WAGFINDER
Walk · North Yorkshire

The Bridestones from Low Dalby

Thornton le Dale · YO18 7LT
Low Dalby Staindale Lake N 1 MILE © OpenStreetMap contributors
9.9MILES
4h 21mON FOOT
240mCLIMB
CircularSHAPE
The route A-road B-road Lane Track Path Water Woodland
Off-road 95% 5% shares tarmac with cars
Field & moor path 40%Lane & track 55%Road with traffic 5%

Our drawing of the route, over road and path data from OpenStreetMap. It shows where the walk goes and what it goes through. It is not a survey and not a navigation aid — carry OS Explorer on the hill. Off-lead information here is what walkers reported or what signage allows — never our advice. Whether and when a dog is off the lead is the owner’s decision and legal responsibility; keep dogs under control near livestock and follow signs on the day.

Starts at
YO18 7LT
Directions to the start →

A big 9.9-mile forest-and-moor day with 240 metres of ascent, roughly four and a quarter hours, mostly on firm gravel forest roads before a boardwalked and stepped section over the sandstone outcrops of the Bridestones. Start from the visitor centre at Low Dalby and drive in on the Dalby Forest Drive, which carries a toll; the Bridestones themselves also have a small car park at Staindale if you want to shorten it. Dogs are free to run on the forest roads and there is Dalby Beck and Staindale Lake for a drink, but the Bridestones moor is heather nature reserve where leads are asked for from 1 March to 31 July to protect ground-nesting birds, and there are short drops off the rocks.

THE SMALL PRINTLeads on the Bridestones moorland 1 March to 31 July for ground-nesting birds

House rules, decoded

Off-lead allowed
REGION · NORTH YORKSHIRE
GRID · 54.2609, -0.6866
SOURCE · HTTPS://WWW.KOMOOT.COM/SMARTTOUR/E970812571/DALBY-FOREST-AND-THE-BRIDESTONES-TRAIL
Also in Thornton le Dale
WAGFINDER No photo yet
440 YD © OpenStreetMap contributors 4.2 MI · LOOP
DOGS WELCOME

Dalby Beck Yellow Trail

Thornton le Dale · YO18 7LT
No reviews yet
4.2MILES
1:49TIME
100mCLIMB
95%OFF-ROAD
Off-lead allowed Water bowls

A 4.2-mile waymarked forest loop with 100 metres of ascent and a shade under two hours, following Dalby Beck upstream on wide forest road before climbing gently onto the rigg and dropping back; the going is gravel and forest track throughout, which makes it a reliable choice when everything else in Ryedale is under water. It starts at the Dalby Forest visitor centre at Low Dalby, reached by the toll Forest Drive from Thornton-le-Dale where a car pays a day charge at the barrier, so this is not a walk to arrive at on a whim. Dalby Beck runs alongside for two miles with easy access for drinking and splashing, there is no livestock at all, and dogs may be off the lead on the trail, though the forest is worked and the drive itself carries slow but constant traffic.

VERIFIED 29 JUL 2026 VIEW WALK ›
WAGFINDER No photo yet
440 YD © OpenStreetMap contributors 3.5 MI · LOOP
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Dalby Forest

Thornton le Dale · YO18 7LT
No reviews yet
3.5MILES
1:50TIME
120mCLIMB
95%OFF-ROAD
Off-lead allowed

Over 8,500 acres of Forestry England woodland in the southern moors, entered via the toll road from Thornton-le-Dale, with waymarked walking trails from easy-access lakeside strolls at Low Dalby to all-day forest hikes. Dogs are welcome and can run off lead on the forest tracks under control - keep them close near the visitor centre, cyclists and wildlife areas. Open daily 8am to 8pm, with a cafe and facilities at the visitor centre.

VERIFIED 29 JUL 2026 VIEW WALK ›
WAGFINDER No photo yet
440 YD © OpenStreetMap contributors 3.4 MI · LOOP
DOGS WELCOME

Ellerburn Trail, Dalby Forest

Thornton le Dale · YO18 7LT
No reviews yet
3.4MILES
1:26TIME
40mCLIMB
95%OFF-ROAD
Off-lead allowed Water bowls

The gentlest of the Dalby waymarked routes at 3.4 miles with only 40 metres of ascent and about an hour and a half, running south-west down the valley towards Ellerburn on level forest road with one short rise back to the centre. It begins at Low Dalby visitor centre, where the pay-and-display is included in the Forest Drive toll, and the centre has a cafe, toilets and outside water taps that make it an easy first stop of the day. The beck is close for most of the way, the surface is kind on old joints and puppy paws alike, and there is no stock and no stile on the whole route, so a dog can be off the lead the entire way with only forestry vehicles and cyclists to watch for.

VERIFIED 29 JUL 2026 VIEW WALK ›
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