Best walks near Thirsk by train
MapA day hike in the countryside is just a simple train journey away — explore the most charmingly located railway stations in North of England and plan your next day of green.
Selby Station to Snaith Station (Yorkshire)
45m from Thirsk, with one change.
great views. Very flat and easy walking: a canal towpath, a good-surfaced path across a former airfield, then open countryside, lanes and tracks and a flood bank and a bridge over the River Aire. Just short stretches of busy and verge-only road. Follows the Trans Pennine Trail across Burn Airfield, which has benches and interpretation boards; you may see gliders taking off and landing.
15km.
A short stretch of busy road at the start, and a section of roadside walking with no pavement on a straight part of Hirst Road.
Documented by Slow Ways — download GPX route
Selby Station to Goole Station (Yorkshire)
45m from Thirsk, with one change.
An enjoyable route that is remote in parts.
20km. Gentle ascents.
Remote in parts.
Documented by Slow Ways — download GPX route
Stockton Station to Middlesbrough Station (Durham)
45m direct from Thirsk.
A direct town-centre-to-town-centre route, under 20% on roads with the rest flat and well-surfaced tarmac path mostly along the riverside. Passes through a semi-industrial landscape and runs close to the river.
Easy: 7km, moderate ascents.
Documented by Slow Ways — download GPX route
Featherstone Station to Castleford Station (Yorkshire)
45m from Thirsk, with one change.
A largely step-free, fairly clear route on roads, paths and through a pair of parks, with a brief stretch of industrial ground between them. A field path leads out of Featherstone and the road into central Castleford is quite long.
Easy: 7km, moderate ascents.
The path runs close beside the M62 for about ten minutes, with heavy traffic noise; you are safely behind a hedge.
Documented by Slow Ways — download GPX route
Harrogate Station to Knaresborough Station (Yorkshire)
45m from Thirsk, with one change.
Amazing walk especially the section through the forest following the River Nidd. A varied, scenic and remarkably rural route between two towns, with a highlight stretch through Nidd Gorge following the River Nidd through forest. Starts on the tarmacked, surfaced former-railway Greenway, easy walking and then field and woodland paths that can get quite muddy in places at wetter times of year. Passes through Nidd Gorge, a nature reserve mainly owned by the Woodland Trust, on a route via the Nidderdale Greenway (a Sustrans cycle/pedestrian path along a former railway line).
Tough: steep ascents. 9km.
Documented by Slow Ways — download GPX route
Horden Station to Hartlepool Station (Durham)
45m from Thirsk, with one change.
A varied route through nature reserves and beaches.
Tough: steep ascents. 20km.
About two miles around the port alongside a main road.
Documented by Railwalks — download GPX route
Worksop Station to Retford Station (Nottinghamshire)
1h from Thirsk, with one change.
an excellent route; very enjoyable. An off-road and peaceful route using byways, the Chesterfield Canal towpath, farm tracks and with some walking through housed areas on safe pavements at either end. The canal section can get hemmed in by bracken and undergrowth; no serious hills. Follows the Chesterfield Canal towpath; passes Babworth Church, linked to the Pilgrim Fathers, with a display board; few benches in the middle third.
17km.
Lunch: The Chequers pub at Ranby is the only refreshment option in the middle third and needs a detour off the towpath; stock up at the start otherwise.
Documented by Slow Ways — download GPX route
Knaresborough Station Circular (Yorkshire)
45m from Thirsk, with one change.
beautiful.
Easy: 7km, moderate ascents. 2h.
Not wheelchair-accessible — steps with no ramp alternative; Can be very muddy or boggy.
Documented by Railwalks — download GPX route
Yarm Station to Stockton Station (Yorkshire)
15m direct from Thirsk.
Easy: 10km, moderate ascents.
Documented by Slow Ways — download GPX route
Middlesbrough Station to Redcar Central Station (Yorkshire)
45m direct from Thirsk.
A direct route from town centre to beach through a semi-industrial landscape full of wildlife, running close to the railway line in places. Mostly grassed path with some paved or gravelled sections, plus a metal bridge and steps and anti-bike chicanes; narrow in places and prone to flooding next to a bog. Recommended detours to the Tees Transporter Bridge, the Clock Tower and Locke Park, which has plenty of wildlife and benches.
13km. Moderate ascents.
A 50-metre boggy section is impassable without wellies or hiking boots even in dry weather, with no way to bypass it. The path runs very close to passing trains in places. Can be muddy.
Documented by Slow Ways — download GPX route
Darlington Station to Stockton Station (Durham)
30m from Thirsk, with one change.
Tough: 23km. Gentle ascents.
A track between roughly NZ4003 1630 and NZ4036 1628 may be blocked and impossible to walk; be prepared to divert.
Documented by Slow Ways — download GPX route
Durham Station to Chester-le-Street Station (Durham)
45m from Thirsk, with one change.
amazing views all the way; this gorgeous route. A gorgeous, largely traffic-free rural route reliably walkable year-round, on good ground with limited road walking on quiet lanes. Starts uphill out of Durham; the ground is mostly good but there is quite a lot of tarmac. The sections either side of Finchale Priory are briefly very steep, with a long and steep flight of steps and a footbridge over the river. Largely coincides with other waymarked routes. Finchale Priory is an English Heritage site.
12km. Moderate ascents.
The steps down to Finchale Priory are long and steep and can be tricky in wet weather; the quiet roads either side have no pavements and occasional fast cars.
Lunch: There is a cafe at Finchale Priory, roughly midway.