If your family enjoys walks, this beautiful circular walk starting at the ‘Heartbeat’ village of Goathland is absolutely fabulous! A fabulous waterfall (and a bit of an adventure to get there), some lovely views and a glimpse of a steam train!
On arrival in Goathland we had a little wander around some of the village shops, including a great sweet shop!
The walk itself starts at the Mallyan Spout Coffee Shop (closed over winter), where we were able to fuel up with hot drinks and cake – and choose some treats to take with us! Next to the coffee shop is a steep path down to the river. Although you can also complete the walk in the opposite direction, we find it easier with children to take this part of the route downhill!
At the river, turn left along the path to get to the waterfall. The path is a little of a scramble in places, so small children might find it difficult. In wet weather this may be slippy, but our children loved the challenge! Over rocks and past a money tree, it’s well worth it to see Mallyan Spout waterfall- the highest waterfall in the North York Moors. Photos taken, you need to backtrack on the path to resume the route towards Beck Hole.
On this part of the path there are a number of boardwalks and bridges, with some lovely views to enjoy! One you reach the path junction, we detoured towards Beck Hole, which has a fabulous teeeeeny pub (Birch Hall Inn) but be warned that this is closed on Tuesdays and Saturdays.
The walk back to Goathland is along the old rail trail (if you like this you could also try the Grosmont to Goathland Rail Trail- read more here). It’s an easy track, with a couple of benches to rest on along the way. It is slightly uphill so make sure you keep back some snacks to fuel the kids!
Back at Goathland we did more exploring, including visiting the education area at Goathland station which had some nice activities for them to try!
