The Yorkshire Esk Trail, also ''Yorkshire Esk Way'', is a 32-mile scenic walk, normally to be covered in three stages, that follows the course of the River Esk in

North Yorkshire North Yorkshire is the largest ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county (lieutenancy area) in England, covering an area of . Around 40% of the county is covered by National parks of the United Kingdom, national parks, including most of ...

, from its sources in

Westerdale Westerdale is a village, civil parish and dale within the Scarborough district of North Yorkshire, England. The Esk Valley Walk runs through part of the village. The village is at the confluence of three streams (Esklets) which combine as th ...

to the

sea The sea, connected as the world ocean or simply the ocean, is the body of salty water that covers approximately 71% of the Earth's surface. The word sea is also used to denote second-order sections of the sea, such as the Mediterranean Sea, ...

Whitby Whitby is a seaside town, port and civil parish in the Scarborough borough of North Yorkshire, England. Situated on the east coast of Yorkshire at the mouth of the River Esk, Whitby has a maritime, mineral and tourist heritage. Its East Clif ...

. The route was researched in 2014, and featured in the book ''The Classic Walks; Northern Yorkshire Coast and Moors'' published in January 2015 which coincided with the trail's opening. A regional route, the Esk Valley Way, already existed, but the Yorkshire Esk Trail was devised to overcome perceived shortcomings in the RR. The Trail's first leg follows

country lane A country lane is a narrow road in the countryside. In North America and Australia, the term "lane" also may refer to rear access roads which act as a secondary vehicular network in cities and towns. Some towns and cities in the United Kingdom, ...

s from Castleton to

village A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town (although the word is often used to describe both hamlets and smaller towns), with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to ...

, then uses

footpath A footpath (also pedestrian way, walking trail, nature trail) is a type of thoroughfare that is intended for use only by pedestrians and not other forms of traffic such as motorized vehicles, bicycles and horses. They can be found in a wide ...

s and lanes to reach open

moorland Moorland or moor is a type of habitat found in upland areas in temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands and montane grasslands and shrublands biomes, characterised by low-growing vegetation on acidic soils. Moorland, nowadays, generally ...

. Unlike the RR, it runs very close to the multiple tiny sources of the Esk, then follows the

river A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of wate ...

to Castleton Station. Stage 2 is a linear route from Castleton Station to Egton Bridge Station (on the Esk Valley railway line). The stage follows bridleways and footpaths to Danby, then a country lane to the landmark Danby Beacon. A moorland footpath gives access to more paths to Lealholm, then the railway accompanies walkers closely to Glaisdale. A final stretch along a paved packhorse trod rises high above the Esk en route to Egton Bridge. There is an optional crossing of the river on stepping stones near the station. Stage 3 is another linear walk, from Egton Bridge Station to Whitby. A former toll road, now a permissive track, takes walkers beside the river and railway to the outskirts of Grosmont, then paths over fields and rougher ground lead to Sleights. An elevated scenic stretch beside fields follows to Ruswarp, where the Trail joins a permissive path between the railway and river. On the approach to Whitby, walkers pass under one of the most striking features of the walk, the Victorian Larpool Viaduct. Finally, the river debouches into the North Sea in Whitby's scenic harbour. A train can be caught back to the day's start point.

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Further reading