Parking
Start at Forest Holidays Cropton beside the Forest Retreat in Cropton Forest. Cropton Forest parking is free; follow the yellow waymarkers from the visitor access.
Overview
About Spiers Bank Walk
Why go
- Open views from the forest edge
- Simple waymarked loop
Heads up
- Long stretches of utilitarian gravel road
- Short steeper climb
The high point of the walk gives views across Rosedale valley and towards Spaunton Moor, with the contrast between dense plantation and open heather edges. The changing woodland along the way is worth slowing down for, and Cropton Forest rewards anyone who stops and listens. This is a pleasant, well graded forest walk rather than a dramatic summit outing, and it is better for it if you want a relaxed couple of hours.
Parkwolf’s verdictThe payoffMap & elevation
The route
Loading the North York Moors map
Full mapElevation149–213 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 Spiers Bank Walk, 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
Heather for the Steelworks0:00 / 0:24
“Near Stape, heather once had a job far from the moor. At the Leaf Howe smallholding, one family made besoms, or brooms, from it to help earn their living.”
Plays on the road 1.8 km from the trailhead in the Parkwolf North York Moors Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- A Moth in Broad Daylight
- The Dove That Purrs
- The Gate That Made You Turn
- Cropton's Castle Without Walls
- 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 Spiers Bank Walk
The route in shortThis is a complete loop of 4.
This is a complete loop of 4.8 km (3 miles) on forest roads through Cropton Forest, starting and finishing at the Forest Holidays Cropton visitor access beside the Forest Retreat. Follow the yellow waymarkers throughout. A short connecting path links the visitor access to the mapped forest-road loop, so you return to exactly where you began without retracing more than that final stretch.
Sequence and terrainFrom the start you head out along broad gravel forest roads beneath conifer plantation, with…
From the start you head out along broad gravel forest roads beneath conifer plantation, with the trees opening up in places to give glimpses of the wider landscape. The waymarked line brings you up to Spiers Bank, where the woodland gives way to open ground and heather at the edge of the moor. The return leg picks up a parallel forest road and drops steadily back down to the start.
Surfaces are gravel and hard-packed forestry road for the whole way. That makes for straightforward walking in most conditions, though the footing can be loose or uneven in patches and forest roads carry ruts and stones where machinery has passed.
Climb and descentThe profile rolls rather than spikes.
The profile rolls rather than spikes. There is a gentle undulating start, then a shorter steeper pull as you gain the higher ground towards Spiers Bank, followed by a broad level section along the top. The descent back is steadier and more forgiving than the climb. The total height gain is modest, but the steeper stretch is enough to notice if you are walking with young children or carrying a heavy pack.
Parking, access and dogsStart point: Forest Holidays Cropton, Cropton Forest, Cropton, Pickering, YO18 8ES
- Start point: Forest Holidays Cropton, Cropton Forest, Cropton, Pickering, YO18 8ES
- Car parking at Cropton Forest is free, and the forest is open from dawn to dusk
- There are no designated accessible parking spaces at this forest
- Dogs are welcome under the Forestry England dog code: keep them close and in sight, use a lead where recall is not reliable, and pick up after them
Honest tradeoffsCropton is a working forest, so parts of the route feel functional rather than scenic, with…
Cropton is a working forest, so parts of the route feel functional rather than scenic, with plantation blocks, forest road junctions and signs of timber management. The gravel underfoot is practical but firm and repetitive over three miles, and the steeper section arrives without much warning. Sturdy footwear and a little patience with the plantation stretches will make the open ground at Spiers Bank feel like a proper reward.
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.
