Tabular Hills Walk - Lockton to Scarborough (★★★★☆)

Today we are back on the North Yorkshire Moors, completing the last section of the Tabular Hills Walk. 

Last time we were on this trail we completed a section between Pickering and Lockton - and today we take on the final section from Lockton round to Scalby Ness - before following the coast down to Scarborough.

Once we reach Scalby Ness, we will meet up with the Cleveland Way - and in doing so complete a loop around the entirety of the North Yorkshire Moors.

But first we must get to our start point - and with this in mind I'm heading out on the train to Malton, where I swap over to the 840 Coastline bus that is taking the crowds off to Whitby.

At Lockton I hop off this bus - and then it is a familiar walk, as I repeat the same route I took to meet up with the trail when walking from Lockton to Pickering.

Before long we meet up with the abandoned church that sits between Lockton and Levisham - and this is our signal that we are about to rejoin the Tabular Hills Walk once again.

Reaching the abandoned church

Upon meeting the trail, we turn right - and this takes us to a road, which we briefly follow - before turning right, and heading up a bit of a hill to Levisham.

Looking back from the far end of Levisham

Levisham is a pretty little village - with a large open green in front the of the houses - and benefits from the fact that the North York Moors National Park Authority has owned the moor around the village since 1988.

The goal here was to protect this area of moorland from ploughing - and this was important due to the peat that sits below the surface of these moors.

Across the UK peatlands store 3.2 billion tonnes of carbon - and their degradation results in annual emissions of 20 million tonnes of carbon dioxide (and for reference this is around half the total emissions that result from our electricity supply sector - emitting about 40 million tonnes annually).

When peatlands are wet, the water obstructs the flow of oxygen into the peat - but when peatlands are dry oxygen can get into the peat - and this causes it to degrade, and release carbon back into the atmosphere.

The biggest problems that peatlands face are ploughing, being extracted, being in an area that has naturally dried out (through climate, or the growth of vegetation such as trees), or being in an area where improved drainage has dried them out.

And the goal of the National Park Authority in buying this estate, was to prevent this area of peat being ploughed.

For us the impact of this, is that whilst a lot of walking along the Tabular Hills Walk is done through farmed land or forests - here we are heading into a stretch of moorland (as we make our way towards the Hole of Horcrum).

Now on Levisham Moor

We also have small patches of burnt vegetation - but whilst this area has seen wildfires in recent years, this section of burnt vegetation more likely results from a controlled burn.

This is a controversial practice - but burning is carried out on patches of old and dry heather to try and encourage fresh growth - and additionally to clear out any tree and scrub growth (that will absorb water, and contribute to the drying out of the soil).

It is hard to see how this burning is preferable to a more precise management of the landscape - but there is hope in the form of the Linking Levisham (an external link) project, which will work to undo the damage done by previous projects, that had sought to improve water drainage (for instance by installing wooden dams).

As we continue on, we soon reach the Hole of Horcrum - and here things are much less dry, as we look down into the drainage basin of Levisham Beck.

Hole of Horcrum

On our way past the Hole of Horcrum we also get views out towards Flyingdales, and Flyingdales Moor - and it was this area that suffered a major wildfire last year (the biggest in the history of the North Yorkshire Moors National Park).

Looking out across Flyingdales Moor

Looking back towards the Hole of Horcrum

By this point we are walking alongside the main road (on a separate side path) - and we soon cross over this road, and start to leave behind the moors, and head towards a heavily forested area.

Heading into more typical grazing land on Lockton Low Moor

Up ahead our route will run along the northern end of a ridge, but whilst we get initial views towards Blakey Topping as we head towards this ridgeline, for the next section of this trail any view out is obscured by trees.

Blakey Topping

And having crossed through the tree line, we have now entered Dalby Forest 

By the end of World War I, Britain's tree coverage had dropped to about 5% (this has now increased to about 13.5%), and it was decided that new forests needed to be created .

The focus here was not an environmental one, but more focused on boosting levels of timber supplies - and with little money being available to buy land, land purchases were focused on areas with marginal agricultural land that was cheap to buy.

The first such purchases within the North Yorkshire Moors were made at Low and High Dalby - and the first tree planting in the area began in 1921.

The impact of this was not entirely positive - and although many of these areas had already been impacted by agriculture, the focus was on creating timber factories - and not ecological havens. 

And so areas that were once peatlands were among those ploughed (and drained) to facilitate tree planting.

But there were some environmental victories along the way - and these days the approach to forestry has a far greater focus on building areas of wetlands, a greater diversity of tree species - and a blending of both environmental and practical approaches to forestry.

A good example of how those priorities have shifted over time can be found with a site to the north of us (just by RAF Flyingdales) called May Moss - which represents nearly 9% of the blanket bog in the North Yorkshire Moors.

In the 1970s this area - whilst owned by the Forestry Commission - was successfully protected from planting, and by the 1980s the site was declared an Site of Special Scientific Interest to protect it.

Despite this trees were still planted in the area around this bog through both the 1970s and 1980s - and these were noted to have contributed to a level of drying out of this bog (in combination with a warmer climate).

But with our shifted priorities these days, the response to this was to double the size of the bog in 2009 - giving this area of deep (and accumulating) peat a chance of surviving. And this remains the only site on the North Yorkshire Moors where peat is still believed to be accumulating.

Our route across this landscape does not include any bogs today, however - and instead we are following a forest track along this ridge, with little to see but an endless line of trees - until we eventually hit one of the viewpoints that are staggered along the ridge (these are deliberately cut gaps to give you a view).

Our first viewpoint

After leaving this view behind, we start to make our way southwards - cutting down past Ebberston Low Moor, and then on down past Givendale Head Farm - still following forest tracks.

There isn't an awful lot to report back on through these sections, except for an awful lot of trees - but after passing Givendale Head Farm, we do pass Oxmoor Dikes - which are a set of linear earthworks dating back to the Bronze Age.

These fairly short earthworks are not visible to my eye on the ground anymore - and it is not entirely clear what their purpose might have been. 

The belief is that they are not military or kingdom boundary lines - and so your guess is as good as anyone else's as to why they might have been built.

But for us they are our signal that we are ready to start heading east once again - and here we head back into the forest, until we are released at a small car park, and a minor road - near Cuckmoor Hall.

Here we cross the road, and head up a small slope, before once again following a ridge with a limited view.

Further along we do find a break in the trees - and here we are able to look out across the valley below (into Trouts Dale).

Trouts Dale

After a while our track turns into a road - and then we head on through Wykeham Forest - initially along this road, and then along forest tracks once again.

Trees looking back

And trees up ahead

This run through the forests of the North Yorkshire Moors comes to an end as we start to head down a road - and whilst from this direction is a steep descent, from the other direction would be quite a steep climb.

This takes us down into a small cluster of houses at Wrench Green - and from here we head down along very minor roads, before turning right onto a bigger road.

Facing Everley Bank Wood

Looking across the fields before reaching the bigger road

Here the Tabular Hills Walk sticks with this road all the way to Mowthorpe Farm - but at Everley I take the more sensible option of turning off onto the footpath that runs on the ridge above, and this keeps my path car-free for the rest of the way to that farm.

View from the road

And from the footpath I am using instead of the road

Upon reaching Mowthorpe Farm we head over a bridge - and turn off the road to head along Scalby Beck.

And having made it round I can confirm that this route along the footpath is the better option at this time of year - although it could be pretty muddy during the wetter phase of the year. And there is even a bench above the farm.

Scalby Beck has the look of a man-made canal - and it was indeed made in 1804, to provide a means of draining off any excess floodwater from the River Derwent.

And this beck offers a peaceful run towards Scalby - with views across the flat valley to the north.

View to the north

Upon reaching Scalby, we have a further section along this channel - before the Tabular Hills Walk turns left to head along the roads.

However, I do know this area - and so I once again modify it's route, and head straight over - before meeting up with the Cinder Trail, which I then briefly follow northwards, until I return to the official route of the Tabular Hills Walk.

This adjustment saves a small bit of road walking - but there is still a stretch to be completed, before we can cross a main road - and begin the final walk towards the sea.

Heading towards the sea

Here we do soon reach the sea (slightly to the north of Scalby Ness) - and here we turn south towards Scalby Ness - and then on past North Bay to Scarborough.

Looking north from Scalby Ness

Looking south from Scalby Ness towards Scarborough Castle

The fairly quiet beach at North Bay

Looking back towards Scalby Ness

The cliffs on the way to Filey

The old harbour

Once in the centre of Scarborough that town proves to be fairly busy - but whilst I had planned to stay over, I have instead arrived well ahead of schedule - and so am here in time to catch a train home.

Total Distance: 25.7 miles (20.9 miles on the Tabular Hills Walk)

Total Ascent: 1,696 feet (1,357 feet on the Tabular Hills Walk)

Note that there is more ascent if you walk the other direction.

Enjoyment Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ ★ / 5

There are a lot of trees on this walk which does limit it's variety - but the highlights in between are very good and it does make for a lovely day.

Click for the prior walk along the Tabular Hills Walk from Lockton to Pickering.

Click for a walk along the Cinder Trail from Scarborough to Whitby.

Click for connecting the Cleveland Way / Yorkshire Coast walks from Filey to Scarborough, and from Scarborough to Whitby.

Disclaimer: This writeup provides a narrative of what to expect rather than a route guide to follow. The route is covered by the 100 and 101 OS Landranger maps (links redirect to Amazon). The route is fairly well way-marked (but not as well as it could be)