Selby Horseshoe

Nine miles round the town on the council's waymarked circuit, four hours, dead flat throughout on towpath, field track and riverbank with a handful of gates and no climb apart from the little rise over Brayton Barff. Start from Selby Abbey in the town centre and pick up the canal towpath west; Selby station is five minutes from the abbey with trains from York, Leeds and Hull, which makes this an unusually easy long walk to reach without a car. The towpath and the Barff woodland are safe for a dog off lead, but the farmland link between them carries sheep and occasional cattle and there is a stretch beside the A19 where a lead is not optional; the canal gives a dog a drink throughout and the towpath stays walkable all winter, while the field sections turn to heavy clay.