The North York Moors - A Walker's Guidebook

Guidebook to 50 walks in seven regions throughout the North York Moors National Park, enabling walkers to discover the Tabular Hills, Hambleton Hills, Cleveland Hills, Northern Moors, High Moors, Eastern Moors and Cleveland Coast. The classic Lyke Wake Walk (65km) is also described, split over a four-day period.

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Walk 11 - Rievaulx Abbey and Old Byland

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Distance: 12km (7.5 miles)
Start/finish: Rievaulx Abbey, GR 574848
Maps: OS Landranger 100; OS Explorer OL26 South
Terrain: Generally easy walking along minor roads, clear tracks and paths, though some paths can be a bit overgrown or muddy
Refreshments: None on the route, but plenty of pubs, restaurants and cafés in nearby Helmsley
Transport: Occasional Moorsbus services to Rievaulx from Helmsley, with regular services passing Rievaulx Terrace above the village and abbey

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Rievaulx Abbey is a remarkable sight, its stout soaring columns and elegant arches dominating the small stone village of Rievaulx. Naturally the abbey attracts a lot of visitors, and the nearby Cleveland Way is quite popular too, but some of the other paths and tracks in the area, such as those around the village of Old Byland, are much quieter. This walk is essentially confined to wooded dales, except when it crosses higher fields to get from one dale to another. Allow extra time if exploring Rievaulx Abbey or Rievaulx Terrace.

Start at Rievaulx Abbey, either exploring the site straight away or taking note of its opening times for later in the day. Toilets are available, and parking for patrons, though parking is tight around Rievaulx and it makes sense to use the Moorsbus for access. Walk along a road beside the River Rye to reach Rievaulx Bridge. Turn right to cross it and walk straight ahead to pass a road junction, following the road signposted for Scawton until a clear gravel track on the right is marked as the Cleveland Way.

The track runs alongside a wood and passes a few shallow fishing ponds, then the route crosses stepping stones on the right. Go through a small gate, cross a track, cross a step-stile, cross a small field and cross a footbridge – all in that order. Turn left uphill through Nettle Dale Wood and keep to the trodden path climbing gradually uphill (not along the one branching left). Emerge to walk alongside fields and go through gates, crossing a track, before going through another gate into a wood. Turn left along a path lined with nettles and brambles to pass through a little wooded dale, gradually crossing the valley before being drawn up to a small gate. Step onto a road and turn right to enter the village of Old Byland, following the road as it swings left to reach the sloping green surrounded by old stone houses.

Old Byland
The village of Old Byland is indeed old, having been mentioned in the Domesday Book as ‘Begesland’. There was a wooden church there at the time, but there may have been a stone church on the site previously. The land around Old Byland was granted to Savignian monks in 1142, and they basically laid out the village in its current form. They left soon afterwards, in 1147, to build Byland Abbey (see Walk 12). Visitors would miss All Saints Church if it wasn’t signposted, and careful study of its stonework reveals some interesting Norman carvings.

Walk to the top end of the village and turn left as signposted for ‘Hawnby’ and ‘Boltby’, then turn right at a junction. Walk straight along a narrow road marked as leading to a ford. The road swings left and drops into Caydale, overlooking Caydale Mill. Before reaching the bottom of the road watch for a sharp right turn at a gate signposted as a public bridleway. Follow a grassy path across a flowery grassy slope. The path runs almost down to a river, then rises to enter a coppice woodland. The path in the woods can be quite muddy, and it later runs past a stand of conifers. Continue back into deciduous woodland as the path drops gradually downhill. Go through a gate and along a grassy track, then through another gate onto a tarmac farm road near Tylas Farm.

Turn right along the road and follow it down into a dip. Turn left to leave the road at a gate and follow a clear path through a field. Continue along a duckboard path on a wooded slope above the River Rye. Cross a stile and continue across a rough strip of land to reach a track. Turn left to follow the track over the fine stone arch of Bow Bridge. Walk uphill until there is a footpath signpost and a small gate on the right. Follow a riverside path downstream as marked. Note, when veering away from the river later, that the muddy ditch off to the left is an old canal, once used to float stone to Rievaulx Abbey during its construction. Keep going through gates to reach a road in the village of Rievaulx, and turn right to return to the abbey.

Rievaulx Abbey
Founded in 1132 by Walter l’Espec, Rievaulx Abbey was a Cistercian house and once the home of St Aelred. During its construction a short canal was built and rafts bore blocks of stone to the site. The abbey is built almost on a north–south axis, rather than the usual east–west, because of its situation in a rather narrow dale. Only 35 years after its foundation the abbey boasted 140 monks, 250 lay brothers and 260 hired laymen. Even in its ruinous state the walls rise to a prodigious height and give a good impression of the size and complexity of the building. There is an entrance charge, phone 01439 798228.

An optional short extension involves turning left along the road in Rievaulx and walking through the village to pass the church. Here, look out on the right for a path winding up a wooded slope to Rievaulx Terrace and Temples, a National Trust property.

Rievaulx Terrace and Temples
The grassy brow of Rievaulx Terrace offers fine views and a short extension to the day’s walk. There are two classical temples, the Tuscan Temple and the Ionic Temple, to visit. Both were built in the 18th century and the Ionic Temple features splendid paintings on its ceiling. There is an entrance charge, phone 01439 798340.