Hamer House and Cropton Forest from Rosedale Abbey

A big 12.3-mile day with 490 metres of ascent and close to six hours, climbing out of the dale to the lonely moor road at Hamer before dropping into the forest tracks of Cropton and working back along the dale bottom; the moor crossing is genuinely boggy and there is no shelter of any kind on the tops. It starts at the National Park car park in Rosedale Abbey, and it is worth knowing there is no shop or refill point between the village and the return, so carry everything for both of you. The forest tracks are ideal for a dog to run and the River Seven gives a swim at the end, but the moor is grouse ground with ground-nesting birds and free-ranging sheep, so leads go on for the open sections from 1 March to 31 July.