Levisham Loop Route Details

The route passes through forests, valleys and open moorlands in a long loop between Levisham and Goathland. There are a lot of big hills but the route is less technical than many of the routes in the hillier, rockier west of the national park. The moorland section to Goathland has fine moorland single track and the return leg traverses the moors on well surfaced gravel tracks. Navigation over the moorland sections can be tricky in poor visibility and care needs to be taken to ensure you are on the right track.

Much of the route is on well drained gravel forestry tracks, but some of the grassy tracks in the forest and the moorland sections can be very muddy, especially along Whinstone Ridge where some nasty, sticky, yellow clay can really slow you down. The route is best attempted in dry weather, as the clay can be very hard going when wet. Depending on weather, a fast rolling tyre in the dry or a good mud tyre in winter would be the best choice.

There is little scope for shortcuts to reduce the mileage of the route, but by using the North York Moors Railway, it is possible to ride just the outbound or inbound leg from Levisham to Goathland. See the www.nymr.demon.co.uk for up-to-date times and fares. A variation which avoids Goathland is to take the eastern branch of the BW on Two Howes Rigg and then use the BW on the eastern side of Eller Beck until it joins the road out of Goathland.

This is a remote moorland route often far away from settlement. In bad weather navigation over the moors can be challenging. Navigation in the forest can also be difficult as there are so many different tracks. The route passes close to Fylingdales Early Warning Station, and you should not stray into the prohibited areas. On rare occasions, especially in autumn, parts of the forestry commission land can be closed to the public during sporting events such as motor rallies. If going at around that time of year check http://www.forestry.gov.uk first.

Park on the road in Levisham Village.

Head north on the road to the left hand side of the Horseshoe Inn, sign posted for Forest Drive and Levisham Station. At the junction after ¼ a mile, ignore the turning to the left and carry straight on northwards on the smaller road. The tarmac gives out to a gravel track and before long you come to a gate marking the edge of the moors. Cross onto the moors and turn left heading in a northwest direction alongside the wall. After quarter of a mile, the wall becomes broken and the path turns left towards the edge of the hill. Just before the edge of the hill, look for a rough path heading downhill in a northwesterly direction. At the base of the steep hill the BW meets a well trodden north-south track. Turn left on this track and head for the road.

At the road turn right and head down the hill to Levisham station, and cross the railway line. Follow the obvious gravel road at the other side of the level crossing. After a short distance the surface changes to tarmac again. Continue along the Forest Drive until after climbing for 200 yards, a BW branches left off the road at SE 815 931 by a wooden barrier. Follow the BW uphill on a gravel track. After a few hundred yards, look for a BW on the left of the track. Follow this narrow, steep, and at times muddy, track upwards. The first part of the climb is hard and unrideable, although would be fine to descend. At the top of the hill the BW becomes pleasant forest single track. After just over half a mile, you will meet a gravel forest track where the BW ends.

Turn right on the track and continue until the track meets the gravel surfaced Forest Drive on a tight bend with a wooden barrier. Turn left on the Forest Drive and follow it north along the edge of the hill. Follow the road past the sharp left hand corner at SE 826 951 and a third of a mile after the corner, look for a clearing and a BW to the right of the track at SE 821 953. Turn right on the BW which follows the edge of the forest before passing over a gravel road. Go through the gate and go downhill through a small field. Descend along a gravel path down to a forest track and cross the track. Carry on north along the edge of the clearing past a ruined building at Wardle Green until you reach the edge of the moors.

Go through the gate and cross the footbridge. Follow the single track across the moors in a northerly direction. It can be boggy in places especially the first few hundred yards.  In places the path forks into several different tracks, so you’ll need to try and follow the strongest track. Carry on towards the small circle of stone wall and then an isolated sign. At the sign keep on the path going north, and ignore the route to the left. After climbing steadily, you will arrive near the top of a hill and the ground becomes boggy. Follow the track until you see an obvious fork in the tracks and a sign at SE 830 837. Make sure you follow the track which heads NNW i.e. left, not BW which branches north to the right. An alternative, avoiding Goathland, is to go right, follow the BW to the road at SE 839 998,  and then use the BW on the eastern side of Eller Beck (SE 847 993) until it joins the road out of Goathland. Keep going along the BW as it descends from the moor. Once again, there are several different tracks and it can be quite difficult to work out which is the proper path. Make sure you go to the right of the small tarn NZ 822 001, as the track to the left fades out. Carry on along downhill over the moors until you reach a road junction at the edge of the village of Goathland.

Head downhill into the village in Goathland following signs pointing to Goathland Station and Whitby. There are plenty of tearooms, shops and pubs aimed at day trippers, rather than muddy mountain bikers. Pass the station and carry on over the railway and river and climb the viciously steep hill. As an alternative to the road climb, follow the new permissive BW which starts just after the foot of the hill at SE 839 012, and countinues to the Beck Hole road at SE 840 030. This is marked on the map as a track, rather than a right of way. Take care as this road can be busy in summer. After a while, the slope eases off, but the road just keeps going on up and up. Near the top of the hill there is a junction with a road to the left and a track to the right.

Turn right onto the track. Then follow this to gate and the main road. Cross the main road and carry on along the obvious track. Keep following it along the edge of the forest until the track turns right and away from the forest. This whole section can be very muddy at times as there are huge puddles which have been churned up by vehicles. Avoid the yellow clay if possible, as it sticks to bikes like glue. When you come to a gate in the middle of the moor, stay on the BW to right hand side of the fence. 2.8 miles since you joined the track, you should see a cross roads by a gate and a trig point (a 3 foot high concrete pillar). Turn right on the well made gravel track and head along a rolling gravel track towards Dalby Forest, which you should see in front of you. When you reach the edge of the forest, ignore the track which heads left into the forest, but instead carry on along the edge of the forest on a well surfaced track. The track then starts to turn towards the west and heads towards the obvious, but unmarked on older maps, buildings of Fylingdales Early Warning station. You are on a legal right of way, so as long as you don’t stray into prohibited areas, you should have no problems. Don’t be surprised if your progress attracts the attention of the MOD Police who patrol the fence.

As you approach nearer to the base, you will pass a gate with a red ‘MOD Property’ sign on it. Go through the gate, and down and up a small gully. A few hundred feet in front of the security fence, look for a path to the left accessed through a small gate. Do NOT carry straight on! Turn left and follow the orange marker posts parallel to the fence and the line of warning signs. The path starts to turn away from the security fence, and you’ll come to a gravel track which crosses from the woods to the base. Cross the track, ignoring the gates, and carry on along the right hand, western side of the small fence away from the base.

Follow the peaty and rocky single track along side edge of the forest until you come to a gate with a moorland cross on the other side. Cross the gate and join the BW which passes along the base of the ridge to your right. Follow the track uphill, until you come to the top, and head along the grassy track towards the trees. Go through the gate at the edge of a narrow belt of trees and turn left along the muddy path between the fence and the trees. When the path ends at a farm track, turn right and head towards the car park at the top of Hole of Horcum.

Cross the busy A 169 to a gravel path which runs parallel to the road. Turn right on this path and descend down the path to a gate by the road, then follow the wide path which climbs up onto the moor in a westerly direction. Follow the obvious track across the moors, until after descending past a small pond you will arrive at a gate marking the edge of the moor. Pass through the gate and follow the gravel road, which turns into tarmac road, and go south to Levisham and the start.