Walking and steaming -what could be better on a warm summer's day? Buy a ticket, decide where you want to walk from, jump on the train and off you go. When you are too weary to walk any more, hitch a leisurely ride on the train to take you back home. There are scenic walks for every level of walker in this book who has a choice of routes from steep climbs, flat forest roads, moorland treks and rural paths. You can visit an ancient pond far away from civilization and wonder if the tale about giant Horcum is fact or fiction. You might want to walk along the old railway track that George Stephenson built, where you will learn the terrible secret of what happened one February evening on the railway incline between Goathland and Beckhole.
Take the train to Grosmont and visit the engine sheds where the steam engines are prepared for a days hard steaming. If you go early in the morning to catch the first train from Grosmont you will see lots of activity and steaming.
Levisham Station is situated on the edge of Cropton Forest which is home to Newtondale. The train chugs merrily through the dale where there is a special walkers platform, The Newtondale Halt. It is deep in the forest and you must ask the guard to stop the train for you before you start. Alighting at Newtondale Halt you can then spend the day walking up steep paths, across precipitous rock faces, (not as difficult as it sounds), and enjoying really grand views that will make you gasp for air.
My favourite though would be to walk to the Birch Hall Inn at Beckhole, have a 'Beckhole Butty' and a pint of Black Sheep ale sitting in the sun watching the sheep go by. Then head back towards Goathland along the beck, visit the Mallyan Spout waterfall before climbing the steep path and a leisurely walk to the station to catch the late afternoon train back to my start point.
Wherever you walk 'from the railway' take care and enjoy this most scenic part of Yorkshire.