Walk · North Yorkshire

Sandsend, Mulgrave Woods and the old castle

Sandsend · YO21 3SU
Sandsend A174 Dunsley Lane Mulgrave Woods Burnett's Wood N 880 YD © OpenStreetMap contributors
4MILES
2hON FOOT
160mCLIMB
CircularSHAPE
The route A-road B-road Lane Track Path Water Woodland
Off-road 85% 15% shares tarmac with cars
Field & moor path 30%Lane & track 55%Road with traffic 15%

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.

Starts at
YO21 3SU
Directions to the start →

Four miles and about two hours on broad estate carriage drives through one of the finest beech and oak woods on the coast, out to the ruined thirteenth-century castle on its ridge and back down the other side of the valley, with 160 metres of easy climbing. Start at the East Row car park in Sandsend, a few minutes from the woodland gate, with the 4 and X4 buses from Whitby stopping beside the beck. The tracks are wide and dry and the becks run all year, but access is by the estate's permission on set days only and dogs must be on the lead throughout the woods, where there is a shoot and roe deer.

THE SMALL PRINTMulgrave Woods are private and open to the public from dawn to dusk on Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays only, and are closed to everyone for the whole of May. Dogs must be on the lead throughout the estate. The signed central stretch of Sandsend beach is also closed to dogs from 1 May to 30 September.
REGION · NORTH YORKSHIRE
GRID · 54.4938, -0.6644
SOURCE · HTTPS://WWW.THEWHITBYGUIDE.CO.UK/MULGRAVE-WOODS/
Also in Sandsend
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Stay SOME LIMITS

Saltmoore (formerly Raithwaite Sandsend)

YO21 3ST
No reviews yet

A polished coastal estate in woodland between Whitby and Sandsend, with dog-friendly rooms in The Beach House plus the self-contained Beck View and Water's Edge cottages for longer stays. Sandsend's long dog-walking beach is on the doorstep, with the North York Moors behind.

VERIFIED 29 JUL 2026 VIEW ›
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Beach SOME LIMITS

Sandsend Beach

Dogs banned MAY–SEP

A long sweep of sand running from Sandsend village back towards Whitby, with step-free access towards the north end via a steep walkway. The summer ban only covers the village-adjacent section from the steps below the public toilets to the Bank Bottom Car Park slipway — but note high tide reaches the sea wall in places, squeezing the dog-friendly sand.

VERIFIED 29 JUL 2026 VIEW ›
880 YD © OpenStreetMap contributors
Walk SOME LIMITS

Sandsend Ness, the alum quarries and the railway tunnels

YO21 3SU
4.4 MI · 1H 55M · 85% OFF-ROAD

An easy 4.4-mile circular of just under two hours along the old Whitby to Loftus trackbed past Sandsend Ness to the Deep Grove alum quarries and the bricked-up tunnel mouths, returning over the fields above the shore. Park at the East Row or Sandsend Ness pay-and-display car parks, or take the 4 or X4 bus from Whitby, which stops beside the beck. The trackbed is wide, level and good for off-lead running, but the central Sandsend beach is closed to dogs in summer and the cliff above the quarries is soft and slipping, so keep to the path there.

Off-lead OK
VERIFIED 29 JUL 2026 VIEW ›

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