Looking for a good day’s walk to do in the Yorkshire Wolds? One that isn’t too busy with walkers? Then this Thixendale 9-mile circular is for you!
Thixendale is a beautiful, tiny village, located in the Ryedale district, North Yorkshire. It is not too far from the City of York and the Town of Malton. The walk starts and finishes in the village of Thixendale. The route takes you far beyond the village, deep into the Yorkshire Wold’s, seeing views for miles and miles.
The Walk
The walk isn’t strenuous, but I know the mileage might put you off! If the mileage is too far, you can just walk part of the route and turn back once you’ve walked enough. Just remember, if you have walked 2 miles one way, it’s going to be another 2 miles back!
The route took us just under 5 hours to complete. This included 2 food stops, plenty of stops to take photos, and even places where we went slightly wrong!
Parking
The walk starts and finishes in the village of Thixendale. You can park anywhere along the street, free of charge, for as long as you need. We did the walk on a Sunday, on a lovely summer’s day. We arrived at 11 am and there was plenty of room to park.
The Route
Follow this map, as you walk the route, you shouldn’t get lost! Make sure your location is turned on and you should be able to see exactly where you are, on this map. Or if you prefer, download the GPX file and use it on your choice of route tracker.
Please note: you will be able to see on this route map, where we went wrong and doubled back on ourselves. This is around waypoint 5, just before Worm Dale.
1.
Starting in Thixendale, head out west from the village. Just after you pass the houses, there should be a Public Bridleway to your left-hand side, leading you off the road. Shortly after, there should be another signpost pointing to your left, saying Public Bridleway. Take the Bridleway and walk through Thixen Dale and Milham Dale valleys, until you reach a farmhouse.
2.
At the farm, take the track on your left and follow it towards the road. At the road junction, take the road on your left-hand side and walk until you see the second footpath, going off to your right. The footpath travels downhill, following the edge of the field. At the bottom, there is a stile. You can either climb over the stile here or follow the footpath along the bottom of the field to the gate. Here, makes a great lunch spot!
3.
Follow the edge of the field downhill, keeping the tree line on your left-hand side of your body. Keep following the footpath downhill as you head into another field. Continue to walk downhill, towards the gate at the bottom of the field. You may see some cows. Cross through the gate and walk along the gravel farm road, pass Woodley Farm, and into Kirby Underdale. Walk through the village, passing the church on your left-hand side. Eventually, you will see a footpath sign on your right-hand side.
4.
Take the footpath on your right-hand side and walk diagonally uphill towards a gate. Cross through the gate and follow the path on your left-hand side up to the farmhouse. Turn right onto Painsthorpe lane and follow it up the hill until you reach the road. Take your left and follow it for a very short distance, to you see the Public Bridleway sign. Take the Public Bridleway on your right-hand side and follow it past the farmhouse.
5.
Follow the chalk Bridleway for a short while, until the path bends to your left. Here you leave the Bridleway and head onto a footpath down into Worm Dale. The footpath wasn’t very clearly marked, so make sure you lookout for it. We went wrong here and carried on walking on the chalked Bridleway for too long, and ended up having to turn back on ourselves.
6.
As you walk down into Worm Dale, you will come to a path junction. You will see the signpost for the Yorkshire Wolds Way. Take your left and follow the Yorkshire Wolds Way route along the bottom of Thixendale Valley. Eventually, you will meet the road. Taking your right, follow the road leading into Thixendale, to where you started the route from. I hope you have had a lovely walk.
Enjoy this walk? Please check out some of my other walking guides for similar routes in the area:
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