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This
3-mile walk is one devised by the North York Moors National Park
and I was in the company of one of its senior rangers Bernard McLinden.
The
village of Grosmont is your starting point, a place that was little
more than a collection of farms until the arrival of the train in
the 1830s.
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| Bernard
McLinden |
Then
ironstone was discovered and mining became a big industry in the
area.
 Listen
to Bernard McLinden and Mike Kemp on the walk
When
you walk this route you’ll see that nature has healed the scars
but the houses and the railway are the legacy of that time.
It’s
at Grosmont where you catch the train the short distance to Goathland,
a 15 minute journey. From your carriage are delightful views of
the countryside you’re about to walk.
Mind
the tourists in Goathland because the village is a mecca for fans
of both the small screen and the silver screen.
Goathland
is the location for the long-running TV series Heartbeat and is
where some of the filming for the Harry Potter movies took place.
But leave the tourists behind because the countryside outside Goathland
has much to offer.
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| North
Yorkshire Moors Railway |
The
walk back to Grosmont is known as the Rail Trail not only because
your route takes you close to the track but also you’re walking
on a former railway line.
Just
outside of Goathland the path drops steeply, known locally as the
Beck Hole Incline.
Horses
used to pull the train coaches the twelve hundred metres up the
hill but it’s days were soon numbered after a line snapped
and a carriage careered down the slope in 1864. Two passengers died
and many others were injured.
The
walk takes you past Beck Hole. You go into Buber Wood and over a
wooden bridge. You can still see the stone supports and wooden stakes
which supported the crossing for the railway line.
This
is a delightful spot to linger and enjoy the beck of Murk Esk. The
easy-going path eventually takes you into Esk Valley, the name for
a hamlet which was built to accommodate the workers for the mining
industry and the railway.
It
was only in the 50s that the community raised enough cash to build
a road for themselves. Until then they had to rely on the railway
for supplies.
The
hamlet has a terrace of 24 cottages, a sight that seems so out of
place in the countryside where you’d perhaps expect farms and
chickens until you remember the industrial past of this area.
Before
long you’re on the outskirts of Grosmont the sheds of the North
Yorkshire Moors Railway a sign of your return. But there is still
one last surprise.
After
a short climb you come out to a view across the rooftops of Grosmont
and its surrounding upland. As you enjoy the spectacle it’s
not long before you hear the shrill whistle of a steam train which
is a reminder of how Grosmont, and its solidly-built houses, came
to be.
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It
is essential for both the success and safety of the walk that
an up-to-date weather forecast is obtained before setting
out.
