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Goathland is a popular spot in the North York Moors. It is a lovely village and the setting for the TV series 'Heartbeat'. The North York Moors Historical Railway stops at the station and there are often steam locomotives puffing their way up or down the line. Part of the walk is above the railway and you will have the opportunity to see this first hand.
Catch the train here and start your walk from the station or park your car to the west of the village just after the Mallyan Spout Hotel.
(S/E) From your car, walk past the Mallyan Spout Hotel on your left and St. Mary's church on your right.
(1) After the church takes the second track on the right (wooden finger post), it curves around a grassy area passing beside some houses to a lane (metal gate). Go through the gate and follow the path along the lane and into fields (wooden gate). The path is now divided from the fields by a fence on the left and in places has wooden boards above the muddy sections. Pass beside a wood on the right and then 200m after the wooded section you will cross a short footbridge, go through a gate, cross some more wooden boards and go through a second wooden gate into a field which is a camping/caravan site. Follow the track through the campsite, then cross a bridleway which is an abandoned railway line. Continue along the road passing Abbot's House and go under the railway bridge.
(2) Follow the track and then path to cross the Eller Beck at a small bridge.
(3) Follow the path (flagged in places) to a wooden gate. Go through and follow the path over a short stone bridge to take the same path up beside a smaller stream (often dry, yellow arrow) up to and over a stile and then up to the track along the moor edge. Turn left and follow the track to the road out of Goathland.
(4) Cross the road and take a path heading slightly downhill with the walled garden of a house on your right. As you pass the end of the walled garden, there are two paths and you can follow either; both will lead down to a good track which follows the edge of the moor above the railway cutting, but the GPS route shown follows the top path.
Follow the top track to where a path slants down on the left to the lower track and a gate in the dry stone wall. Ignore the gate and turn right to follow the lower track; through gaps in the trees, you may see steam engines. Then the path then heads downhill (steps) towards a detached house in the valley. Follow the path and cross a small plank bridge so the house is towards your right and aim for a larger obviuos wooden bridge. Cross this and take steps down to a road. Turn right and follow the road and over a dry ford or stepping stones, then along the road until a path cuts off on the left (finger post). Cross another small bridge and walk uphill (Steps) to a junction with another path. (Finger post on the right and wooden gate on the left)
(5) Turn left, go through the gate and walk with the dry stone wall on your left to a farm track. Take this through the farm, where it becomes a path again. (yellow arrow) Cross a small plank bridge and then look out for a bifurcation in the path about 300m after leaving the farm.
(6) Where the path splits, take the left-hand path and veer away from the wall and gently downhill to an obvious bench beside a line of trees. The railway line is beneath you on your left. (great views of the trains)
(7) As the path joins a line of trees, it splits and the left hand split eventually crosses the railway. Do not follow this path, instead, go right with the trees on your left to pass a farm. You will pick up another farm track which leads to some buildings (Hill Farm), one of which is The Model Railway Centre, dedicated to scale model railways.
(8) Turn left and follow the road down and across a bridge over the railway. (more views of the trains) The road curves around towards the Beck Hole and the Birch Hall Inn. (great place for refreshments but cash only)
(9) Just before the pub there is a bridge; take the path on the left-hand side of the Eller Beck and walk through the woods up to Thomason Foss, a small waterfall. Retrace your steps back to the road. (Take care with rocky and slippery sections)
(10) Cross the bridge and road and then turn right just after a building opposite the pub onto a path (finger post) which leads you to a junction with another disused piece of the railway line, next to the River Esk.
(11) Turn left. Follow the track and then turn off right in front of Incline Cottages (finger post) to follow a path with the river and trees on your right. This path will lead you through farmland and then up (steps) into woodland towards Mallyan Spout. Descend to the gate, followed by a bridge and then duck boards. At the end of the wooden boards there is another finger post and a path on the left leading up to the hotel; Ignore this and go straight ahead. The path is now a combination of muddy sections and walking across rocks (take care when wet) to arrive at the waterfall. Continue following the path which crosses back and forth over the beck via two bridges in quick succession. Arrive at a finger post.
(12) Turn left to take steps uphill to a field and then along the left edge of the field to the road. Now turn left and walk downhill to the parking near the hotel or into Goathland and the train home.(S/E)
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