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.
Seven and a half miles down the Derwent to Kexby and back through Millfield and Hagg woods, three and a quarter hours, flat throughout with one boggy section on the riverbank and a firm surfaced return over the old railway viaduct. Start at the picnic site car park in Stamford Bridge, which is free, and the 747 bus between York and Bridlington stops in the village; the viaduct carries National Cycle Route 66 and is the fifteen-arch survivor of the York to Beverley line. The riverside fields are grazed by cattle in summer and the Derwent bank has steep undercut edges, so leads on there, but the woodland tracks are good off-lead ground; the river is nationally important for wildlife with otters and salmon, the woods drain reasonably, and the surfaced railway return keeps this walkable when the riverbank is a swamp.
A three-and-a-half mile riverside circuit downstream from the battle village along the Derwent and back over the red-brick railway viaduct, an hour and a half of level walking with ten metres of ascent in total. Start at the picnic site car park by the bridge in Stamford Bridge, which is free and signed from the A166, and the 10 and 747 buses from York stop in the village. The Derwent is deep, slow and clean here and dogs swim from the shelving banks, the viaduct path is a firm traffic-free surface, and there are gates rather than awkward stiles, but the riverside meadows carry cattle in summer so check each field before letting a dog run; the bank path is soft and puddled in winter while the old railway line stays firm.
A Vintage Inns country pub on York Road at Stamford Bridge, complete with a 23-foot medieval draw well visible through a porthole in the floor. Dogs are welcome in the bar area only — the most relaxed part of the pub — where the full food menu is still served, and water and treats are provided. Handy after a leg-stretch along the old railway viaduct over the Derwent.
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