North York Moors Self-Guided Walking Tour 2024

You’re welcome to check in from 4pm onwards. 

Accommodation: Larpool Hall (D)

Check out the Discovery Point Library at the country house – stocked with maps, walks and local area information. 

For stays of 3 nights, you will have 2 days at your choice.

For stays of 4 nights, you will have 3 days at your choice.

For stays of 7 nights, you will have 6 days at your choice.

Accommodation: Larpool Hall (B, L, D)

Enjoy a leisurely breakfast before making your way home. (B)

Our easiest routes allow plenty of time to savour the beautiful scenery. All our walk notes suggest the best places to stop, great pubs, and tea rooms.

• Captain Cook’s Monument – 1.25 miles
• May Beck and Falling Foss – 3 miles
• Larpool Hall to Whitby – 3.3 miles
• Whitby and up the steps to the Abbey – 3.3 miles

Some longer walks, including some stretches along the Cleveland Way. Experience the true flavour of the North York Moors & Coast as you follow these varied routes.

• Whitby Abbey – 5 miles
• Goathland to Grosmont – 3.3 miles
• Roseberry Topping – 4 miles
• May Beck Circular – 4.5 miles
• Runswick Bay to Staithes – 5 miles

For those who love to stride out for some longer walks on the coastal path or over the moors.

• Grosmont & Goathland Circuit – 8 miles
• Robin Hood’s Bay to Whitby – 8 miles
• Sandsend to Staithes – 8 miles
• Along the cliffs to Whitby Abbey – 9 miles
• Whitby Abbey – 7 miles
• Danby Dale and Botton Village – 8 miles
• Roseberry Topping and Captain Cooks Monument – 8.5 miles
• Newtondale to Grosmont – 11 miles
• Cloughton to Ravenscar – 12 miles
• Cloughton to Whitby – 18 miles

During your stay at Larpool Hall you may enjoy visiting the following places of interest, either in your free time on your journey to and from Whitby or on your self-guided holiday:

Whitby is a bustling harbour town and a popular tourist destination. From Larpool Hall it is a 1½ miles downhill walk, or a short drive to the town centre. The town has a full range of facilities including shops, banks, pubs and cafés. If you don’t mind the queue, the Magpie café on the waterfront is said to serve England’s best fish and chips! 

The iconic ruins of Whitby Abbey command a wonderful position above the harbour and can be reached by climbing the famous 199 steps. About 10 minutes’ drive or a 1½ mile walk.

The pretty fishing village of Staithes is a pleasant spot to visit. Young children may well recognise the village as the setting for Old Jack’s Boat on CBeebies. Around 25 minutes’ drive from Whitby.

The North Yorkshire Moors Railway operates steam trains over its 18 mile line between Grosmont and Pickering and in the summer some trains continue over the branch line to Whitby. This is a highly scenic route: one reason why the line has become Britain’s most visited steam railway. The well-kept and historic stations are worth seeing for their own sake and you may well recognise Goathland which has doubled as ‘Adensfield’ on the Heartbeat TV series, and as ‘Hogsmeade’ in the Harry Potter films. Either join the train at Whitby, or at Grosmont, about 20 minutes’ drive away.

Scarborough is a quintessential Victorian seaside resort with plenty of attractions for both young and old. The Stephen Joseph Theatre in Scarborough is home to Alan Ayckbourn, the renowned playwright. It has two theatres – the round and the McCarthy which doubles as a cinema, plus a restaurant and shop.

This superb trail uses the route of disused railway line and offers miles of traffic-free cycling, often with
outstanding sea views. The trail passes right next to Larpool Hall and heads south to Robin Hoods Bay, Ravenscar, or – if you are feeling keen – to Scarborough. Bikes can be hired at nearby Hawsker.

The Rydale Folk Museum is located at Hutton-Le-Hole, about 50 minutes’ drive from Whitby. This pretty village west of Pickering that has a feel of a Cotswold village, being built of mellow stone and with a stream though the middle. The museum houses exhaustive displays of rural life and crafts in buildings spread over several acres.

Located near Malton about an hour’s drive from Whitby, Castle Howard is one of Britain’s grandest stately homes. It is well known as the location for the TV series Brideshead Revisited. Today the house is still owned by the Howard family and the building hosts many exhibitions & events throughout the year. Also of interest are the extensive gardens that contain a formal rose garden and elegant ponds and fountains.

One of Britain’s most attractive historic cities, York is about a 1 hour 20 minutes drive from Larpool Hall. Attractions include the City Walls Trail, York Minster, the National Railway Museum, and the Yorvik Viking Centre.