Easy Access Routes

The North York Moors has a number of fully accessible routes just waiting to be discovered.  The panoramic views of Rosedale, Staindale Lake in Dalby Forest, Forge Valley Woods, and Esk Valley to Beck Hole are just some of the highlights. Across the rest of the public rights of way network difficult gates and stiles are also being removed where possible, with the aim being to open up 25% of all bridleways and 8% of all footpaths for easy access. Find out about accessible trails in the North York Moors here. Dalby Forest also has plenty of picnic tables that can accommodate wheelchairs.

In the Yorkshire Dales there are many great places to visit however mobile you are.  A number of accessible trails have been developed, some suitable for wheelchairs. Bolton Abbey on the edge of the Dales on the banks of the River Wharfe is well worth a visit.  With over 80 miles of easy access footpaths, and great accessible facilities, it's very wheelchair and pushchair friendly.

Wander around the amazing collection of weird and wonderful rock formations at Brimham Rocks, cared for by the National Trust, on over 640m of all-weather paths suitable for most wheelchair users, and offers magnificent views over Nidderdale.  Or explore Fountains Abbey and Studley Royal, Yorkshire's finest Cistercian Abbey ruin, spanning over 800 years of history which has many accessible paths.

Yorkshire Water has developed 13 easy access routes across Yorkshire, ranging from just 350 metres to almost 4 miles in length.  Each route can be printed out with directions, a list of facilities available, a route map and specific instructions. 

Routes include Blackmoorfoot Reservoir, to the north of Meltham, popular with birdwatchers and fully wheelchair accessible, and Ogden Water, north of Halifax, with a short easy access route around the edge of the reservoir packed with interesting features along the way, including the intriguingly named Spice Cake Hills.

Download the routes here.

Enjoy a bite sized chunk of one of Yorkshire's National Trails with their easy access walks.  The Cleveland Way roller-coasts around the North York Moors from Helmsley to the coast.  The Yorkshire Wolds Way rambles through peaceful fields and over gentle chalk-hills. 

Use the links below to download trails of varying degrees of difficulty which let everyone get the flavour of these two fabulous long distance routes. Print them off and away you go.

Cleveland Way
There are four easy access walks for you to enjoy.  The Sutton Bank, Ravenscar and Robin Hood's Bay walks are short ones that may be suitable for people with impaired mobility, with a pushchair and where there are no kissing gates, also wheelchair and mobility scooter.  The Baysdale walk is far more challenging. None of these walks have steps or stiles and comprehensive information is provided on the gradients and surfaces to expect.

Baysdale Easy Access Walk

Ravenscar Easy Access Walk

Robin Hood's Bay Easy Access Walk

Sutton Bank Easy Access Walk

Yorkshire Wolds Way
Each of these four walks has very detailed notes on how to follow the trail, with photographs throughout, so that you can work out if the route is suitable for you - before you leave home. None of the routes contain steps or stiles - all of the routes shown apart from the Londesborough one are accessible for wheelchairs and mobility scooters.

Hudson Way Easy Access Walk

Humber Foreshore Easy Access Walk

Londesborough Park Easy Access Walk

Settrington Easy Access Walk

The 350 mile Trans Pennine Trail runs from Southport to Hornsea, and it's mainly off road, but not off the beaten track, with links from Leeds to Chesterfield, plus a further route to York. Weaving in and out of our county's major urban centres, and making great use of our post-industrial waterways, giving you a unique perspective of Yorkshire.  Mostly following old railway lines and canals, the trail is for walkers, cyclists and horse riders, with many sections often fully accessible and being off-road is great for all the family. 

Get a flavour by following the Upper Don Valley Trail west from Penistone to Dunford Bridge, not far from Windle Edge, the highest point on the whole of the Trail.  Or travel east from Penistone, leave the railway at Oxspring and follow the old packhorse way at Willow Lane and the railway path along the Dove Valley to reach the RSPB Reserve at Old Moor.

The Fieldfare Trust has developed a new Phototrails website, rating easy access walks, including a number in South Yorkshire. Users can view routes through a series of photographs and descriptions of the path features, taking in surface, path width, gradients, barriers and amenities such as seats, disabled parking, and accessible toilets.  The Dove Valley Trail, part of the Trans Pennine Trail, running from Worsbrough Bridge through attractive countryside to Silkstone Common, and the route around Worsbrough Reservoir are just a couple of highlights.

Hardcastle Crags near Hebden Bridge is a beautiful wooded valley.  Enjoy stunning oak, beech and pine woods full of tumbling streams and a carpet of bluebells in spring.  The main track is partly accessible, being uneven in parts and with steps in places.  This National Trust site has good accessible facilities, and a Braille guide is also available.

Enjoy a journey back through time on the Heritage Time Trail at Otley Chevin Forest Park, near Otley, which is accessible to scooters and wheelchairs.  Despite its steep slopes, the Forest has a number of very good level paths.  Surprise View has a wheelchair access ramp so everyone can experience this fantastic viewpoint over the Wharfe Valley.  Scooters and powered wheelchairs can also go east along this ridge path for about 400 metres.  Mobility scooters can be used free-of-charge on weekdays between May and September on two specific routes from The White House Visitor Centre and there's also a Rural Pursuit Vehicle available.

Open Country, a Harrogate-based organisation, seeks to enable anyone with any disability to access the countryside.  They provide information that encourages access for all to the countryside, including a number of comprehensive Countryside Directories covering the whole of Yorkshire which include places to go, things to do, loads of easy going walks and cycle routes, walking clubs to join and other ideas.