Great Ayton to Stokesley via Ayton Firs

This is a walk originally published as part of a series of 6 walks available as leaflets from the Tourist Information Centre (TIC) in Great Ayton. The TIC is now located in the Library, west of the High Green. Previously it was in the car park adjacent to the High Green.

Distance: 5-7 miles

Time: allow three and a half hours for the return trip, about 3 hours if Stokesley is not visited or one and a half hours one way.

Grade: easy

Conditions: the 3 mile riverside path to Stokesley is easy to follow but can be muddy after rain. If you are walking one way (and catching the bus in the opposite direction), it is preferable to start in Stokesley when you will have a view of Roseberry Topping for the entire route. Included here is a return to Great Ayton on the bridleway that passes Ayton Firs. The route including Stokesley is 7 miles. Cutting out Stokesley makes the return walk 5 miles. On weekdays and Saturdays there is usually 1 bus an hour each way, but none on Sundays..

Refreshments: Great Ayton's High Green and High Street. In Stokesley too, if visited.

From point 1 to point 2 on the map

From the High Green, go past the statue of the young James Cook. Continue down High Street past the Schoolroom Museum to the stone bridge in about 400 yards. Go straight ahead. On the right are the Norman All Saints church and Ayton Hall. Next cross Low Green and continue out on Yarm Lane for 200 yards to the first field path to the left.

The route is well signed, first of all past The Grange and then across two fields to rejoin the riverside. Shortly after the cafe and the sewage works the river enters an artificial channel cut to reduce flooding in Stokesley. After crossing two farm access tracks you will come to the flood diversion channel which takes excess water around the town.

From point 2 to point 3 on the map

The path to Stokesley turns half right here, crosses one field and then the A172. Next, walk across the car park of the Co-op supermarket to the roundabout at the exit. The town centre lies ahead. There is a bus stop for Great Ayton to the left over the river and just past a large water wheel, the sole surviving remnant of Stokesley corn mill. To return to Great Ayton on foot it is best to walk back first to the flood diversion channel.

From point 2 on the map to Great Ayton High Green

Walk right along the bank of the flood diversion channel to the A173 and turn left along the pavement for a short distance after which fork right along the road to Kildale. In just over 200 yards, opposite Prospect Farm, turn left on a bridleway After a short rise the way is visible ahead as a straight line through a series of gates. The last is slightly offset on the left in a hedge. The route is now easy to follow with the trees surrounding Ayton Firs as a marker, but make sure you ignore the track to Harland Hill to the right. The views ahead to Roseberry Topping and Captain Cook's Monument are spectacular.

Beyond Ayton Firs a tarred lane leads to Easby Lane. Go left, then right to Little Ayton. The first path to the left will take you back to Great Ayton over the fields. The lane you are following crosses the Leven and returns direct to the High Green