Heartbeat Country

Date: Saturday 25 August 2012
Route: Goathland Circular via Mallyan Spout
Distance: 6.5 miles

Two days in Whitby over the Bank Holiday weekend - a great excuse to invest in the Pathfinder North York Moors walking book and to hit the hillsides!

As we're walking with 'Heartbeat'-loving family members, the walk from Goathland (or "Aidensfield", as it appeared in the TV series) is an obvious first choice - and as it includes moorland and woodland sections, a breathtaking waterfall and an old railway line, it is a great walk to do, even though the woodland path is pretty hard-going and muddy at times, following recent wet weather.

There are versions of this walk in both the Pathfinder Guide and the AA 1001 Walks book - we end up doing a combination of both, starting from the main car park in Goathland village, as per the Pathfinder, but missing out a section of Roman Road, as per the AA, so our total walk is around 6 1/2 miles.

The walk starts off along a disused George Stephenson railway line through woodlands, before heading up over a hillside, along an undulating path to a waterfall so picturesque it really ought to feature in a Timotei ad.  Once past the waterfall it's a rocky walk along the river, with a fair amount of clambering around rocks and jumping around muddy puddles - slow-going at times but good fun.

The route then heads downhill between fields, climbs up to follow the Roman Road, with far-reaching views over the surrounding hillsides, crosses a ford, climbs up through farm buildings and boasts a final section across the hills, through heather and flustered game-birds, using cairns as landmarks to guide the way back to Goathland.

This definitely isn't the easiest walk in the North York Moors, but I would still recommend it to anyone who walks regularly - and the pint in the "Aidensfield Arms" at the end seemed to go down well with the 'Heartbeat' fans too.