Goathland to Grosmont Walk: The Rail Trail

This walk takes you from Goathland, past the Mallyan Spout waterfall, and along the rail trail, to reach the the fascinating village of Grosmont. You can then follow the rail trail to walk back the way you came, or make is a circular by walking up across the hills.

Looking across the grass field and up the hill on the Goathland to Grosmont circular walk. There is a house on the top of the hill with a red roof. There are a few trees dotted about.

Looking down and along the railway line as it curves left, along the Goathland to Grosmont circular walk. the rail track is at the bottom of two banks with bushes and trees.

Fun fact: Remember Heartbeat? Well, it was set in Goathland.

Another fun fact: Goathland Station was used as one of the stations in Harry Potter.

What I’m going to do in the guide, is first give you a little overview of the walk route from Goathland to Grosmont. Then I will go through the full logistics with a map, as well as useful tips for the walk. I will then describe the route step by step with lots of photos. At the end, I will provide suggestions for other walks near Goathland and Grosmont that I recommend.

For the first chunk of the walk from Goathland to Grosmont, my thought process was ‘this is a nice walk’. Nothing in particular blew me away. The rail trail is interesting (more on that in a minute), but otherwise, I wouldn’t have said there was anything to write home about.

That’s not to say I didn’t enjoy it. It was pleasant enough. The sound of the river was very relaxing. It was a peaceful walk….then I arrived in Grosmont, and my whole thought process changed.

Grosmont

Your first sight of Grosmont is from a viewpoint hilltop. This is when my excitement levels started to rise. I didn’t know anything about the place before I went there. All I knew was, that the walk from Goathland to Grosmont along the rail trail was a popular one, so I should try it.

Looking down over Grosmont, I knew there was something different about this place. This was no ordinary village.

Once I arrived down in the valley, the whole thing felt surreal. Like a toy village. A place where time stood still.

An orange sign saying 'Grosmont' on the platform of the railway station. There is a light blue bench on the left of the sign. There are street houses behind.

White and blue hut buildings in Grosmont train station. There is an orange hanging sign saying 'gentlemen', and another sign with the platform number 2 written on it.

Fun fact: Grosmont is known for the discovery of Ironstone back in 1836. It was discovered when the railway was being built.

The rail trail

The rail trail follows the old railway track linking Goathland and Grosmont, and is now a walking path. There are information boards all along the route, telling you a little about the history, and showing you some detours to see stuff.

A dirt path in the woods, leading to an information board and wooden railings.

A dirt path leading straight ahead in the woodland. There is a person in a yellow jacket walking ahead.

Looking along a narrow wooden bridge leading towards the leafless woodland trees.

Mallyan Spout Waterfall

Mallyan Spout is famous for being the tallest waterfall in the North York Moors, with a vertical drop of 70ft. It’s right at the start of the Goathland to Grosmont walk. From the trail start point, it’s about half a mile in.

You will walk over big rocks to get to it, and it looks like you can walk right under it. I stopped short because I didn’t want to get wet.

How long is the walk from Goathland to Grosmont?

From the start of the trail in Goathland, and along the rail trail to Grosmont, is about 3.5 miles. Add just under 1 mile if starting from the car park, and taking the detour to Mallyan Sprout. For the full circular walk, you are looking at about 8 miles.

Is the walk dog friendly?

I would say the walk between Goathland and Grosmont, along the rail trail, is dog friendly. There were a lot of dog walkers about. In some parts, there are signs to keep dogs on leads.

If you decide to walk back to Goathland from Grosmont along the hilltop circular route, then you will walk through a farm, so livestock may be present. I did pass some sheep on the roads. There are no stiles.

A sheep standing in the middle of the road junction, along the Goathland to Grosmont circular walk. The road is lined with stone walls to the right, and a hedge to the left.

A road of the hill side, with sheep grazing on the grass on the left side of it. There is a budding ahead on the left with a red roof.

Is the walk from Goathland to Grosmont easy?

All in all, I would say the walk is easy. There are a surprising amount of steps (with some mud thrown in) at the start. Nothing crazy though. Once past the steps, the rail trail from Goathland to Grosmont is a level, laid out trail.

Rugged stone steps leading uphill, with a partially broken wire fence on the left side of it, and a big tree on the other side of the fence.

Looking straight along the black path of the rail trail on the walk from Goathland to Grosmont. The path is lined with trees.

There is a hill to climb up and then down, to get to Grosmont in the valley, but again, it’s nothing crazy.

If you want to take the circular route back to Goathland from Grosmont, it is more hilly, and more muddy. But again, nothing too crazy.

There are also signs for the rail trail the whole way, so it would be hard to get lost.

A wooden trail signpost pointing the way to walk for goathland, Grosmont, and the rail trail.

How to get there

Goathland and Grosmont are located in the North York Moors in North Yorkshire. If you are staying in the nearby Whitby, then you can easily get here using public transport.

First you have the northern railway line which runs between Whitby and Middlesborough, stopping at Grosmont. Or you could get a steam train from Whitby to Goathland. That could be really fun. Arriving at the Harry Potter train station. You can find out more about the steam train here.

That would be a cool day out from Whitby. Getting a steam train to Goathland, walking the rail trail to Grosmont, then getting the main train line back to Whitby.

Parking in Goathland

If you do decide to drive here, in Goathland, there is a fairly large pay and display car park. It accepts contactless, and you can pay by the app. At the time of writing, it’s £3.50 for all day car parking. It also has public toilets, with good taps. The ones you press, but they keep water flowing for enough time for you to actually get the soap off your hands.

The car parking price is very reasonable, however, I’m a little bitter about it…

I always look a little harder to find free parking, however, on this occasion, I didn’t bother. Well, I did, but the place I went to was a difficult detour and turned out to be a lie. By the time I got to the car park, I was fed up. I had been driving for 1h30min and wanted to get going on the walk. So I didn’t try and find something else. What I soon discovered, was right by the start of the trail from Goathland to Grosmont, there is a roadside free parking.

This stuck with me for a good mile or two.

Logistics

Start/Finish: Goathland
Where is it: North York Moors in North Yorkshire.
Public transport: Yes. See further up the page for details.

Distance: About 8 miles for the circular route
Time: 3 hours, including a little wander around Grosmont
Difficulty: Easy

Terrain: Dirt, mud, steps, road
Amenities: Goathland has public toilets, a tea room, a bar and restaurant at the Inn on the Moor. Right next to the start of the trail is a restaurant called the Homestead Kitchen. Grosmont has a car park, coffee shop, tea room, and tavern.
Dog Friendly: Yes.

Time of year: Early spring

Map for the Goathland to Grosmont circular walk

You can find my more detailed map for the circular walk route from Goathland to Grosmont on AllTrails

Tips for walking from Goathland to Grosmont

I would suggest hiking boots, as there is a fair amount of mud. First at the start, out of Goathland. Then across the hilltops on the walk back to Goathland from Grosmont. If it’s summer and hasn’t rained for a bit, then it might not be so bad.

Have a little read of the information boards along the route, as they sometimes tell you of a small detour to take to see something interesting.
If you want to keep the walk simple, then walk out and back the way you came along the rail trail. If you feel like you want to stretch your legs a bit more, then take the circular route back.
I have read that you can find bluebells along the trail. Bluebell season is late march-early may.

Internet in Goathland is poor. So look up anything you need to look up before you get there.
I did this walk on a weekend, and it wasn’t busy at all. However, I have read the opposite. I suspect the busyness is more during high season and school holidays. So if you want the peace, you should be good if you do the walk in winter.

A large grass hill field, with masses of bite sand trees, and a small red roofed house on the top of the hill.

guide to the Goathland and Grosmont circular walk: Along the Rail Trail

If starting from the main car park in Goathland, walk onto the main road to walk past the village shops.

Two village shops in Goathland, with cars parked in front of them.

A post office building in Goathland, with a window display of products, and bunting.

I can’t continue without saying, how I can’t stop envisaging goats. I had this image of goats wandering the streets. The land of goats. I did see some sheep on the green. Close enough I guess.

To get to the start of the Goathland to Grosmont trail, you need to continue on the road for a little bit, following the sign for Mallyan Spout.

The road snaking ahead, with a grass bank on the left side, and a cottage oil the distance to the left.

Walk to Mallyan Spout

The trail start, is right next to the Mallyan Spout Hotel. This is when I clocked all the cars parked on the street further past the hotel. I was not happy.

The trail will take you downhill, on a dirt trail, with some nice views ahead. It’s along here where the steps start…and the mud.

A wooden trail sign next to a stone wall, pointing the way to walk through a metal gate, to get to Mallyan Spout waterfall.

A narrow dirt trail with bushes and trees to the right, and a wire fence and big field to the left.

Muddy dirt steps leading downhill under the trees, with a wooden railing on the right.

Once you reach the river, right takes you to the rail trail. However, turn left to walk to Mallyan Spout waterfall. You will have to walk over some big rocks to get to it.

A wooden trail signpost inferno of a tree, pointing left to walk to the Mallyan Spout waterfall, and right to Beck Hole.

The Mallyan Spout waterfall, visible to the left through the trees, with the river down on the right. The river is lined with moss covered rocks. — If you squint, you can see the Mallyan Spout Waterfall through the trees on the left

The main waterfall is a bit hidden. It looks like you can go further to it, maybe even right under it. It looked wet, so I chose not to. I was happy enough with my dry view from here.

Walk to the rail trail

Go back to take the other turning (directing you to Beck Hole). The next section of the Goathland to Grosmont walk route is along dirt trail, on a bit of an uphill gradient, with more steps thrown in.

A dirt trail, lined with a wire fence, and trees on the left side, and a field on the right.

A small wooden bridge, leading to stone steps up the small hill, surround by leafless straggly tree branches.

A wide dirt trail leading straight ahead towards a wooden gate. The trail is lined with a wire fence. There is a field on the right side, and trees on the left.

Stone and dirt steps leading downhill in the woods, on the walk to the rail trail.

Once you reach the cottage, turn left, following the signs to Grosmont and the rail trail.

A small field with black and white sheep grazing and a cottage on the other side, on the walk from Goathland to Grosmont.

A wooden fence with a sign for the cottage, which is just visible to the right.

A dirt path on the right, and a wooden trail signpost on the left, marking the way to walk for Goathland, Grosmont, and the rail trail. The path is lined with trees.

You will be led past the Beck Hole apple orchard project. It was planted in 2009 to celebrate the local schools bicentenary. Each tree has been adopted by a pupil at the school.

A wide dirt path, with a wire fence on the right, and apple orchard on the other side of the fence.

Fun Fact: Back in Victorian times, Beck Hole was famous for the Victorian Tea gardens and apple orchids. Visitors would come here, first by horse drawn carriage, and later by steam train.

A short way past the apple trees, you will reach the old Beck Hole railway station. It’s not there now.

A stone stump with a metal plaque, marking the location of the old Beck Hole Station, along the rail trail walk from Goathland to Grosmont.

The sign asked me if I could hear the ghostly toot of a steam engine, and the chatter of excited passengers.

I listened hard, but couldn’t hear it.

Walk along the rail trail

The majority of the rest of the walk to Grosmont, is along this easy path. Sometimes under the woodland trees, sometimes not.

There are information boards at various points along the walk, telling you a little about the history of the old railway line from Goathland to Grosmont. There are also a few of these around:

An iron plaque design showcasing the Beck Hole Ironworks, along the rail trail walk from Goathland to Grosmont.

At the twin arch bridge, it suggests that you go down the side trail, to take a look at it from below. So I did.

Looking through the tree trunks to the archway bridge over the river.

After a bit more woodland, and some more bridges, you will reach another detour suggestion to see some large lumps of abandoned ironstone.

a dirt path lined with straggly leafless trees, on the rail trail walk route from Goathland to Grosmont.

A wooden bridge leading ahead to a mass of trees.

A curvy narrow dirt path, lined with wooden railings, within the woods.

A long straight path with grass banks, and a few trees on the side.

Big black lumps of ironstone along the rail trail walk between Goathland and Grosmont.

It is thought that this lot got too hot when it was being heated to remove impurities and reduce its weight, resulting in unusable fused ironstone.

Esk Valley

After a bit more woodland walking along the rail trail, past a nice wooden bridge (remember this bridge for later), you will reach the village of Esk.

A wide path with a leafless hedge to the right, and some rooftops visible over the hedge ahead.

A cute wooden bridge, surrounded by leafless trees.

A brick wall, with a black sign saying 'Eske valley', and yellow sign saying 'children slow', along the rail trail walk from Goathland to Grosmont

Looking across the body grass field to a row of colourful houses in the Esk Valley, partway along the walk from Goathland to Grosmont. — The view looking back, a bit further ahead on the trail

I found it quite odd. Like a regular residential street had been picked up and placed here in the valley.

Walk to Grosmont

After some more walking, you will start to see the end of the railway ahead. You will then walk past it, and up a hill to reach the Grosmont viewpoint. The Esk Valley village and already peaked my interest. This view took it a step further.

Looking over wooden railings towards a few trains sitting on the end of the railway line.

A wooden viewpoint bench, with a view down into the valley and the rooftops of the village of Grosmont.

It all looked so pretty, which the information board told me wasn’t always the case. Grosmont used to be a noisy industrial hub, filled with blast furnaces working non stop, and tall smoke-belching chimneys.

Once you are finished with the view, follow the dirt path down to the right, and you will be led past the church and down into the village of Grosmont.

A dirt path leading downhill to the right, and a wooden fence and gate on the left side, with a view to part of the church past the gate. — Go through this gate

Exploring Grosmont

My first thought was, ‘this is really cute’. My next was, ‘where is everyone’. It’s one of those cute, time has forgotten places that you would expect to be a hot tourist attraction. But there was hardly anyone there. Just a few other people wandering about.

So I also had a wander.

The river flowing between the banks, and a house up the hill on the left, when walking through Grosmont. There are lots of bushes and trees along the river bank side.

Looking across the railway tracks of Grosmont station, to the platform on the other side, and the hut buildings in blue and white. there is a big clock face on the side of the brick building. There are white picket fences.

The path leading over a bridge, and the village houses on the other side.

Standing on the platform of Grosmont station, looking along the railway track. The platforms have small blue and white hut buildings, with orange hanging signs.

The tunnel

My wandering led me to a long dark tunnel. This is one of the worlds first passenger railway tunnels, used by horse drawn carriages.

Looking through a dark tunnel to the light on the other side.

Walking through it, with all the dripping, reminded me a little of the creepy tunnel on the Drake’s Trail walk. Except, that was way way creepier.

Out the other end, I followed the signs to see the workshop viewing gallery. It was all a little confusing, and I started to feel like I was walking somewhere I shouldn’t be. I walked past a bunch of shipping containers, and reached the end where all the trains were parked. I saw a train man working and realised I probably wasn’t meant to walk this far, so quickly hurried back.

Once I got back to safe territory, I noticed this:

A small area of old railway items, for viewing.

I think this might be the viewing gallery. I’m still not entirely sure.

Leave Grosmont to walk back to Goathland

To walk back to Goathland, leave Grosmont the way you came. Keep going, following the rail trail, until you reach the wooden bridge I told you to remember.

A wooden curved bridge just about visible through the straggly tree branches, on the walk back to Goathland from Grosmont.

Choose your route to Goathland

If you want to stick with the Rail Trail, continue straight. If you want to take the circular route back to Goathland, then turn left over the bridge

Standing on the bridge, with wooden railings, looking along it to the fields on the other side. there is a mass of woodland trees ahead on the other side of the field.

The circular walk back to Goathland from Grosmont

Over the bridge, the trail continues on a sort of ridge to take you to and under a railway bridge.

A large grass field, with a ridgeway along the right side, and a falling down brick shed on the left, on the walk back to Goathland from Grosmont.

A dirt trail along the grass on the right, with the river to the left, leading to an archway bridge, on the circular walk back to Goathland from Grosmont. There a re a few tall leafless trees with straggly branches.

I had a bit of a fright here. Two dogs came running at me, quite aggressively. One proceeded to jump all over me growling and barking. I did expect I would be bitten, and saw my life flash before my eyes, before the owner came and got them.

I was a little shaken by my near death experience. You see, I grew up terrified of dogs. I have a vivid memory of a great dane, bigger than me at the time, galloping towards me in a large field, and climbing up my dad to escape it. It took a lot of time and effort to get over that fear. I was well into my 20’s before I started to feel ok around dogs. I wonder how much this set me back.

(Later I would have another scary dog encounter at Sutton Bank. That one was worse.)

Walk up the hill and through the farm

Follow the trail as it takes you to the right and up the hill, past a tree farm (maybe they will all be grown up when you walk this), and around to the left.

A path on the right, leading uphill through the grass, with a new tree plantation on the left side.

Keep going up, and up some more, and you will reach the dirt road and farm. There are little arrow footpath signs to help you navigate the next bit. Keep an eye out for them.

Farm buildings with red roofs, and a dirt road curving through the middle.

A wooden stump trail sign with a blue arrow pointing left, with a view to the valley and hills behind it.

You should be led up the road and then to the right, which will take you through the farm. This is where the mud got serious.

A dirt road leading up the hill, with some farm buildings ahead to the right.

a muddy, wet road leading straight towards some farm houses, with some cars parked outside.

A very muddy path of ground through the farm.

I had strong feelings that I shouldn’t be walking here, but the arrows told me to go this way, so I had to trust them.

As I made my way through, I heard a dog barking. Without looking, I quickened my pace. I needed to get out of there before the dog got me.

Some way further ahead, the mud path will curve to the right. At this point you stay straight to reach the gate and fields.

A wooden fence and gate leading to a grass field. There is a blue arrow sign on the gate, pointing straight ahead.

Walk through the fields

Next it’s a bit of boggy field walking. Nothing that exciting really. I thought about how I might have preferred to walk back to Goathland from Grosmont along the rail trail. I’m not sure that the hill, all the mud, and the dogs, were worth this.

Then I saw the lumps in the hill ahead. This interested me a little more. I wondered what they were, as I could see nothing marking them on google maps.

a large grass field with a view ahead to some bumpy hills, on the circular walk between Goathland and Grosmont.

One of the information boards I had read, talked about lumps and bumps in a field near Beck Hole. The last remains of the Ironworks. I was near Beck Hole now. Is this what it meant?

Walk through Beck Hole, or over the lumpy hill

You have a few options to walk back to Goathland from here. You can walk up and past those lumps in the hill, or you can walk down and through Beck Hole. I was intrigued by the lumps, and kind of wanted to walk that way. But I also wanted to go to Beck Hole. See what it was about.

I could see on the map, that if I walked down to Beck Hole, there would be a trail that would lead me straight back to the car park on Goathland. I liked that. So I chose to stay on the road to Beck Hole. Hoping it would be worth it.

Walk through Beck Hole

After continuing down the road, which wasn’t that exciting, I started to regret not taking the lumpy hill route. Then out of no where, a sheep appeared in the road ahead. I don’t know why, but it made me laugh.

Then the whole gang appeared.

A group of sheep walking through the road junction, along the Goathland to Grosmont circular walk. The road is lined with stone walls to the right, and a hedge to the left.

I was starting to like this route now.

After the sheep, I had a look over the bridge and saw the railway line. Another tick for this route.

Looking down and along the railway line as it curves right, along the Goathland to Grosmont circular walk. The rail track is at the bottom of two banks with bushes and trees.

You will next walk downhill fairly steeply on a curvy road to reach Beck Hole. It’s a tiny little place. Just a few houses, like a hidden private exclusive village. I wondered how much it would cost to have a home here. Probably lots.

A road leading down and to the left. with a grass bank on the left side of it, and some cottage ahead on the right side. The cottage is surround by pretty trees.

I didn’t take photos of the houses to show you. The whole place felt quite private, so I thought best not.

The trail you want to get onto, turns right just next to one of the houses.

A wooden trail signpost, infant of a brick wall, pointing right to walk along the rail trail.

It’s along here that I saw a cute tree lantern. Someone told me, these are used to mark where someones ashes have been scattered. Like a memorial.

A black lantern with a white candle inside, hanging off a tree branch, on the walk back to Goathland from Grosmont.

Walk back onto the rail trail

Follow the path, and it will lead you back onto the rail trail. You should hopefully recognise where you are now. At this point, turn left, to walk towards Goathland.

A wooden trail signpost pointing left to walk to Goathland along the rail trail, and right to walk to Grosmont.

The final stretch of the Goathland and Grosmont circular walk

Your route back will differ slightly from how you got here. It starts off the same, but when you reach the cottage, instead of turning right (which will take you to the Mallyan Spout waterfall), continue straight. Even if you parked at the free parking street by the Mallyan Spout Hotel, I would suggest still going straight, so you can go and see Goathland.

The path leading ahead on the left, alongside a cottage, with a field and wooden fence eon the right. There are woodland trees ahead on the other side of the field. — Walk past the cottage on the left

This will lead you uphill through woodland. Lots of uphill. More uphill than you would think.

A dirt trail winding uphill though the woodland trees. There it a wooden bench ahead on the left side of the trail.

At the road, cross over and pick up the trail on the other side. This will take you all the way back to Goathland and the car park.

As I drove out of Goathland, I passed by the free parking street. Which means I would have passed it on my way in. This made me even more bitter.

More walks near Goathland and Grosmont

The next day, I came back this way and tried the Hole of Horcum route. It’s a wonderful walk (which you can read about here) taking you around and through a giant natural amphitheatre. It’s not a challenging walk, but it is more difficult than this one from Goathland to Grosmont.

If you head to the coast, just south of Whitby, I recommend you try the walk to Ravanscar. It’s not too tough, and you go through Robin Hood’s Bay, which is really cute. You might also get to see lots of seals.

Right in the heart of the North York Moors, you have this circular walk from Rosedale Abbey. Like the Goathland to Grosmont walk, it takes you partly along the old railway line, with remnants of the industrial past along the hills.

If you like views, then you must go to Sutton Bank. I was able to see as far as the Yorkshire Dales on that one. Next to Sutton Bank, you have the Kilburn White Horse. You can make the Sutton Bank circular longer by including the White Horse, or you could do this short and easy circular route just to see the horse.

For many more walks I recommend, you can see them all on my guide on the best walks in the North York Moors.

Pin it for later: Goathland to Grosmont walk along the rail trail

Goathland to Grosmont walk guide, along the rail trail in North Yorkshire.

You can find more information about the area on the North York Moors website.