The old main line: Naburn to Riccall

Five and a half miles of tarmac trackbed on the abandoned East Coast main line, running dead straight and dead flat from Naburn swing bridge across Naburn Moor to Escrick and on beside the A19 into Riccall, where Pluto marks the end of the solar system model; allow two and a half hours. Start at the swing bridge or park in Escrick and walk a shorter leg either way; the number 42 bus links Naburn, Escrick and Riccall with York, which makes the linear route easy to do one-way. Tree roots have lifted the tarmac into speed bumps in places, so watch an old dog's footing, but this is a genuinely all-weather winter walk with no mud and no stiles; the last stretch runs beside the A19 behind a grass verge, so leads on there, and there is no natural water once you leave the river.