Fylingdales Loop Route Details

The vast majority of the route is offroad. The route is at it's best in summer, when there are dry conditions and plenty of daylight, but a determined and fit rider could attempt this route at anytime of the year.

The remoteness of some the moorland sections, combined with some difficult navigation means you'll have to be a confident navigator, especially in poor visibility. Where the route passes close to RAF Fylingdales, care must be taken to avoid straying into the prohibited areas. Some areas can be very muddy, although most be avoided.

Several muddy sections may be avoided by taking a slightly different route. The section from Riverhead Farm to Lilla Cross, which can be horrid in the wet (see pictures), can be avoided by following the Moors to Sea cycle route to Lilla Cross. You can cut a few miles off by avoiding the bridleway into and out of Goathland. The muddy section near Farwath, can be avoid by going directly to Levisham from Levisham Station. An alternative route to the start can be made by following the BW along the top edge of the valley to Crosscliffe, before descending. It is also possible to start the route from the car park at the Hole of Horcum, Levisham, or Goathland, all of which may be easier to reach from the north of the national park.

The route

Park on the side of the gravel road at Birch Hall. Take the BW which heads north up the side of the hill. If the track has been damaged by motorcross riders, you can stay on a forestry track and climb up a gravel track to rejoin the route. At the gravel track turn left and head up the long steady climb. Make sure you take the right fork, away from the Moors to Sea route at the junction near SE 926 945 (you can carry on up the Moors to Sea route if it has been very wet and you wish to avoid the next section). Turn right and follow the gravel track north until just before High Langdale End farm, the route passes through a gate on the left, marked with a red waymark. Follow the rough track down, until you reach the ford. This can be muddy, but is passable with care.

Cross the stream and pass slightly to north of the offroad motorcycle area on a farm track until you reach a farm and a junction. Turn left onto another farm track, taking care to follow the BW on a diversion around Riverhead Farm. After turning left to cross a muddy field you will rejoin the farm track that passes through the farm. Carry on along the well surfaced track, until just after a pond on the left, you enter a field. Pass along the righthand edge of the field until you reach a gate on the edge of the moorland. Pass through the gate and head up the track. In summer, this is a long, but easy climb, but in wet conditions it can be miserable as the local clay clings to tyres. Navigation is easy as you just follow the obvious track. Eventually you will reach a junction in the track with a signpost with four different directions at SE 888 990. Turn left and head towards the prominent stone cross at Lilla Cross.

At Lilla Cross look for a muddy path heading due west. Follow this down until you reach a gravel track (if you have taken the wet weather route through Langdale forest you will rejoin the route here). There is a metal gate on the other side of the track. At the time of writing the path was not very well marked and there were still signs giving you dire warnings about how this was a prohibited place, as it's close to the radar station at RAF Fylingdales. Oddly enough despite being plainly visible for miles around, Fylingdales (is it just me, or does the radar building look a bit like the Eye of Mordor in the Lord of the Rings films?) was not marked on the map until recently. Evidently, somebody must have thought the Russians would somehow fail to notice the massive buildings in the middle of nowhere, the huge radar output and the signs on the A 169, and assume the blank area on the map was just empty.

Pass through the metal gate and go down the stoney track for about 400 yards, until you see a small stone cairn on the right. It's quite hard to find this point, as the path is not really obvious at first, and care must be taken to avoid going too far down the stoney track. If you think you have gone too far, be sure to double back and look for the cairn. The BW leaves the track at this point, and follows a line slightly to the right of the white poles marking the edge of MOD property at Fylingdales. After a short distance the BW becomes easier to follow, and you'll get to sample some excellent, fast flowing singletrack. Take care of your speed, as there can be some nasty suprises, like rocks and drops hiding in the heather. As the BW nears the main road, route finding can be difficult as the path splits near where it crosses the stream, and finding the easiest line can be tricky. Just before you reach the road, you'll join a gravel track, before passing a gate and emerging on the A 169, just to the south of a bridge. Turn right on the main road, cross the bridge and take the turn on the left, sign posted for Goathland.

 Head down the road until a few hundred yards before the railway bridge you will see a tarmac track to the right. (you can cut out a few miles and avoid Goathland by carrying on here). Turn onto this track and follow it uphill. Just before the farm, the BW turns to the right and away from the farm track. Follow the grassy BW downhill to the ford. Take care crossing the ford as the rocks are very slipperly, and there is no footbridge. After crossing the beck, climb up toward the farm, and then follow the tarmac road along the side of the valley. At the junction at SE 840 012, turn left and go down the hill to Goathland. There are the usual facilities in the village, and it's worth buying anything you need as there's not a whole lot else for some miles, even if Goathland is tourist trap. Climb up through the village and look for a turn to the left for a campsite, which also has a bridleway sign. Follow the BW along the old railway until you reach the road at Moorgates. If you have avoided Goathland, you'll rejoin the route here. Turn right and head up the hill, until you see a BW sign at SE 838 998.

Follow the faint path west from the road. Take care to make sure you don't miss where the BW crosses the stream by some rocks around 200 yeards from the road. Cross the stream and climb up the steep bank. After a short distance the climb eases off. This is a tricky section to navigate, but you'll know you are on the right path, if you pass to the left of a stone walled sheep fold. Follow the path ever upwards. If the heather has been cut recently, it's rideable and a fairly easy path to follow, but if not, it can be a hard going. Eventually you stop climbs and reach a junction with another BW at SE 830 985. The surface improves, although it can be muddy and rocky. Follow the BW to the pile of rocks marking the summit at Simon Howe, and then start to descend in a SSW direction along the obvious path. After a long and fast descent you will arrive at a gate marking the edge of the forest at SE 824 962.

Follow the grassy BW in a south easterly direction, alongside the forest, and then uphill, across fields to the where the BW crosses a forest track. Carry on due to south along a grassy track until you arrive at a wide gravel track at SE 821 952. Turn left and follow the track. Watch out for cars, as you tend to get a lot of 'Sunday drivers' who are not looking out for cyclists. The track turns abruptly right after 1/4 a mile, and then runs along the top of the valley, with some spectacular views across to Levisham Moor. After 2/3rds of a mile since the sharp right hand corner, the track curves to the right, and then sharply to the left. On the righthand side of the bend is a gravel track, with a metal barrier (which is usually open). Turn onto this track and carry of for 0.4 of a mile, before looking for a BW on the left. The start of the BW can be hard to find, but keep a lookout for a metal waymarking (it's the only one you see on that side), just after when the track starts to head downhill, and just before the track turns right.

Follow the BW downhill. The top section is fast and fun, but as the BW dips into the trees and steepens, it starts to show you it's teeth, with a steep and slippery descent over some rocks. Turn right, where the BW meets a small grassy track, and after the gate, turn right again on the tarmac road. Follow the tarmac road for 1 1/4 miles until you reach Levisham Station. During summer weekends the station can be quite busy, and the cafe may be open. Cross the railway and head up the horribly steep tarmac climb. After a while the road flattens out a little, and starts to bend around in a big curve to the right. At SE 821 913, look for a BW on the right, which follows a hedge. Take this BW and follow it along the side of the valley. If conditions are muddy, just stay on the road all the way to Levisham. At first the track is well surfaced, but as you go further, conditions become more difficult, as some of the fields are quite waterlogged. At the time of writing, there was some work underway to try and improve the drainage of the path, so things may improve. There's also a 'wet weather' alternative track, which runs slightly further up into the woods, which can be used if conditions demand it. Either way, you end up at SE 829 883, near Farwath cottages.

If the ground has been muddy up to this point, then you are better off using the BW on the opposite side of the stream: To get to this with out trespassing through the cottage is a bit fiddly. You have to cross the railway line by the cottage, and go to the junction of several tracks, and cross back over again to join the BW on the east side of the valley which is marked on the map as 'Sleights Road'. If conditions are dry, or you think you can cope with a little mud, just head north along the boggy field until you join an slightly drier grassy track that runs along the  lower edge of the wood. Carry on along this BW until you reach a tarmac road, ignoring a right turn toward the ruined church (if you have used Sleights Road - you'd rejoin the route here).  Turn left on the road and climb the incredibly steep road to Levisham village.

At the fork in the road in front of the Horseshoe Pub, take the right hand fork, and head up the narrow lane. The tarmac gradually gives way to a rough gravel track. Soon you'll pass a gate and head out onto the moor. Carry on across the moor on the obvious track towards the Hole of Horcum. When you arrive at the busy A 169 turn right and head up the short hill. Take care on the road, as it can be busy. Sadly the path along the edge is a footpath only. After 1/4 of a mile on the road, turn left onto the farm track just before the carpark. Head down the track, passing through the gate and down a long straight concrete drive. At the point where the track starts to turn and head down the hill, you can choose an alternative route by carrying along the new BW which runs along the edge of the hill to Crosscliffe and then descend to rejoin the route.  Otherwise head down the track trhough the farm at Newgate Foot, and down to the gate at the bottom of the valley. Then climb the steep track up the hill in a north east direction. The hill in front of you is called Blackey Topping, and is worth walking to the summit for the view, if you have any energy left. When you reach a further gate, just past the old barn, turn right and follow the field edge. The track is hard to follow, but if you stay by the hedge you'll be fine. Then follow the track through the gate, and over a field to a sheep fold at SE 874 933. After that follow the obvious track over the moors in an easterly direction. After 3/4 of a mile of stoney and rocky track across the moor, you will pass a small farm, before crossing a stream. The carry on along the track until you reach a junction at SE 889 918. If you have followed the BW along the top of the valley and then descended at Crosscliffe, you will rejoin the route here.

Turn left and head down the hill on the rough track. After crossing a bridge, the surface gradually improves. Pass through yet another gate as you climb up the hill on the road. At the top of the hill is one last gate, before you can start to cruise downhill on the quiet road. At School Farm, SE 909 927, you will see a road heading uphill on the left. Turn up this hill and pass by the entrance to the Langdale Quest 4x4 course.  Carry on along the wide and obvious gravel track, ignoring any side tracks. At the T junction, one mile after you entered the forest, make sure you take the right hand fork, not the smaller fork to the left. After 1 1/2 miles you will arrive back at Birch Hall, and the start of the route. The Moorcock pub at Langdale End is worth a visit for a post ride drink.