Hawnby Hill and Easterside Hill Walk

A complete loop of about 5 miles / 8.2 km from Dalicar Bridge at Hawnby, taking in Easterside Hill, a stretch of upper valley and moor, and the ridge of Hawnby Hill before dropping back to where you started. Total ascent is around 343 m, packed mostly into two short, steep pulls. Most walkers should allow 2.5 to 3 hours, a little more if you stop for the views or lose the thread of a faint path.

• Start at Dalicar Bridge near the church and follow road and field paths by Ladhill Gill.
• Climb onto Easterside Hill, broad and open, with open-access moorland on top.
• Drop to Easterside Lane and the valley paths, then across to Hawnby village.
• Take the steep ascent to the narrow crest of Hawnby Hill (about 298 m) and follow the ridge.
• Descend and return to Dalicar Bridge to close the loop.

Both hills are low by moorland standards but they rise abruptly out of the dale, so the ascents are short and genuinely steep. Easterside is the bigger, broader lump and slightly the higher of the two; Hawnby Hill is the sharper, more shapely one with a fine narrow top. Elevation on the walk swings between roughly 105 m in the valley and the high 280s on the tops, with a dip in the middle, so you are climbing twice rather than once.

These are classic tabular hills, and the payoff is out of proportion to the height. From the crests you look over Rye Dale and into Bilsdale, with heather moorland spreading away and the Bilsdale mast standing out as an easy landmark for orientation. Hawnby village and its church sit neatly in the middle of the circuit and make a natural halfway marker.

The path along Hawnby Hill is clear and obvious. The line to the top of Easterside is fainter, and elsewhere there are narrow, sometimes indistinct paths where it is easy to drift off route, so carry a map and know roughly where you are. Grass and steep ground get slippery when wet, and the descents deserve care in poor weather. Note that the path above Sportsman's Hall has been diverted to a newer bridge, so the on the ground line may not match older directions.

Dogs are welcome on the route. On moorland, keep them on a short lead under 2 m between 1 March and 31 July for ground-nesting birds, and keep them under close control around livestock at any time of year.

Start from the roadside or the small car park near the church and Dalicar Bridge, grid reference SE543898. Parking in and around the village is limited, and the approach lanes are narrow, so arrive early and park considerately. The walk uses public rights of way plus open-access land around Easterside Hill.

If 5 miles is not enough, there are longer circuits from the same area that link the two hills with more moorland, including versions around 7.5 miles and a separate 9-mile route starting from Newgate Bank. This loop is the tight, efficient version: both summits, both views, half a day at most.