Rosedale Abbey ~ Medium Walk

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Distance Covered: 4.25 miles   Time to complete walk: 2h 15m

Safety Tips: Be especially cautious on the open moor part of the walk as the ground can be marshy - use your walking stick to check the ground ahead. Use your GPS if unsure you are on the right track. Always head for a road if you lose your bearings. Start and finish this walk in broad daylight

A perfect walk for a bright Autumn day which includes walking upstream with the sound of the river for the first half of the walk and then open moor walking for the second half. The walk will take about 2 hours to complete.

 

 

The Rosedale Abbey walk

 

 

Getting There

 

Follow the A171 road out of Guisborough and after you climb Birk Brow look for the right turn off to Castleton. Follow the road into Castleton and as you come to the main street in the village, turn right for the road to Rosedale Abbey. Follow this road over the moors watching out for the sheep grazing at the roadside until you see a left turning for Rosedale Abbey. Follow this road into the village of Rosedale Abbey. Parking can be found on the roadside in the village.

 

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Map of the Rosedale Abbey walk

 

 

The Walk 

 

The walk starts by taking a right signposted path in between a converted chapel and the hotel car park in the centre of Rosedale Abbey village. Rosedale Abbey is really the name of this pretty village and not much remains of the Abbey itself.

 

 

Signposted path

 

 

Follow this path which follows the stream upstream through several stiles and gates through meadows. This is an enjoyable walk if you enjoy the sound of the water streaming down-stream.

 

 

Path

 

Streams converging

 

 



Before you reach a wooden footbridge crossing the stream, look for a right path which climbs uphill.

 

 

Turn right keeping the wall to your left

 



Climb up the tracks, keeping the stone wall to your left.  You should be able to see a derelict barn at the top of the hill. Turn left at a gate and cross the next field diagonally to another gate on the right. The barn will now be to your right.

 

 

Derelict Barn



 

Turn left away from the barn onto a track that will eventually lead you onto a road.

 

 

Bear left from the barn

 

Turn right onto road



 

Join the farm road and turn right following the road until you come to two farm buildings. Look for a signed footpath to the right after the last barn. Follow the path uphill, which is a steep climb. Once at the top look for a gate which leads onto the open moor.

 

 

 

Gate onto moor

 



Once through the gate bear right along the path and then bear left until you join a bigger moorland track coming from the left.  This will be found if you head towards the stone wall ahead on the moor. Once you join the moorland track follow this until you come to a main road. You will see the cars passing to indicate where it is.

 

Main road

 

Stone cross



 

Turn right and follow the road back into Rosedale Abbey village.

 

Rosedale Abbey 

 

Rosedale Abbey is a village in the Ryedale district of North Yorkshire, England. It is situated approximately 8 miles (13 km) north-west from Pickering, 8 miles south-east from Castleton, and within Rosedale, part of the North York Moors National Park.

A Cistercian Priory of the same name once stood on the site. All that is left today is a staircase, a sundial and a single stone pillar. Originally founded in 1158, the priory was inhabited by a small group of nuns who are credited with being the first people to farm sheep commercially in the region. The priory ceased to operate in 1535 due to the Dissolution of the Monasteries. The building was eventually dismantled in the 19th century when the stone was reclaimed for building - including a new church on the site of the original priory.
In the 19th century an iron ore mining industry was established. The population of the valley expanded rapidly until the demise of the mines in the 1920s. The standard-gauge Rosedale Branch railway line ran round the head of the valley, serving mine workings on either side, and across the moors to reach what is now the Esk Valley Line at Battersby Junction.
Rosedale Abbey comprises a collection of stone houses, and public houses, St Mary & St Laurence Church, an art gallery, tea room, glass studio and a village green. Inhabitants of the village consist largely of those born elsewhere, with very few being indigenous.
Tourism in the area has developed into a major industry, with many smaller properties renovated for private holiday homes or as self-catering accommodation. Hotels, larger properties, and farms provide bed and breakfast accommodation.
Recently a local parish council election attracted candidates opposed to the construction of affordable housing close to their properties.
The Rosedale Show is held in the village each August, and attracts some 5,000 visitors. The show dates back to 1871 and is one of the oldest in North Yorkshire.