Ellerburn Valley Walking Trail

From Thornton Le Dale Car Park, make your way towards the village square over the footbridge. Turn Right an follow the road to the main road (A170). Follow this road right until you come to the church. Carefully cross the road at All Saints Church.

At All Saints Church, find Church Lane on the left hand side of the church and follow this lane to the end meeting Outgang Lane. On Outgang Lane, turn left up the hill until you reach a Yorkshire Water Facility and a sharp bend to the right.

At the sharp bend at the top of the hill, turn off left on the public right of way downhill to Ellerburn Road. You will see High Paper Mill Farm in the distance.

At the junction to Ellerburn Road you can either turn left back to Thornton Le Dale for a short walk, alternatively, extend your walk by turning right. This takes you alongside High Paper Mill Farm and a weir on your left hand side. We follow Eller Beck all the way to Low Dalby with it constantly on your left.

Keep following Ellerburn Road and eventually you will come to Dalby Forest. You will find that there are several tracks heading off to the right that have names such as Sand Dale for example. We should ignore these routes on our walk, and keep following Ellerburn Road with the beck always on your left hand side. Eller Beck also runs through Low Dalby, so allow this watercourse to guide you.

Along this route, there are three opportunities that leave Ellerburn Road on the left hand side that crosses over to the other side of the stream. You can modify the length of your walk using these three routes. You can walk to the first one on your first hike, second one on your second hide and so on. At the opposite side of the beck, turn left back to Ellerburn and Thornton Le Dale. You don’t need to go into Low Dalby itself unless you desire to. There are two cafes here, toilets, a bike shop, Go Ape!, and Dalby Forest Visitor Centre here, and it’s just a stones throw from the last footbridge over Eller Beck.

To return back to Thornton Le Dale via Ellerburn, cross over one of the footbridges on Eller Beck as aforementioned, and turn left following a path through a very idyllic valley. Again, Eller Beck is always at the left of you although you might not be able to see it at times. Keep following this path until it merges with another track. At this junction, turn left and keep following this until you reach a woodland.

The track all of a sudden widens out and you will see the entry to the woodland path. Walk through the wood. In winter, please be careful as it can get muddy in this section. At the end of the wood, you will see a stile with a dog gate. Cross the grassy field until you reach a farmers gate to the trout farm, but use the public right of way to the right of it. At the end, go straight ahead following the beck on the left hand side of you.

As you reach the hamlet of Ellerburn, you will see Gumboots and Wellingtons as well St Hilda’s Church on the right hand side of you. Just opposite the church, there is a bridge over the beck to Low Farm. Cross this bridge, and follow the trail markers down the side of a farm building with the stream flowing at the right hand side of you. Keep following this route back to Thornton Le Dale.

Following the stream back to Thornton Le Dale is extremely scenic, and you will hear the sounds of Burgess Weir that you will come to see on the right hand side of you. Follow the path until you come to Priestman’s Lane and turn left. Walking down the road with the beck on your right, you will see a footbridge over the beck. Take the footbridge and follow the path passing the thatched cottage until you reach the A170. At the main road, turn right into Thornton Le Dale village centre. This completes our walk today.