The Villages of the Hambleton Hills

Mark Tracey Keiran and Kerris Douglas

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The Hambleton Hills lie between Helmsley and Sutton Bank at the south-west corner of the North York Moors. This walk takes in the three small, picturesque villages of Scawton, Cold Kirkby and Old Byland by way of meadows, public footpaths and quiet country lanes and part of The Cleveland Way. The walk passes close by the majestic ruins of Reivaulx Abbey, one of the finest ruined abbeys in England.

Parts of this walk can be muddy in wintertime and after wet weather. Boots are recommended.

England - North England - Yorkshire - North York Moors

Features

Ancient Monument, Great Views, Mostly Flat, Pub, Public Transport, River, Toilets, Wildlife

1/13/2022 - John Hamilton

13.1.2022. Not the best walk to do in midwinter despite a lovely clear sunny day. I don’t mind a bit of mud in winter, but the steep-sided valley walls were really slippy to come down causing at least one uncontrollable fall. I’ll try again in summer as the villages are pretty and terrain varied. One suggestion: there is little parking in Scawton without causing obstruction, so carry on for half a mile through the village to a lay-by near a bend in the road and retrace the path back to the village to start. The route comes back to the lay-by at the end.

10/10/2016 - Noel and Lesley Johnson

Really enjoyed this walk on 1/10/16. Well worth the extra steps to walk by Reivaulx Abbey.

2/28/2008 - Sean Diver

Some very nice views across the North York Moors, there are a couple of fairly steep climbs on the route and quite a lot of the route is on quiet roads but the views compensate for this, walk completed in 3 1/2 hours. I took an alternative route to Old Byland (waypoint no.6), there is a public bridleway on the right on the road which leads to Tanker Dale, it is wooded valley with a good path throughout, after approximately 1 mile, there are two footbridges, take the first one, the climb in the woods is quite steep, at the top follow the signs to Old Byland and leads to Waymark No.7, the detour adds approx. 3/4 mile to the route.