Walk · North Yorkshire

Byland Abbey Ruins Loop from Ampleforth

Ampleforth · YO62 4DU
Ampleforth Wass High Street Low Wood Spring Duckendale Wood High Woods N 880 YD © OpenStreetMap contributors
5.3MILES
2h 26mON FOOT
190mCLIMB
CircularSHAPE
The route A-road B-road Lane Track Path Water Woodland
Off-road 85% 15% shares tarmac with cars
Field & moor path 60%Lane & track 25%Road with traffic 15%

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
YO62 4DU
Directions to the start →

Five and a third miles with 190 metres of ascent and about two and a half hours, crossing the low ridge west of Ampleforth to the great rose window of Byland Abbey and coming back by Wass; the outward field paths climb steadily and the last field into Byland is often under standing crop with a narrow trodden line. It starts in Ampleforth village with free roadside parking, and the Abbey Inn at Byland at the halfway point takes dogs in the bar and does a proper lunch if you time it right. The becks near Wass give a drink, the ridge fields are open and pleasant walking, but the English Heritage abbey grounds ask for dogs on leads, and there are sheep and occasionally cattle in almost every field on the route.

THE SMALL PRINTLeads across the grazed fields throughout and inside the Byland Abbey grounds

House rules, decoded

Livestock — leads on
REGION · NORTH YORKSHIRE
GRID · 54.1992, -1.1067
SOURCE · HTTPS://WWW.KOMOOT.COM/SMARTTOUR/34915695
Also in Ampleforth
WAGFINDER No photo yet
Attraction SOME LIMITS

Ampleforth Abbey

YO62 4EN
No reviews yet

A working Benedictine abbey in a wooded valley below the moors, with orchards, a cider press and extensive grounds open to visitors. Dogs may explore the grounds freely, and you can order refreshments from the takeaway hatch at the gift shop while they wait outside.

VERIFIED 29 JUL 2026 VIEW ›
WAGFINDER No photo yet
Restaurant NOT CHECKED YET

Ampleforth Abbey Tea Room

YO62 4HE
No reviews yet

Ampleforth Abbey Tea Room is a place to eat in Ampleforth. It is listed here so you know it is there, but we have not yet established whether dogs are welcome — so there is no verdict on this page and no stamp. If it is your business, claim the page and tell us, and we will stamp it.

NOT CHECKED YET · IS THIS YOURS? VIEW ›
WAGFINDER No photo yet
N 440 YD 4.4 MI · LOOP
SOME LIMITS

Ampleforth Abbey and the Fish Ponds

Ampleforth
No reviews yet
4.4MILES
1:53TIME
70mCLIMB
75%OFF-ROAD
Off-lead allowed Livestock — leads on

A relaxed 4.4-mile loop with only 70 metres of ascent, under two hours, on lanes, field paths and the wooded valley below the abbey where the old monastic fish ponds sit; easy going but muddy along the pond path after rain. Start in Ampleforth village, where there is roadside parking, and the abbey's own visitor car park is available when the tea room is open. The ponds and the beck give water and the field paths take a dog off the lead for good stretches, but the abbey and college grounds are private and working farmland here holds sheep, so lead up at every gate.

VERIFIED 29 JUL 2026 VIEW WALK ›

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