Walks in Richmond North Yorkshire

This interesting North Yorkshire town has some lovely riverside trails along the River Swale and two fine long distance trails to try. It sits on the north eastern edge of the Yorkshire Dales National Park where you can visit highlights including Aysgarth Falls and Castle Bolton.
This circular walk around the town visits the rushing waters of Richmond Falls and the historic Richmond Castle on the River Swale.
Starting at the market place, head along New Street and turn left onto Bridge Street. Cross the river on Richmond Bridge and you can pick up a footpath on the southern side of the water. Follow the path round to the A road and then cross over to the other side. You can then pick up paths on the northern side of the river to Richmond Falls. After wet weather the falls can be very dramatic.
The path continues to Richmond Castle which is Grade I listed and dates from the 11th century.  The castle has one of the finest examples of Norman buildings in Britain including Scollands Hall, the Great Hall of the castle. There's also an impressive 12th-century keep which is 100 feet (30 m) high.
To continue your walking in the Richmond area you can pick up our River Swale Walk from Richmond Bridge. It heads west from the town, visiting a series of nice riverside woodland areas.
Wainwright's Coast to Coast passes through the town and is another great option for walkers. If you follow it west you can visit Whitecliffe Woods, Applegarth and Marske. Heading east will take you along the river to Brompton-on-Swale.
The Richmond Way long distance footpath starts at Richmond and is another great way of exploring Swaledale on foot.

Richmond North Yorkshire Ordnance Survey Map - view and print off detailed OS map

Richmond North Yorkshire Open Street Map - view and print off detailed map

Richmond North Yorkshire OS Map - Mobile GPS OS Map with Location tracking

Richmond North Yorkshire Open Street Map - Mobile GPS Map with Location tracking

Pubs/Cafes

The Castle Tavern is a good choice for refreshments in the town. It's conveniently located at the Market Place, close to the castle at a postcode of DL10 4HU for your sat navs. They have a fine selection of real ales and great home cooked food.

Dog Walking

The route makes for a fine dog walk though you are requested to keep them on leads in the Richmond Castle grounds. The series of woods to the west of the town, on the southern side of the Swale are particularly popular with dog walkers too. The Castle Tavern mentioned above is also dog friendly.

Further Information and Other Local Ideas

The National Trust's Hudswell Woods are located just to the west of Richmond Bridge. There's some lovely peaceful woodland trails here with bluebells in the spring and fine views of the River Swale.
The Richmond to Marske Circular Walk is a more challenging walk from the town. It will take you up to the viewpoint at Whitcliff Scar before visiting the pretty village of Marske. There are excellent views over the Swaledale countryside from this route.
The circular Gilling West Walk starts from the neighbouring village. It passes the Georgian Aske Hall which lies just to the north of the town. Gilling West is well worth a visit with a number of historic listed buildings to see including an 11th century church.
Just to the south east there's Ellerton Lake and Bolton-on-Swale Lake. There's some nice waterside trails, a watersports centre and a wildlife rich nature reserve to be found in this area. Near here there's also Kiplin Hall where you will find a Jacobean Manor house surrounded by beautiful parkland and gardens.
For more walking ideas in the area see the Yorkshire Dales Walks page.

GPX File

Richmond.gpx (On Desktop:Right Click>Save As. On Ipad/Iphone:Click and hold>Download Linked File)

Memory Map Route

Richmond.mmo (On Desktop:Right Click>Save As. On Ipad/Iphone:Click and hold >Download Linked File)