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.
A long, easy eight miles round the parkland and fishing lakes south and west of the village, four hours, almost entirely on grassland and broad tracks with only modest rises but a real quantity of stiles, some of them stone. Start from the lay-by beside Spofforth Castle on the A661, which fills early on a fine weekend, and the 7 bus between Harrogate and Wetherby stops on the High Street; there are pubs at Kirkby Overblow at roughly halfway. The route crosses grazed pasture for much of its length so leads on there, several stone stiles will need a big dog lifting over, and the lakes are private fishing water rather than swimming; some sections turn very muddy after rain, though the old railway viaduct stretch near Spofforth stays firm.
The ruined fortified manor of the Percy family, standing free to enter at the edge of Spofforth village. English Heritage welcomes dogs on leads across the site, and it makes a good ten-minute detour on a walk in from the old railway line.
Village inn on Spofforth High Street with a large garden, Yorkshire cask ales and twelve bedrooms named after castles, a short walk from the ruins of Spofforth Castle. Dogs are welcome on request, so let them know in advance, and some rooms are dog friendly for twenty pounds a night per dog.
Three miles each way along the trackbed of the old Wetherby to Church Fenton railway, converted to a path in 1992 and largely surfaced, dead flat and wide enough for two abreast, though the middle section can turn muddy in a wet spell. Start from East Park Road in Spofforth beside the ruined castle, or from the old Wetherby station car park at the far end if you would rather walk it the other way; North Yorkshire Council resurfaced a long stretch recently. Cuttings and embankments shelter it from the wind, which makes it a good winter option for an old dog, but it is shared with cyclists and horse riders so a lead is sensible; the Castle Inn in Spofforth takes dogs at the end.
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