Route: Thornton le Dale and Dalby Forest
Area: North York Moors
Date of walk: 4th September 2013
Walkers: Andrew and Gilly
Distance: 12.2 miles
Ascent: 500 feet
We parked in the picture postcard village of Thornton le Dale and walked out alongside the road to Pickering. After a short distance we joined a footpath leading across fields into Howl Dale Wood
Our route then took us into Dalby Forest where we looked around the visitor centre and had some refreshments
We left the forest via an easy track beside Thornton Beck. The beck was our constant companion for the rest of the walk, following us down through the woods, into pastures and fields and finally back into Thornton le Dale. A couple of miles before reaching the village we’d been thrilled to see a kingfisher
We wandered around the beautiful village before setting off back home, and on the way back we reflected on the great walking opportunities in North Yorkshire. In the last 4 days we’d enjoyed 4 wonderful walks, and clocked up nearly 40 miles. In all that time, we’d only seen a handful of people along the way. It had been a fantastic short break at Derwent View
Click on the icon below for the route map (subscribers to OS Maps can view detailed maps of the route, visualise it in aerial 3D, and download the GPX file. Non-subscribers will see a base map)
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Leaving Thornton le Dale
Looking over a rather hazy Vale of Pickering
There follows a lengthy walk through Howl Dale Wood
Out of the wood now, and approaching Low Kingthorpe
Walking across farmland towards Dalby Forest
Dalby Forest
Viewpoint, with a picnic area nearby
The forest is a Mecca for mountain bike riders - there are numerous trails to suit all abilities
For us, it’s a pedestrian ‘Thornton le Dale 5 miles’
The visitor centre
It’s a good place for astronomers too, thanks to the lack of light pollution
On the return leg out of Dalby Forest
We visit the hide, as we’d been told that a family of kingfishers can often be seen here
View from the hide - we stayed for 30 minutes or so but didn’t spot a kingfisher
These are docile highland cattle, so we weren’t worried about walking past them, even though the adults had massive horns
Thanks to the stone we could tell it was sunny
We can recommend the ice cream sold by Tea Cosy tea rooms
Chapel opposite Low Farm
This is where I had a good sighting of a kingfisher - what a thrill that was, though I didn’t manage to get a photo
Thornton Beck is still accompanying us, as it has been all the way from Dalby visitor centre
Arriving back in Thornton le Dale
The Thatched Cottage - idyllic
