East along Front Street from the car park in Grosmont and south through Doctors Wood to reach a track which leads to Dale End. Further south to Morton Close, briefly east along a minor road, then south to Goathland railway station via Hawthorn Hill Farm and Mill Scar. South-east to reach another minor road which crosses both Eller Beck and the railway line, followed by a U-turn and a north-westerly bridleway walk for about ¾ mile, before heading west to the Mallyan Spout Hotel in Goathland. After a visit to the Mallyan Spout Waterfall, north through woodland and across the countryside to Beck Hole, and finally back to the starting point by way of the straightforward Goathland to Grosmont Rail Trail. An 11-mile walk in the North York Moors.
Recommended Ordnance Survey Map
The best map to use on this walk is the Ordnance Survey map of the North York Moors Eastern Area, reference OS Explorer OL27, scale 1:25,000. It clearly displays footpaths, rights of way, open access land and vegetation on the ground, making it ideal for walking, running and hiking. The map can be purchased from Amazon in either a standard, paper version or a weatherproof, laminated version, as shown below.
Grosmont railway station
Grosmont was once a hive of industry but is now a peaceful village in the Esk Valley. The village owes its size to the discovery of ironstone in 1836, when George Stephenson’s original railway from Whitby to Pickering was being built.
Although the ironstone industry is long gone, the railway still dominates the village.
As well as heritage services on the North Yorkshire Moors Railway, there’s an adjoining platform for the Esk Valley Railway which runs from Middlesbrough to Whitby, making Grosmont easily accessible by train.
Information from https://www.northyorkmoors.org.uk/visiting/see-and-do/attractions/grosmont
Grosmont Co-operative Society Ltd, Britain’s oldest independent co-op established in 1867.
Hawthorn Hill Farm about half a mile north of Darnholm.
Beautiful countryside on the north-east side of Darnholm.
Ford and stepping stones across Eller Beck at Darnholm.
The North Yorkshire Moors Railway, first opened in 1836 as the Whitby and Pickering Railway. The railway was planned in 1831 by George Stephenson as a means of opening up trade routes inland from the then important seaport of Whitby.
The initial railway was designed and built to be used by horse-drawn carriages. Construction was carried out by navvies and coordinated by top engineers.
Goathland railway station.
St Mary’s Church in Goathland, completed in 1896 and designed by Mr Walter H Brierly of York, who said of his creation:
The qualities of simplicity, breadth and sturdiness were felt to be especially required for such a bleak moorland situation, and were aimed at in the design.
The Mallyan Spout Hotel in Goathland, a former country house dating back to 1892. The hotel is named after the nearby Mallyan Spout Waterfall.
The route down to the Mallyan Spout Waterfall from the hotel.
The Mallyan Spout Waterfall, the tallest waterfall in the North York Moors with a drop of 70 feet.
The rocky route alongside West Beck which leads to the Mallyan Spout Waterfall.
The countryside between Goathland and Beck Hole.
Footbridge across the Murk Esk between Goathland and Grosmont, part of the disused railway line known as the Rail Trail.
The original Whitby to Pickering railway line was a horse-drawn route, but plans to improve the service required new infrastructure. The engineers thought they were building for posterity, but nature had other ideas.
A substantial stone bridge was first built here in 1845 to enable heavier steam engines to use the line. However, the river periodically suffered damaging floods and the stone bridge was washed away. The large stone walls are the surviving abutments of the bridge.
The stone bridge was replaced by a timber railway bridge, but this was also damaged in the devastating floods of the early 1930s. Several of the large steel-tipped pointed posts that were originally driven into the river bed to support the structure are still visible.
Ultimately, water proved to be the more powerful force. The Murk Esk here has only been crossed by pedestrian footbridges ever since.
Amazing wood carvings at the site of the Esk Valley ironstone mine by the side of the Goathland to Grosmont Rail Trail.
The Esk Valley ironstone mine is actually located in the Murk Esk Valley. Presumably the name sounded more enticing to prospective shareholders. Long covered by vegetation and largely forgotten, the workings and buildings have recently been uncovered.
The Goathland to Grosmont Rail Trail footpath by the side of the Whitby to Pickering railway line.
Looking down on the North York Moors Railway engine sheds from a popular viewpoint just south of Grosmont.
The view over Grosmont, with Egton Low Moor in the background.
