Parking
Start at Bickley Gate car park, reached via Dalby Forest Drive. Follow the yellow markers with black arrows; printed trail maps are available from the visitor centre.
Overview
About Waitcliff Trail
Why go
- Level, surfaced route with wide plateau views
- Easy Access loop from Bickley Gate
Heads up
- Too short for a strenuous or all-day hike
- Gravel and forest-road surfaces are not a paved promenade
Map & elevation
The route
Loading the North York Moors map
Full mapElevation146–232 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 Waitcliff Trail, 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
Bickley Gate and Deepdale0:00 / 0:32
“You're approaching Bickley Gate, a Dalby Forest trailhead for the small valley of Deepdale.”
Plays as you drive up to this trailhead in the Parkwolf North York Moors Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- The Forest Eye
- Why Langdale Lost Some Trees
- The Workers Who Planted Dalby
- Staindale Lake
- 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 Waitcliff Trail
The route in shortWaitcliff Trail is a complete closed loop of about 1.75 miles / 2.
Waitcliff Trail is a complete closed loop of about 1.75 miles / 2.8 km, starting and finishing at Bickley Gate car park. Allow 45 to 60 minutes, more if you linger at the viewpoints or walk at a slower, accessible pace. A visitor listing rounds the walk to 2 km, but the detailed mapped track measures the full circuit at roughly 2.8 km.
What you walk and seeFrom the car park the trail heads out along a quiet forest road, then works around the edge of…
From the car park the trail heads out along a quiet forest road, then works around the edge of the plateau on compacted stone and gravel paths. Several viewpoints open up along the way, with the payoff at Waitcliff End, looking out high above Bickley and Deepdale. The loop then closes back at the same car park, so there is no need to retrace your steps.
Follow the yellow waymarkers with black arrows at junctions.
Difficulty and surfacesGraded 2/10, Easy Access
- Graded 2/10, Easy Access
- Generally level with a modest rise and fall rather than any sustained climb
- Surfaces are forest road, compacted stone and gravel, not a paved promenade
- Comfortable for a gentle stroll, though mobility needs vary and it is worth judging the surface for yourself
Access and parkingStart at Bickley Gate car park, reached via Dalby Forest Drive.
Start at Bickley Gate car park, reached via Dalby Forest Drive. Trail maps are available from the visitor centre if you want the printed version before setting out.
DogsDogs are allowed. Keep them under close control around other forest users and livestock.
Dogs are allowed. Keep them under close control around other forest users and livestock.
Weather and photographyThe plateau edge is open to ordinary weather, so bring a layer for wind on the viewpoint…
The plateau edge is open to ordinary weather, so bring a layer for wind on the viewpoint sections. Clear conditions make the most of the long views down over Bickley and Deepdale, which are the reason to come.
The main drawbackThis is a short, easy, mostly surfaced walk, so anyone after a rugged moorland hike or a longer…
This is a short, easy, mostly surfaced walk, so anyone after a rugged moorland hike or a longer day out will find it limited. If you want more effort from the same area, Woodcock Way from Bickley Gate is longer and more strenuous.
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.
