Ebor Way

The Ebor Way is a point-to-point walk of 76.4 miles (122.9 km) one way, running from Helmsley in the north down to Ilkley in West Yorkshire. It is not a loop, so every stage needs a plan for getting to the start and home from the finish. Most people take 4 to 7 days, with about 30 to 40 hours of walking in total. You will sometimes see it described as a 70 mile route, which is just a rounded public figure; the mapped line comes out at a little over 76 miles.

It also works neatly as a link route: it starts where the Cleveland Way ends at Helmsley and finishes where the Dales Way begins at Ilkley.

Rated 6 out of 10. Gradients are generally gentle and there is nothing technical, but the cumulative distance does the work. Expect field paths, farm tracks, riverside paths, quiet lanes, stiles and a fair number of road crossings, plus stretches of urban footway around York and the larger towns.

Ground conditions are the recurring friction. Low-lying farmland and riverside sections hold water, so mud and soft ground are a normal part of this walk after rain at any time of year. Boots with grip and gaiters are sensible rather than optional.

The route is waymarked with a green disc, but waymarks alone will not carry you through the field-path and village sections. Carry detailed mapping and know your stage plan for the day, especially where the route deviates around Newton Kyme and Thorp Arch and where it threads through built-up areas.

You pass through four distinct landscapes: the southern fringe of the moors, the wooded and rolling Howardian Hills, the flat agricultural Vale of York with its rivers Foss and Ouse, and finally the gritstone country of the Chevin and Ilkley Moor. Livestock in fields is common along most of the farmland miles.

The practical start is the Cleveland Way Car Park beside Helmsley Castle. The finish is in Ilkley. Because it is a linear route, work out train and bus links between your stage ends before you set off, and book beds ahead where villages have limited options.

Dogs are allowed on the public footpaths that make up the route. Keep them under close control, use a lead around livestock and through built-up sections, and follow any local signs.

• Plan food and water stops carefully; services are uneven between settlements even though the route passes plenty of villages.
• Carry more water than you think you need on the farmland days.
• Splitting the walk into shorter day stages works well and is how most people tackle it.

If you want continuous dramatic scenery, the Cleveland Way delivers more sustained moorland and coastline. If you want a tighter, more focused riverside and valley experience, the Dales Way is the better fit. The Ebor Way's appeal is different: variety, changing landscapes and a walk that carries you straight through the heart of a historic city.

The last day is the scenic high point for many walkers: woodland, weathered gritstone and open moor after days of field paths and river banks.

• Helmsley to Strensall: moorland edge gives way to rolling farmland through Oswaldkirk, Cawton, Hovingham and Sheriff Hutton.
• Into York: the way follows the River Foss into the city, passes the Minster, skirts the medieval walls and leaves along the River Ouse.
• Vale of York: Bishopthorpe, Copmanthorpe and Bilbrough Top lead to Tadcaster, then the Wharfe valley through Boston Spa, with deviations near Newton Kyme and Thorp Arch, on to Wetherby.
• The western finish: Linton and Harewood, then a climb to Bramhope and Otley Chevin, a descent through Menston, and a final crossing of Ilkley Moor past the Cow and Calf rocks into Ilkley.