Helmsley and River Rye

A circular walk from the market town of Helmsley in Ryedale. The route heads south along the banks of the River Rye, through pastures and crop fields, crossing the river via the footbridge alongside the fish farm and then returning on a higher farm track giving glorious long-reaching views. This walk is published through a collaboration with Ryedale District Council. For more visitor information on the area including events and accommodation, go to www.VisitRyedale.co.uk The walk is flat for the most part, with just a couple of steady climbs. The riverside grass paths can get muddy at times. You will need to negotiate several single gates, a couple of kissing gates, some footbridges and 4 stiles. The first stile has a very generous adjacent dog gate, but the following 3 have tighter wooden fence surrounds (suitable for small dogs to squeeze through but larger dogs may need a lift over). You will be sharing the riverside pastures with a mixture of horses, sheep and cattle, so take particular care with dogs. If you want to avoid the cattle and tight-surround stiles, a more dog-friendly option would be to follow just the first 1.5 miles, a 3 mile there and backwalk (with only sheep, horses and a generous dog gate to contend with). At the end of the walk you will need to cross the A170 river bridge (which does not have a pavement) so take particular care of traffic at this point. Allow 2 hours. There are public toilets in Borogate (just south of Helmsley Market Place at the start and end of the walk). If you are looking for refreshments, you will be spoilt for choice with pubs, cafes and restaurants in Helmsley at the start or end of the walk. OS Map: Explorer OL26 North York Moors Western Area. This walk follows public footpaths and bridleways which cross private and public land. Please respect people's privacy, keep dogs under control and remember the Countryside Code.