Let's Walk the North York Moors The Northern Area
This book is one of three new walking guides which explore the
North York Moors National Park. This guide covers the park’s
northern area, which extends from Great Ayton in the west, north
past Guisborough, and east along the Esk Valley. The highest
moorland areas lie to the south, divided west to east by Esk Dale
and separated by a series of scenic tributary dales, which join the
river Esk’s primary valley as it flows to the North Sea at Whitby.
The northern area has modest forestry covering, mainly to the west
above Guisborough. In contrast, heather and ling clothe the moors,
while field boundaries, meadows and dry-stone walls distinguish
the dales. Esk Dale has many opportunities for walkers, from
leisurely rambles in the lower valley to challenging moorland treks
for the more energetic.
Each of the guides has ten circular routes and contains:
• Full-colour maps with numbered pointers to identify the
current position along each of the walks.
• Illustrated throughout with colour photographs of features
seen during the walks.
• Route directions with grid references beside each map to
aid navigation.
• What3words, postcode and complete OS reference to
identify each walk’s starting point.
The concept for this trilogy came about during the Covid 19
pandemic, which resulted in several national lockdowns. However,
rather than becoming a couch potato, I decided to fill this period
of confinement by writing these walking guides. Although my
previous books in the Her Master’s Walks series explored the
moorland areas of the North York Moors National Park, they had
barely scratched the surface of the available footpaths. Therefore,
I thought it was essential to address the North York Moors again.
Initially, I had planned to write just one book covering the whole
of the moors. However, due to my extensive list of previous walks,
I soon realised that it would be necessary to produce a trilogy
of guides to give the moors sufficient coverage and reflect their
beauty and versatility