The Cinder Track

A point-to-point rail trail on the old Scarborough to Whitby railway, 21.7 miles (35 km) one way. It starts behind Sainsbury's at Safe Ways Park on Falsgrave Road in Scarborough, near the Wykeham Street bridge, and the named track finishes at the top of Stakesby Vale, with a short signed town link down the ramp past Southend Gardens and Bagdale to Whitby harbour and Station Square. Walkers and mountain bikers both use it; cyclists usually knock it off in a day.

Cuttings and Scarborough suburbia first, which is the dullest bit, then open country past Burniston and Cloughton. From there it climbs steadily into the moors: Hayburn Wyke, where a side path drops to a secluded cove, then Staintondale and the high point at the old Ravenscar station, about 631 feet up, with the alum quarry and the big view across Robin Hood's Bay. After that come deep valleys and embankments, the former Fyling Hall station, Robin Hood's Bay, Bay Ness and Hawsker, then Larpool Woods and the Larpool Viaduct high above the River Esk, looking toward Whitby Abbey. The viaduct is the moment the whole day pays off.

Call it 6 out of 10. No mountain climbs, but 8 to 10 hours of walking on a loose surface, with steady rises over Ravenscar and Hawsker and a few short steeper pitches, adds up. Fitness and foot comfort matter more than skill here.

The surface is old cinder and gravel: mostly decent, sometimes stony, rutted or rain-damaged. Fine for boots and mountain or gravel tyres, no good at all for thin road-bike tyres. Bad weather turns sections properly muddy. There are road crossings and short on-road links around Scalby, Burniston, Ravenscar, Robin Hood's Bay and Hawsker, with signalised toucan crossings at Burniston and Hawsker, so keep an eye out with kids and dogs. Waymarking is generally good but signs go missing, and a detailed map is worth carrying. Some middle stretches are remote, with limited shelter and patchy mobile reception, so take layers, water and food rather than assuming a cafe will be open when you reach it.

Dogs are welcome on the public route. In most moorland open-access land nearby they must stay on rights of way, and they need to be kept under control around livestock. On moorland between 1 March and 31 July, dogs must be on a lead shorter than 2 metres.

It is one way, so sort the return before you start. Options are the Scarborough to Whitby bus service, a taxi, two cars, or splitting it across two days with a night at one end. Doing the full out-and-back on foot is a 43-mile commitment and not worth it.

For a half-day version, walk the coastal stretch between Ravenscar and Robin Hood's Bay, or the Whitby and Hawsker end. Both are shorter, both keep the best scenery, and both are far easier to arrange transport for.