Dog-friendly walks in Helmsley

An easy 4.5-mile loop with 100 metres of ascent, under two hours, running out of town along the grass terraces of Duncombe Park and down the stepped Fairy Staircase to the River Rye; smooth going apart from the steps, which are steep and greasy in the wet. Start at Helmsley market place, five minutes from the castle car park, and the town is well served by buses from Thirsk, Malton and Scarborough. There is deep water in the Rye for a swim and shade from the veteran parkland oaks, but Duncombe Park is a working estate and a national nature reserve, so dogs stay on the lead throughout and off the deer lawns.

The opening leg of the Cleveland Way, from the Cleveland Way car park in Helmsley through fields and bluebell woodland into the deep pastoral valley of the Rye, arriving at the soaring ruins of Rievaulx Abbey - around three miles each way, or up to seven miles as a circuit. Dogs can stretch out off lead through the wooded sections but must go on lead past the sheep fields at the start and on the abbey grounds, where leashed dogs are welcome in the ruins and cafe. One of England's great short walks, with a monastic masterpiece at the end.