Middleham Gallops and Coverham Abbey

Cover Banks and East Witton from Middleham

Six miles and around three and a quarter hours from the castle down to the wooded banks of the River Cover, along to the packhorse crossing at Hullo Bridge and out to the long green at East Witton, returning past the Cover Bridge Inn; the riverside path is steep-sided and rooty in places. Start in Middleham market place, where parking is free; the 159 bus from Leyburn and Ripon stops in the square. The Cover is shallow, clean and easy to reach for a swim and a drink which makes this a good hot-day walk, but the meadows are grazed so the lead stays on, and the real warning is the gallops - Middleham trains hundreds of racehorses and strings work the moor and the lanes from dawn, so a dog off the lead near them is a serious hazard; stiles are mostly wooden steps, with one narrow stone squeeze near Hullo Bridge.