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 half miles through the parkland and estate woods of the lower Nidd valley, close to four hours, easy underfoot apart from a short scramble along the wooded gorge on the return and a run of stiles that a heavy dog will need lifting over. It starts at the Bay Horse in Goldsborough, three miles from Knaresborough, with roadside parking on the village street and a bus from Knaresborough on weekdays; the waymarking is good except between Little Ribston and Loxley, where a map earns its keep. Estate parkland means sheep almost throughout and a lead for most of the route, but the Nidd is crossed twice and there are safe shallow entries for a swim near Ribston Hall; the riverside sections drain reasonably but the parkland turns heavy after Christmas.
Two miles each way of fully surfaced, traffic-free path along the Nidd from High Bridge in Knaresborough out to Bilton Hall Drive, resurfaced in 2013 and effectively flat, which makes it one of the few routes in the district that stays clean and firm right through winter. Start at High Bridge on the Ripon Road below the town, five minutes from Knaresborough station, and at the far end it links straight into Bilton Lane and the Nidderdale Greenway for a longer day. Named after the Yorkshire cycling champion, it is shared with bikes and horses and passes fields of grazing horses and a couple of cattle grids, so keep dogs on the lead and close in; the surface is kind on old joints and takes a buggy or wheelchair without complaint.
A famously narrow multi-storey ale house on Knaresborough market place, in the Good Beer Guide for more than thirty consecutive years. It describes itself as a cosy, dog-friendly pub, with a clean water bowl and doggy treats kept on the bar and no objection to a dog on the stairs.
Four miles down both banks of the Nidd below the town, an hour and three quarters, largely level riverside path with a short flight of steps at Waterside and a stretch of woodland that gets slippery when wet. Start from the pay-and-display car park at Conyngham Hall, which is signed off the A59 and never quite fills, and Knaresborough station is a ten-minute walk away on the Leeds to York line. Dogs can run the whole riverside once you are past the Waterside cafes, the Nidd here is deep and slow with easy shelving entries for a swimmer, and there is no livestock; the far bank below Grimbald Bridge floods after heavy rain, in which case turn it into an out-and-back rather than wading.
One short email when we add places or a council changes its beach rules. No noise, easy out.
NO SPAM · UNSUBSCRIBE ANY TIME · WE NEVER SELL THE LIST
Wagfinder Members · Coming soon
NO PAYMENT NOW · FIRST IN WHEN DOORS OPEN · EASY OUT