The Rail Trail: Goathland to Grosmont

The Rail Trail is the classic Esk Valley walk, gentle enough for families and full of interest. It follows the route of George Stephenson's original Whitby and Pickering Railway of 1836, on which carriages were pulled by horses and hauled up the steep incline from Beck Hole by rope.

From Goathland station, walk down the road past the church and follow the signed path along the old trackbed, dropping gently through woods and pasture beside the Murk Esk. At Beck Hole, pause at the Birch Hall Inn, one of the tiniest pubs in the country, before continuing along the river through the woods to Grosmont, arriving past the engine sheds and through the 1836 tunnel to the station.

Ride back to Goathland on a North Yorkshire Moors Railway steam train (check times and buy a ticket before you set off), or do the walk in reverse and end with a drink in Goathland.

The route is mostly level with a few short climbs; it can be muddy after rain.