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.
Six and a half miles of flat arable country between the market town and the village of Raskelf, three hours, on field headlands and green lanes with several stiles and a mile of quiet road. Start on the cobbled Market Place in Easingwold where parking is free for two hours and the number 30 bus from York calls hourly; Raskelf has a village shop and a green at roughly halfway. This is working farmland with sheep in the pastures and cattle out from May, so leads on across the fields, and there is no reliable water for a dog on the route; the heavy Vale of York clay makes this a summer and autumn walk rather than a winter one, though the lanes and green tracks stay firm.
Seven miles north to the orchard village of Husthwaite and back on green lanes and field paths, three and a quarter hours, with one gentle rise onto the low ridge and a scattering of stiles and gates. Start from the Market Place in Easingwold, free short-stay parking and the hourly York bus, and if you want to shorten it there is a pub at Husthwaite for a sit down at the turn. Sheep and cattle graze much of the ground so this is largely a lead-on walk with the green lanes the only decent stretch for a run, and the becks are seasonal and often dry by August; the lanes and tracks hold up better than the fields, but the clay headlands are hard going between December and March.
The long one: eleven and a half miles from Easingwold out to Crayke, up to Oulston Reservoir on the fringe of the Howardian Hills and back, with 190 metres of ascent and a good five hours on the move. Start from the southern edge of Easingwold near Outwood Academy where there is street parking, or use the town's free market place car park; the 31X bus links Easingwold with York and Thirsk. This crosses a lot of working farmland with cattle and sheep, several stiles that a big dog will need lifting over, and stretches of quiet lane, so it wants a fit dog on a lead for long sections; the reservoir is a drinking chance but not a swimming one, and the higher field paths hold water badly from November to March.
An independent cafe on Easingwold's Market Place doing breakfast, brunch and lunch, with a walled courtyard garden at the back. Dogs are welcome both indoors and out among the flowers in the courtyard. A good first stop before the lanes out to Crayke and Brandsby.
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