Walks in the UK, One
These are all circular walks unless stated, the photos are all in order left to right (although they may not have been taken on the day of the walk). If you click on a photo you will be taken to a larger image on my flickr page, where you can also click on, map, down the left of the page to find the location.
If you would like more info, or have any comments you can email me at
ralph-dot@tiscali.co.ukWalk, York (Walls), October 2008. Updated April 2009
Approximately 2.8 mile or 4.5 kilometres
Something we hadn't done for a while was to walk the city walls and as it was nice and sunny again, that's what we decided to do. It took about two and a half hours to get all the way round but we did venture into the centre at one point to have a quick look in the shops for something for lunch.
From the Rowntree Park car park on Terry Avenue (or the CC site), we walked by the river, along Terry Avenue towards Skeldergate Bridge where we got up onto the wall at the Victorian turret, at Baile Hill. This to the west of Skeldergate Bridge and the old Bonding Warehouse.
We are walking in a clockwise direction towards Birchdaughter Tower (built in 1645) passed Baile Hill, once the site of York's second castle, sadly now no more. At Birchdaughter Tower, the wall does a 90° right hand turn and has it's longest straight section, where it passes over Victoria Bar and on towards Micklegate Bar. The views along that stretch are, to the left of the old chocolate factory and York race course, to the right row after row of residential property (houses) and in the distance, as always the Minster.
You come down from the wall at Micklegate Bar and then back up the other side, before you get to Tofts Tower, where it again turns 90° right again. From this part of the wall you look over the railway station outside the walls and the modern council buildings on the inside.
Along this section we also pass over the Railway Arches, obviously not an original feature, this part of the wall was demolished around 1839 to allow the railway into the city and two arches built over it. This is all rather sad, as the new station was opened outside the walls in 1877 and these arches now seem to be of no practical use at all, a main road also passes under two arches along this section.
But the best view on this part of the walk is the Minster in the distance (although you can see the minster for most of the walk), as you walk towards it all along this way. This section of the wall ends at North Street Postern and Barker Tower, it ends here as the river Ouse is in the way, Lendal Tower can be seen on the other side of the Ouse. The wall walk restarts over the river which we cross via Lendal bridge.
After we cross over Lendal bridge to Lendal Tower, we follow Museum street passed some more of the wall, to Museum gardens on the left. In the gardens is the Multangular Tower, built on the remains of the west corner of the Roman fort of Eboracum.
You can look around the back and inside the remains of the Multangular Tower and also the site of where the Anglian Tower stood. Then at the end of this short section in the gardens, you walk passed the front York City Art Gallery and over the A19, to rejoin the wall at Bootham Bar.
At Bootham Bar we get back onto the wall, from here it runs alongside the Minster on one side and behind a row of shops on the other. This straight section ends at Robin Hood Tower where the wall takes another 90° right hand turn.
There were quite a few people doing the wall walk, the sun had made it a popular pastime today, there were even people having picnics along the way but not us. If we had brought one we could have had it in the sun, on a seat on Robin Hood Tower, but for once we hadn't bothered. So we walked on to Monk Bar where we came down from the wall for quick lunch.
We got back on the wall at Monk Bar and continued on to Lathorpe Tower, where the wall ends for a about 450 yards. This is a section where the river Foss flows where there is no wall at all and I always assumed it had been demolished or fallen down but apparently, there was an impenetrable marsh there (The King's Fishpool), so there was no need of a wall. The river Foss now flows through this part of the walk and you have to cross over the river via the road bridge.
It was a glorious day and I took lots of photos as we walked by the Foss, I wanted to explore the course of the Foss through York centre but today we were doing the wall, so that could wait for another day.
As this was and old swamp all of the building here are new and on your left, is a new large Morison's supermarket, where you can get a drink or even a meal if you wanted. One of the older buildings on the right is an old garage that is now a wine warehouse, well worth a look, they also have beers.
We rejoin the wall at Red Tower, which looks like a more modern building but it isn't, it is built in brick instead of stone like the rest of the wall and had been there since 1490. There are no sharp turns on this section, it gently curves round to Walmgate Bar, the most complete of the four main medieval gateways to the city. We have to come down form the wall here to cross the road. On the inside is a timber building that again looks like a newer addition but is from the 1580's. On the outside, Walmgate Bar it is the only bar to retain its barbican, portcullis and inner doors.
Then it back up on the wall and on to Fishergate Bar where, just after Fishergate Bar there is a very sharp turn at a tower then its straight on to Fishergate Postern and the end of the wall walk.
So we had finished the wall, what could we do next, we could just cross over Skeldergate Bridge and back along the river to the car park and finish the walk or, I know, have a beer, and where, where else, the Kings Arms and a nice pint (or two) of Sam Smith's bitter. So we made a detour to the famous pub on the riverside before crossing over the bridge.
It was even a nice walk back to the car park, the sun was still shining, the trees were glowing in their autumn colours and it was all reflected in the mirror smooth river Ouse, life doesn't get much better.
Walk, Grossmont to Goathland , September 2008
Approximately 3.5 mile or 5.5 kilometres
Not strictly a circular walk as we got a steam train back to the start.
The sun was shining and it was warm, got the scooter off the back of the van and set out for Grossmont. We arrived at Grossmont station abut 11:00 and decided that rather than take a train ride, we would walk to the next station at Goathland, we would walk along the old, original route of the railway, just under 3 miles away. We cross over to the east side of the track using the level crossing and head south, parallel to the line.
You may noticed that a lots of walks we are doing are along old railways, there are reasons for this, first you know where you are going (you do not have to guess which field to cross, etc), and secondly these walks are flat (no big hills to climb). So this walk starts with a big hill, the original route of the railway through a tunnel, is now the way into the workshops area, so the walk goes over the top. You do get some excellent views from the top, looking back towards Grossmont station. From the top the path drops down to the far side of the workshop area and you can look over to the parked up engines and other rail machinery.
The walk is along the origonal course of the Whitby to Pickering railway, built by George Stevenson in1836, as a horse drawn tramway. Even though this is an old rail track it is not boring and does meander around quite a bit along the way. We crossed over a small river ( the Murk Esk) two or three times during the walk but, sadly the old railway bridges had been replaced with wooden pedestrian footbridges.
About two miles into the walk we came to site of the old Beck Hole station and I remembered that Trev had mentioned there was something interesting there. So we left the track and headed towards some houses, what we found there was a pub so obviously we had to stop for a drink. Trev was right, there was something interesting there, the Birch Hall Inn, one of the smallest pubs you will ever find.
Even though Beck Hole is in the middle of nowhere, the pub was very busy with walkers, eating and drinking on the day we where there. I got served through a small serving hatch in a very mall bar, I had a pint of Beckwatter, Beckhole's Best Bitter and Dot had her usual. We sat outside to drink but watching others eating and as it was now 13:00, I had to go back in for some sandwiches (and another beer).
Back on the trail it was about another 1.5 mile to Goathland and we were surprised to find that some of it was up a steep hill, originally on this part of the line, the carriages were winched up by a stationary engine.
Goathland was incredibly busy, with many cars and coach trips, it is famous as the set for Yorkshire Television's long running TV series Heartbeat. There was no filming today, the last time we saw them filming Heartbeat, was about 50 miles away in Masham. We joined in with the other tourists visiting the sights and doing souvenir shopping, we got birthday presents for Dot's Dad, Dot got a new rucksack (pink) and I bought some new walking shoes (not pink). Heartbeat is famous for it's 1960's Ford Anglia police car (like the one in Harry Potter), there were three of them in the village.
We thought hard and made the decision to get the steam train back to Grossmont, so we wandered down to the station, a train we due soon, so we bought a ticket. If you like steam trains this is a god place to be, as it is here that the the northbound and southbound trains cross. It was very busy but I got a good position on the station footbridge for photos.
Great but short steam train ride back to Grossmont, about ten minutes is all it took. Back at the station I checked the scooter was ok, then we walked through the world's first passenger railway tunnel to the workshops. The tunnel, on the original Whitby to Pickering railway, was built by George Stevenson between 1833 & 1835, as part of the horse drawn tramway.
Sir Nigel Gresley (the LNER Class A4 locomotive 60007 that is), was in the workshop for repairs, it had broken a suspension spring the day before.
If you wanted to you could walk back to Grossmont, that would make it a walk seven mile long.
Walk, to Robin Hood's Bay , September 2008
Approximately 6 mile or 10 kilometres (not a circular walk we came back the same way)
Nice warm sunny day but it was practically lunch time before we set out for a walk. From the pub car park in High Hawsker we walked through the village, towards the sea, along Bottoms Lane. We knew there was an old railway that was now a coast a costal footpath, it runs towards Whitby one way and Scarborough via Robin Hood's Bay the other way. The walks are about 4.5 miles to Whitby Centre (but there is a shorter walk to Whitby) and about 3 miles to the sea at Robin Hood's Bay. We found the rail path by following the campsite signs and is was just passed the first campsite we came to. We had no plans for the walk but as we would be camping closer to Whitby later in the week, so we set off towards Robin Hood's Bay.
With the green fields and the sea on the left and wonderful hilly countryside on the right this is quite a beautiful walk. Down below us on the left, we could see people waking the Cleveland way but this is a much more meandering up and down trail, hugging the coast line but it can be used to make this a circular walk. The last part of the track into Robin Hood's Bay was downhill, I was a bit surprised that is was so steep and incline.
The walk to the top of Robin Hood's Bay took about an hour then we had to find our way down into the village as the signs are not very good. We walked along Mount Pleasant North then left onto Whitby road, where the first thing we did was to stop at a shop and bought all the ingredients we needed to make a picnic. Then it was down the very steep hill to the sea front, where we found a seat on the sea front to have our picnic.
We would usually have just had fish and chips here and there is a very good chip shop at the bottom of the hill but we had that yesterday, also we are trying to lose weight so it was the picnic. We had lean roast beef sandwiches, half way trough eating Dot noticed the the meat we had just bought was passed its sell by date but we ate anyway. This has happened to us quite a few times buying from country shops on a Monday, when they are getting rid of food not sold over the weekend.
We then had a walk on the beach for half an hour before heading for the pub, the Bay Hotel, who usually have a good selection of hand pulled beers. I had a pint of Deuchars IPA, Dot had a lager and lime, then we sat in the sun outside Wainwright's bar of Bay Hotel, on a warm September afternoon. This place also seemed to be the end point for the cost to coast walk (about 190 miles), made famous by Alfred Wainwright, hence the name of the bar and this steady trickle of walker was steadily filling the bar.
We now had to get back up the hill, we did it in stages stopping at shops along the way, we even thought we would have a drink at the pub half way up but typically for Yorkshire, it had just closed. We did however have another drink at the Grosvenor Hotel at the top of the hill, I had a pint of Timothy Taylor Landlord and Dot had another lager and lime.
The rest of the walk back to the start point, was a reverse of the walk there, although it was nearly all uphill, we knew that we had to get back up the incline, but it didn't stop climbing until we were just about back, strange that we didn't notice this going the other way.
So by the time we got back to the village we were thirsty again and stopped at the pub for another, I had a pint of Theakston's Best Bitter and Dot had her usual.
Walk, Keswick (Town), March & May 2008
Approximately 3 mile or 4.7 kilometres
A relatively flat walk by the lake and through the town centre.
We started the walk from the CC site (or the Rugby club car park on Crow Park road), we turned right out of the site (or car park) along Crow Park road. In about 200 yard on the left as the road turns to the right, we went through a gate and walked over the hill down to the lake and theatre (to bypass the hill you can walk along a road opposite the car park called The Heads, it comes out at the same place). We walked along the lake past the theatre to towards Friars Crag, here the views along the lake are indescribable, so see the photos. We should have taken some bread to feed the many birds, as they look very disappointed if you don't have any.
After the short walk to Friars Crag, we had a sit there and admired the magnificent view for a while, before heading back the way we came to the theatre. There is a cafe and toilets in the theatre and you can have a nice cup of tea with good views out the windows (there is also a bar depending on the time of day you are walking).
From the theatre we head into town (you could park at the theatre and arrange the walk centred on it), passed or through Hope park and through the underpass on Lake Road and on to Main Street. You can stop her and wander around the shops before continuing the walk, as we did (as well as the shops, there are also many fine pubs and eating places here in the centre). Anyway once you are done here, at the end of Main Street where we came in and just passed the Keswick Lodge, we turned left onto Station Road.
We continued on Station Road then right on Penrith Road and crossed over the river Greta via a newish footbridge on the left and then left again into Fitz Park. The path along the river passes under a road bridge and to the right is the Keswick Museum & Art Gallery, we haven't been in yet though. We continued to followed the river through the park to an older footbridge and crossed back over the Greta there.
Over the bridge we turned left, followed the road (Dove Crescent) round through the houses to Otley Road then right to Bank Street and right again back onto Main Street (with the bars and restaurants if you need them). From here it is right along Main Street to the roundabout where we turn left and follow the road (Crow Park Road) passed Booths supermarket and the bus station, back to the car park or campsite.
By this time you should have bought several bags of outdoor clothing, had several hand pulled beers and had a very good meal.
Walk, Gateshead and Newcastle, February 2009
Approximately 3.5 mile or 5.5 kilometres
Parked behind the Baltic Flour Mill in Gateshead, £3.20 for up to four hours, many other car parks around this area all about £3.50 for four hours or more, of course it is less for shorter periods but we took the full four hours on our walk.
Walked along the river passed the Baltic (we would pop into this art venue on the way back) and the Millennium bridge towards The Sage Gateshead. We walked up away from the river and through the Sage, there are toilets, cafes, etc, in there and out the other side towards the Tyne bridge.
From the Sage we wanted to walk over the iconic Tyne bridge so we had to find a way onto it, we walked towards the church and then down to the road and up Bottle Bank to the start of the bridge. This put us on the west side of the bridge, if you want to be on the east side, you have to walk up Church Street instead, as you can not cross over on the bridge without being run over.
Looking from this side you get a good view of all of the other brides bar one, the Millennium bridge but there are plenty of other places to see it. Also views of the Castle and streets below, as a friend of our says, it's like the rooftops in Mary Poppins. It is practically impossible to speak on the bridge as the traffic noise is horrendous.
Off the bridge I intended for us to head along Westgate Road, passed the Train station and on towards the Arena, then back down to the river but Dot wandered off in the direction of the shops. So we actually headed down Mosley Street onto Grey Street and eventually into the Eldon Square shopping centre. We came out of Eldon Square on the other side, onto Percy Street and headed down hill (should be the way to the river), onto Gallowgate. We continued down Gallowgate towards the football stadium (St James Park), until we came to the Chinatown gate and from there, followed the outside of the old town walls (something I didn't know existed) to Rutherford Street and onto St James Boulevard / Blenheim Street to the Redheugh bridge and Arena.
We walked down steps to the river but there was a fence at the bottom baring our exit, rather than climb back up all the steps we climbed over the fence. So the easy way down, is via the roadway on Shot Factory Lane. Here the we sat by the river in the sun (which had just come out) and had lunch, sandwiches we had bought in town.
Before heading back east, we walked for about a third of a mile west along the river as far as a wooden jetty, then it was back towards all the bridges and the Newcastle quayside. If you like bridges, this is the walk for you, the first one we pass under on the way is the Redheugh road bridge one of the newer bridges. Not a new crossing though, this is the third road bridge at this point, this is followed by the King Edward VII rail bridge.
Two down with another five to go before we get back to where we started, next to the so called Blinking Eye Millennium Bridge. Next in line is the Queen Elizabeth II Metro rail bridge, another of the new bridges, part of the underground system. The sun was still shining but it was a bit on the cold side.
Just before the next bridge is a very popular old pub The Quayside, we have been in there in the past but not today.
We are now at the point where bridges come thick and fast, first of these is the High Level bridge, used by rail and road and the oldest of the present day bridges. It was design by the railway engineer Robert Stephenson, son of the famous railway pioneer Georgia Stephenson. The Second road bridge is the Swing bridge, built on the site of all the previous crossings since the first one built by the Romans. It is probably the fourth or fifth bridge on the site and replaced the Georgian Bridge, to allow ships access to the new factories and coal supplies up river.
Once under the Swing bridge we then passed under the Tyne bridge that we walked over earlier in the day, to the left here are some of the oldest buildings in Newcastle, on Sandhill. Once passed the bridge, we get a very good view of the Sage Gateshead, that we had walked through at the start of today's walk, whenever you see this building there always seems to be people working on the top of it.
So we finally arrive at the Millennium Bridge, the last of the seven, and all we have to do is cross over it to be back at the Baltic where we started. At this side of the bridge is the Pitcher and Piano, a modern pub with good beers, unfortunately we didn't have the time to pop in. After some more photos we crossed over to have a look in the Baltic at Yoko Ono's Between the Sky and My Head exhibition.
It is the second time we have been in and the second time we have been very unimpressed by the art exhibited, last time it was Antony Gormley. Luckily we were in a hurry, you do get a very good view from the viewing platforms at the top though.
