Parking
Start at Goathland village car park, YO22 5LX, with public toilets. Use the car park rather than the grass verges through the village.
Overview
About Goathland, Mallyan Spout and the Roman Road
This is an 8.2 mile loop taking about 4 to 4.5 hours, and that figure is the complete walk from Goathland car park, including the public access approach to the circuit and the return along it. Expect a moderate to hard outing: sustained moorland distance, repeated climbs and descents, and long stretches of rough, open ground. The named loop section alone carries roughly 370 metres of cumulative ascent, spread over many short pulls rather than one big climb.
Why go
- Waterfall, moorland and heritage in one loop
- A varied full-day route from the village
Heads up
- Wet, rocky ravine and stepping stones
- Long exposed middle section
Map & elevation
The route
Loading the North York Moors map
Full mapElevation73–219 m
Plan your hike
Before you go
Parking
Best time to go
Safety
8 active North York Moors alerts
- ClosureHawnby Bridleway 110 closurePublic Bridleway 25.122/110/1 in Hawnby is closed to pedestrians, cyclists and equestrians because its bridge is unsafe. - The closure is between grid references SE 5309 9073 and SE 5335 9097.Official details
- ClosureWest Ayton Footpath 1 closurePublic Footpath 1 in West Ayton (Forge Valley) is temporarily closed because its boardwalk is unsafe. - The closure is between SE 9860 8494 and SE 9839 8712.Official details
The highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.
North York Moors Tour Guide
Your drive to Goathland, Mallyan Spout and the Roman Road, narrated.
Parkwolf is a GPS audio tour guide for North York Moors National Park. As you drive, it chimes in with what’s ahead: hidden gems, upcoming stops, history, geology, and wildlife, right through your car’s speakers.
Recorded for this trailhead
Goathland Village and Station0:00 / 0:30
“You're coming up on Goathland, where sheep graze the village common and the station sits a short walk downhill.”
Plays as you drive up to this trailhead in the Parkwolf North York Moors Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- Goathland’s Two Railway Routes
- Fylingdales’ Vanished Golf Balls
- Twelve Oaks for Goathland
- Goathland’s Dancing Plough Stots
- 298 audio storiesacross North York Moors’s roads, triggered by GPS as you drive
- Wildlife heatmapsfor Eurasian Otter, Red Deer, Grey Seal, and 13 more
- Works offlinemaps, 126 trails, 65 places, and audio download before you lose signal
- CarPlay readysimple controls built for the drive
“Fantastic app with many points of information… It’s great to just turn on while you’re driving and it gives you an audio tour of the national Park. We love it!!!!”
Trail guide
Hiking Goathland, Mallyan Spout and the Roman Road
The route in sequenceThe causeway has been known for generations as a Roman road, though its age is now debated and…
The causeway has been known for generations as a Roman road, though its age is now debated and an early medieval date is also considered possible. Either way it is a genuinely old engineered line across the moor, and walking it is the heritage payoff that balances the waterfall at the other end of the loop.
- Leave Goathland car park and follow the public road and footpath links down toward Beck Hole.
- Pick up the circuit into the wooded ravine of West Beck, where Mallyan Spout drops around 70 feet over a sandstone lip.
- Climb out through woodland and field paths and cross open heather moorland westward.
- Join the Wheeldale Roman Road, a long-exposed stone causeway and earthwork, and follow it across the moor with broad views in most directions.
- Descend toward Wheeldale Beck, then work back east over the moor and lanes to Goathland.
Footing and conditions underfootBoots with grip are sensible, and so is allowing more time than the mileage suggests.
Boots with grip are sensible, and so is allowing more time than the mileage suggests. Water levels and slick stone in the ravine make the descent to the falls the slowest part of the day for many walkers.
- Rough and rocky sections, especially in the ravine near the waterfall, where wet rock can be slippery.
- Steps and gates on the wooded valley sections.
- Stepping stones across Wheeldale Beck below the Roman road, which demand care and a steady foot.
- Exposed open moorland for a long central stretch, with little shelter and few easy shortcuts once you are committed.
Parking, access and dogsStart from the Goathland village car park (YO22 5LX), which has public toilets.
Start from the Goathland village car park (YO22 5LX), which has public toilets. Use the car park rather than the grass verges through the village. Dogs are welcome on the public rights of way here, but this route crosses grazed moor and farmland, so keep them on a lead near livestock and under close control throughout. Take extra care with dogs around the fast-flowing beck and the stepping stones.
How this differs from the short Mallyan Spout walkThe separate short circular from Goathland to Mallyan Spout and Beck Hole is a much easier…
The separate short circular from Goathland to Mallyan Spout and Beck Hole is a much easier outing of under 3 miles, staying in the valley and back to the village. This route uses the same waterfall as one feature of a far longer day, adding the moorland crossing, the Wheeldale Roman Road and the beck stepping stones. If you want a brief look at the falls, take the short walk. If you want the full moorland and heritage circuit, plan for the distance, the exposure and the rough ground described here.
Wildlife
Wildlife in North York Moors
15 sightingsEurasian OtterMost seen around 7 PMSighting map
10 sightingsRed DeerMost seen around 7 AMSighting map
79 sightingsGrey SealMost seen around noonSighting map
26 sightingsWestern Barn OwlMost seen around 7 PMSighting map
33 sightingsEuropean BadgerMost seen around 7 PMSighting map
10 sightingsMute SwanMost seen around noonSighting mapSighting maps show where each species has been reported across North York Moors. Wildlife moves, so no sighting is guaranteed.
