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.
Nine miles with 200 metres of ascent and about four hours, linking the medieval waymark of Mauley Cross in Cropton Forest to the exposed Roman road on Wheeldale Moor and the Bronze Age cairn at Simon Howe; the forest roads are firm gravel, the moor section between them is peat hag and rough heather with no clear path in places. It starts at the small forest parking area by Mauley Cross on the Stape to Egton Bridge road, north of Cropton, which is free and rarely more than half full even in August. There is water in the forest becks but nothing at all on the moor, so carry plenty; the forest tracks are excellent off-lead ground, while the moor is grouse ground grazed by sheep with ground-nesting curlew, so leads there from 1 March to 31 July.
A small farm site above Cropton village with pitches, hook-ups and views over Rosedale. Pets are very welcome and there is ample ground for walking and exercise straight from the field.
Nearly nine miles with 250 metres of ascent and around four hours, crossing from Cropton to the earthwork ramparts of the Cawthorn Roman camps and on to the village pond at Newton-on-Rawcliffe before the return through forest; the camps are open grass and easy, but the wooded descents into the becks are steep and greasy for most of the winter. It starts in Cropton by the New Inn, which brews its own beer and welcomes dogs, and roadside parking in the village is free but tight, so the small car park at the Cawthorn camps is a reasonable alternative start. There is water at the beck crossings and at Newton pond, the forest tracks are broad and excellent for a dog to range on, but the camps are a scheduled monument grazed by sheep and the fields between Cropton and Cawthorn carry stock too.
A 5.2-mile circuit with 130 metres of ascent, about two and a quarter hours, dropping from the village past the grassy motte of Cropton Castle to the River Seven and back through the forest edge at Hob Bank Wood; the riverside path is slippery clay in winter. Start in Cropton village, where there is roadside parking near the New Inn, and the Forestry England car park at Cropton Forest, postcode YO18 8ES, is a short drive away if the village is full. The Seven runs shallow and clear for swimming, the forest tracks take a dog off the lead happily, but the field sections between village and river are grazed and there are two awkward stiles.
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