Its stunning heather moorland is entwined with scenic dales and
attractive villages.
Sutton Bank is probably the best known location in this range of hills.
Each year thousands of people come here to admire the wide panoramas
over the Vales of Mowbray and York. The view is enhanced by Lake
Gormire, a natural lake lying in a hollow at the foot of the bank. James
Herriot, Yorkshire’s most famous vet, described it as ‘the finest view
in England’.
The North York Moors National Park has the largest expanse of
heather-clad moorland in England and Wales, and when the heather
flowers, in late summer, the moors are transformed by a purple carpet
stretching for miles in all directions. Once you have experienced the
charm of the Hambleton Hills you will find the area difficult to resist.
Each walk has a two page description, a colour map with numbered arrow
pointers and route directions with grid references to aid map reading.
All of the walks follow circular routes ranging from 5.75 to 8.5 miles
(9.5 to 13.5km).
| Walks in the Hambleton Hills |
Miles |
| Byland Abbey and Scotch Corner |
7.0 |
| High Paradise and Boltby Scar |
6.5 |
| Rievaulx Abbey and Old Byland |
6.2 |
| Kirby Knowle, Upsall and Felixkirk |
6.5 |
| Steeple Cross and the Hambleton Drove Road |
5.7 |
| The Hawnby Hills and Shaken Bridge |
8.5 |
| The White Horse and Lake Gormire |
6.5 |
| Beacon Banks, Husthwaite and Kilburn |
8.5 |
| Gilling Moor and the Fairfax Lakes |
7.5 |
| Ashdale and Riccal Dale |
8.5 |
