Northallerton to Brompton by the Cod Beck

Green corridor tucked directly behind Northallerton High Street, where the Applegarth's grass and surfaced paths follow Willow Beck, one of several becks that thread through the town towards the River Wiske. A short, level town walk of a mile or so, ideal for an older dog or a quick leg-stretch between shops. No stock to worry about, though the beck banks can be muddy after rain.

Two and a half miles round the northern edge of the town past the earthworks of the medieval Bishop of Durham's palace, an hour, with ten metres of ascent in the whole circuit and made-up paths for most of it. Start at the top of the High Street by North End, where there is short-stay parking, and Northallerton station is ten minutes' walk away on the East Coast line, which makes this one of the easiest good walks in the county to reach by train. The old stone bridge over the beck is the halfway point and the beck itself gives a dog a drink; there is no livestock on the loop and dogs can be off lead on the enclosed sections, but the High Street end demands a lead and the low field beside the palace site is boggy from November through to March.

Four miles of road and track walking with three grass fields to cross, about an hour and three quarters; because the fields are grass rather than plough it stays firm, which makes it one of the best wet-weather routes near Northallerton. Start from the Fox and Hounds car park at Bullamoor, where walkers are welcome to park if they call in for a coffee afterwards, or walk out from the town in twenty minutes. Expect a single-strand electric fence to step over near Stank Hall, cattle in the fields, and a stretch of lane with fast blind bends where a lead is essential.