Parking
Start and finish at Osmotherley market cross (SE 456 973). Use legal village parking and walk to the cross; this trail is not based at the priory car park.
Overview
About Osmotherley and Mount Grace
Why go
- Strong historical sequence for a short loop
- Village pubs and cafes at the finish
Heads up
- Steep woodland descent and climb
- Two stiles plus road walking
Map & elevation
The route
Loading the North York Moors map
Full mapElevation86–229 m
Plan your hike
Before you go
Parking
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 Osmotherley and Mount Grace, 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 area
Mount Grace Priory0:00 / 0:30
“You're coming up on the access road for Mount Grace Priory, tucked away beyond the main road.”
Plays on the road 1.9 km from the trailhead in the Parkwolf North York Moors Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- Cod Beck Reservoir and Sheep Wash
- Black Hambleton from Square Corner
- The Bells of Mount Grace
- The Meal Through the Wall
- 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 Osmotherley and Mount Grace
The walk in shortA circular walk of 3 1/4 miles (5.
A circular walk of 3 1/4 miles (5.2 km) starting and finishing at Osmotherley market cross, allow around 3 hours once you factor in the historical stops and the uneven ground. Public toilets are at the start and finish.
How the route unfoldsYou leave the village on the road towards Thirsk, then pick up the public footpath by the play…
You leave the village on the road towards Thirsk, then pick up the public footpath by the play area gate. From there the walk follows a private farm road past Siddle Farm, crosses a stile into fields and drops through woodland to Mount Grace Priory. After looking round, you retrace your steps back up to the field junction, continue through a field and farmyard, and join a track that forms part of the Cleveland Way. A short private track leads out to the Lady Chapel and back, then a stretch of road returns you to Osmotherley.
Difficulty in practiceModerate, scored 4 out of 10.
Moderate, scored 4 out of 10. The work is in the descent to the priory and the climb back out, not in any technical ground. Route samples run from roughly 85 m up to about 238 m, with somewhere in the region of 164 m of ascent and the same again in descent.
Terrain and stilesMostly field and woodland paths, with village road, farm track and a private farm road mixed in.
Mostly field and woodland paths, with village road, farm track and a private farm road mixed in. Expect two stiles, uneven footing in the fields and woods, and one genuinely steep woodland section in both directions.
The Lady Chapel spurThe track out to the Lady Chapel is privately owned by the Diocese of Middlesbrough and access…
The track out to the Lady Chapel is privately owned by the Diocese of Middlesbrough and access is by permission, so treat it as a courtesy rather than a right of way and keep to the track. Dogs must be on leads in the chapel grounds, and only guide dogs may go inside the chapel.
DogsIn the priory grounds dogs are welcome on short leads, but not in the house, the cafe interior…
In the priory grounds dogs are welcome on short leads, but not in the house, the cafe interior or the reconstructed monk's cell. Assistance dogs are welcome across the site. Keep dogs on a short fixed lead where you pass livestock in the fields and farmyard.
Finishing upThe two historical sites and the hillside chapel are the payoff, and the loop returns you…
The two historical sites and the hillside chapel are the payoff, and the loop returns you straight into Osmotherley, a long established walking village on the Cleveland Way with pubs and cafes for afterwards and an information point at the Top Shop.
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.
