet ofLealholmside before enteringLealholm itself.
From the Lealholm War Memorial the route follows farm tracks next to the river. Just before the river turns south, the route crosses the river by either a footbridge or ford. The walk then follows Rake Lane before turning off at Thorneywaite House and going through woodland before emerging on the eastern end ofGlaisdale where it again joins up with the Coast to Coast Path. AtGlaisdale Station it turns south along a drovers road through woodland as follows the curve of the river toEgton Bridge where it crosses the river yet again. Following the route along Barnards Road, the walk diverges from the Coast to Coast Walk just before reaching the village ofGrosmont.
From Grosmont the route follows the north bank of the river, crossing theA169 road, to the outskirts of the village ofBriggswath before crossing the river intoSleights. It then follows the south bank of the river toRuswarp where it recrosses the river. A short distance along the B1416 is the right turn that takes the path into the outskirts of Whitby near Caedmon School. The route wends its way along the riverfront, crossing the path of theCleveland Way to the harbour to end on theWest Pier.
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