Parking
Start at the Rievaulx Abbey visitor parking beside the visitor centre; the loop begins and ends at the Abbey.
Overview
About Rievaulx Loop
Why go
- Abbey ruins and terrace views
- Varied woodland, pasture and riverside scenery
Heads up
- Gates and rough footing
- Short road section
Map & elevation
The route
Loading the North York Moors map
Full mapElevation75–116 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 Rievaulx Loop, 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
Rievaulx Abbey0:00 / 0:37
“You're approaching Rievaulx Abbey, hidden low in the wooded valley of the River Rye. Its scale only becomes clear once you're among the ruins, where the church arcades still stand several storeys high.”
Plays as you drive up to this trailhead in the Parkwolf North York Moors Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- Rievaulx Terrace
- Aelred and the Art of Friendship
- The River the Monks Moved
- National Centre for Birds of Prey
- 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 Rievaulx Loop
The route in shortThis is a full circular walk starting and finishing at Rievaulx Abbey, and the 3.7 km (about 2.
This is a full circular walk starting and finishing at Rievaulx Abbey, and the 3.7 km (about 2.3 miles) figure is the complete circuit, not an out-and-back half. Most people walk it in around an hour, with roughly 48 m of ascent and 49 m of descent between about 74 m and 123 m. Add time freely, because the stopping points are the whole reason to come.
Sequence and payoffFrom the abbey, head northwest through horse fields, following the line of the ancient canal…
From the abbey, head northwest through horse fields, following the line of the ancient canal that once diverted water from the River Rye to serve the monks. Hand-gates lead you onto a stoned track over Bow Bridge, a Grade 2 listed crossing worth a pause. Turn southeast through a field gate into rough wooded pasture, then into woodland for a gentle climb. This is where the walk earns its keep: glimpses back across the valley to the abbey ruins, the wooded terraces and the temples above them. The path contours Ashberry Hill to Ashberry Farm, then joins the road east over Grade 2 listed Rievaulx Bridge before turning north through Rievaulx village and back to the abbey.
Difficulty and footingEasy overall, but not smooth.
Easy overall, but not smooth. Surfaces shift between made path, asphalt, dirt road and unimproved woodland trail, with rough pasture in between. Expect several gates to work through, uneven ground in the wooded and pasture sections, and a short stretch of road walking near the end where you share space with traffic. After rain, the field and woodland sections hold water and churn up, so boots beat trainers for most of the year.
Best time to go and photographyMorning or late afternoon works best.
Morning or late afternoon works best. Low light picks out the abbey stonework and the terraces above it, and side light gives the valley depth from the climb on Ashberry Hill. Midday sun flattens the view back to the ruins and makes the woodland sections contrasty. If you want flowers, aim for late winter through May; if you want the bats and owls, plan a slow late walk and accept it may not happen.
Dogs, parking and facilitiesStart at Rievaulx Abbey, which has visitor parking, toilets and a cafe on site.
- Start at Rievaulx Abbey, which has visitor parking, toilets and a cafe on site.
- Dogs are welcome on this walk under normal countryside rules. Keep them under close control throughout, use a short lead anywhere near livestock, and make sure they never chase animals in the fields.
- At the abbey itself, dogs are welcome on short leads in the ruins and at the cafe.
- Leave gates as you found them, since much of the route crosses working farmland.
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.
