Saltergate to Pickering Walk

This is a point-to-point walk of 13.7 miles / 22 km one way, starting from the Saltergate car park at the Hole of Horcum on the A169 and finishing in the market town of Pickering. It is not a loop, so you will need a second vehicle, a lift, or other transport arranged for the end.

From the car park you cross open fields and follow the edge of a steep hillside to the Bridestones, a cluster of weathered sandstone pillars. From there the route crosses Whitby Road and Levisham Beck, climbs up through Levisham, then continues through Levisham Wood before dropping into a valley and climbing the far side. The last stretch runs southwest through open countryside into Pickering, passing Pickering Castle shortly before the finish.

The variety is the payoff: open moorland and farmland at the start, the odd sculpted shapes of the sandstone formations, quiet woodland, a proper valley crossing, and then a long, gradual approach into a historic town with a castle at the end. It feels like several different walks stitched together rather than one repeated view.

Moderate ground, but a genuinely long day. Cumulative ascent works out at roughly 468 m, and the route source gives a range of about 5 to 7.5 hours of walking. Plan on a full day with breaks and a margin at the end, and set off early enough that you are not finishing in the dark. We rate it 6/10, almost entirely because of the distance rather than any single hard section.

Expect varied unpaved paths, field edges, woodland tracks and some road crossings, including Whitby Road. The moorland sections are open and exposed to wind and weather with little in the way of shelter. Signage is average, so carry a map or GPS and pay attention at junctions, especially around the field crossings and the valley descent.

Sort your return before you start. The endpoint is in Pickering, several miles from the Saltergate car park, and the walk only works cleanly if someone is collecting you or you have a car waiting. Dogs are allowed on leash for the whole route. Note the National Park rule that dogs must be on a lead no longer than 2 m on moorland from 1 March to 31 July.

If you want the sandstone scenery without committing to a point-to-point day, the shorter Bridestones and Dovedale loop is a compact circular walk around the same rock formations and returns you to where you parked. It is a separate route, not a shortened version of this one.