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.
Seven and a quarter miles with 320 metres of ascent and about three and a half hours, climbing from the beck onto Hawnby Moor and following the old shooting track past the lonely farmstead at Bumper Castle before dropping back into Bilsdale; the moor track is firm but the field paths at either end are heavy and there are several awkward stiles. It starts in the hamlet of Fangdale Beck on the Bilsdale road four miles north of Hawnby, where parking is a couple of roadside spaces by the bridge, so arrive early or park considerately in Hawnby and walk in. The beck gives water at the start and finish, the moor track is fine open running for a dog, but this is grouse moor with free-ranging sheep and important nesting habitat, so leads on the moor from 1 March to 31 July.
A short, sharp 2.6-mile round with 130 metres of climbing, about an hour and a quarter, up the bracken flank of a perfect little whaleback hill and along its heather crest for one of the best views in Ryedale. Start from the small parking area in Hawnby village below the Inn at Hawnby; there is no public transport worth the name, so drive, and the lane in from Helmsley is single track. There is no water on the hill so carry a bowl, the summit ridge is grazed by hardy sheep, and leads are required on this open access land from 1 March to 31 July for ground-nesting birds.
A 7.8-mile double summit with 340 metres of ascent and about three and three quarter hours, taking the sharp little ridge of Hawnby Hill first and then the outlier of Easterside across the valley; both climbs are short, steep and on grass that becomes slick when wet, with a boggy col between them. It starts by the Inn at Hawnby in the upper village, where roadside parking is limited to a few spaces and the lanes in are single track with passing places. The River Rye and Ladhill Beck give water at the bottom of each descent and the ridge tops are marvellous open ground, but both hills are grazed by sheep the year round, the ridge of Hawnby Hill has steep scarp edges on its west side, and the moorland approach needs leads from 1 March to 31 July.
A former drovers' inn high above the Rye valley, and the obvious stop after a haul over Hawnby Hill. Well behaved dogs are welcome in the bar and the garden, and a handful of the guest rooms take them too, so a walking weekend need not mean kennels.
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