Thixendale ~ Medium Walk

Distance Covered:  4 miles Time to Complete Walk: 2 hours

Suitable for dog walking: Yes

Discover the hidden village of Thixendale on this walk which starts at this unique village in the Yorkshire Wolds. Follow the Wolds Way through fields and back down to the valley to the village again. Great for dog walking or just a short but rewarding walk. The mysterious medieval village of Wharram Percy is nearby for a visit. 

General Safety Tips: There is a fairly steep climb at the start of the walk. The road into Thixendale is very narrow, however there are passing points along the way. Take plenty of water if walking in extreme heat. 

The Thixendale Walk

Getting There

From Middlesbrough, follow the B1257 to Helmsley. From Helmsley join the A170 briefly which then reverts back to the B1257 and drive through Malton. From Malton follow Langton Road through Birdsall. Take a left turn through Aldo and follow the road into Thixendale. Free parking can be found near the church on the side of the road. 

Maps of the Thixendale Walk

The Walk

Follow the road out of Thixendale to the west and just after the last house look for a path on your right which climbs up a hill.

Climbing the hill take a look at the views around you.

Keep left at a fork in the path.

Keep on this path ahead

When the path bends to the left, look for a Wolds Way sign and enter the field and follow the path within the field to your right.

Follow the path to the end of the field and then turn right and keep to the side of the field again.

Follow the edge of the field to a gate.

Go through the gate and follow the grassy path down to another gate.

Go through another gate and follow the blue sign to the right.

Keep to the grassy path as it climbs the hill ahead. 

At the top, go through the gate and keep ahead and go through a small wooded area.

Emerge onto a path and turn right.

Follow the path ahead to your right beside the trees.

Follow this track for 0.75 miles and look for a signpost to your right and a gate into the field on your right.

Turn right and follow the edge of this field and follow the path as it bends to the left and right passing two Centenary Way signposts.

At the third signpost turn right off the track signed Centenary Way and walk down the field on a grassy track. At the field end leave the track and go through a waymarked gate.

The path goes left and passes  along the hillside to descend to a stile beside a gate.

Follow the yellow waymark straight ahead across the field. Pass over a track and continue to a sign by a stile. 

Go straight on to the left of the row of trees. The path descends to the village cricket field on the valley floor. Go over a stile by a gate on to a lane by a house. When you reach the main road turn right and head back to your car.

Thixendale 

Thixendale is a village and civil parish in the Ryedale district of North Yorkshire, England. Historically part of the East Riding of Yorkshire, it is located in the Yorkshire Wolds about 20 miles east of York.

The place-name 'Thixendale' is first attested in the Domesday Book of 1086, where it appears as Sixtendale and Xistendale. The name means 'Sigstein's dale or valley'. The name 'Sigstein' is also the source for the name of Sysonby in Leicestershire.

The population of the parish (which includes Wharram-le-Street) was 270 at the 2001 census rising to 293 at the 2011 census. In 2015, North Yorkshire County Council estimated the population of Thixendale to be 180, and that of Wharram to be 130.

The only pub, the Cross Keys, is a regular winner of local CAMRA awards.

The Yorkshire Wolds Way National Trail, a long distance footpath passes to the east end of the village.

The church of St Mary, Thixendale is one of a group of village buildings constructed to designs by George Edmund Street in 1868–70. It was designated in 1966 by English Heritage as a Grade II* listed building.It is on the Sykes Churches Trail devised by the East Yorkshire Historic Churches Group.

For many years until the late 1990s, television signals were blocked by the surrounding hills until a small transmitter was built, providing the village with terrestrial television for the first time. The transmitter ceased operation in the early 2000s, with villagers now relying on satellite TV and, since 2017, fast broadband.