A little bit of everything the moors has to offer in one ride, in and around Robin Hoods Bay on the coast.
The route
Park on the road near the Falcon Inn. Just after the minor road joins the A171 there is a right turn off the main road onto a BW. Although sign posted with a metal pole, it way not appear on older maps. Follow the grassy forest track upwards until the end of the forest, and then turn right at the edge of the woods. Then follow the single track, across the moors, towards the radio mast.
The car park by the radio mast is an alternative start point especially suitable if you wish to use the railway path to return from RobinHoodsBay. At the radio mast, turn left onto a moorland track that descends across an open moor recently burnt in a fire. The right of way doesn’t exactly coincide with the obvious track, and you must be careful to turn right over the hill toward Cook House Farm before the track gets to the main road. In time the native plants will re-grow and a more obvious path will be re-established. For the moment at least, this is a tricky section to cross.
Once you can see Cook House farm, head for the gate, and cross the farm yard to pickup the narrow BW which heads NNW down the hill. Then descend between the fences and across the field eventually to arrive at a shallow ford and a gate onto a concrete track.
Turn right onto the concrete track toward Spring Hill Farm. Pass the farm yard and descend onto a rough gravel track. The gravel track is fast, but take care on the loose gravel on the corners. After a short sharp climb you will arrive at Colcroft Farm and a minor road.
Turn right onto the road and after a short climb, the road will start to decend again. Carry on downwards until you reach a bridge over the old railway. Take care you don’t over shoot this as the sign for the railway path is easily missed.
Turn left just before the bridge and descend to the railway path. When you join the path, turn left and follow the cinder track north through the woods. You will shortly cross a road, and then carry on through the woods along the cycle track. Eventually, one mile after joining the cycle path, the path drops off the old railway onto a road. At this point you can either carry on the railway path towards Robin Hoods Bay or head up Middlethorpe Lane to Fylingthorpe. Both take you near pubs and shops, but there is usually more choice in Robin Hoods Bay. Watch out for walkers along this busy section.
If you have carried on to Robin Hoods Bay, return to Fylingthorpe via the road. If you have taken Middlethorpe lane, just turn left at the end of the lane. In either case, head up the hill, and keep climbing the main road out of Fylingthorpe until you reach a turn to the left, signposted for Fyling Hall. Turn left onto this minor road and climb to the top of the hill, and enjoy the short respite from climbing. Just past the school, as the road starts to descend, look for a track on the right. Turn right onto the track. Follow this track along the side of a valley until you cross a stream at Ramsdale Mill farm, and then climb the track on the other side of the valley. After a gate the track starts to become rough. Keep on this track, passing several gates until you reach the crest of the hill.
At the crest of the hill, there is a T junction with another farm track. Turn right along, and carry on until you arrive at the A171 main road. Turn left and head NW for 400 yards along the main road until you reach a bridge over a small stream where a BW is sign posted on the left.
Turn left onto the BW, and follow it along up the stream. Keep following the stream, until at SE 914 031, another path crosses the stream. Turn left onto this path. ‘Path’ is perhaps to strong a word, as it soon fades out into faint sheep tracks. To add to your difficulties the ground is boggy. Bear with it and head upwards in a SW direction using whatever means you can, using a compass and a bearing necessary.
After much pushing, and possibly even carrying of bikes, you should arrive at SE 900 019 where you will meet a far better trail heading south, near the edge of the forest. Turn left on to this path, and follow it through dips and stream crossings along the side the forest. Depending on trail conditions, this can be a hard but rewarding stretch of single-track, or a muddy, transmission destroying, grind. Eventually the path climbs away from the forest to arrive at an isolated signpost on a cross roads at SE 888 990.
Take the left track, which head due east and downhill (at last!). This section can be cursed with horrid yellow clay which sticks to the bike and is not recommended for winter unless you like pushing your bike. When the track forks at SE 898 990, ensure you take the right hand fork and after a rocky and fast downhill, you’ll arrive at a gate and the edge of some fields. Continue through the gate, and follow the left edge of the field along a grassy track.
When you get to a further gate, go through it and pickup the gravel track which starts by a small pond. Follow the gravel track uphill until you reach the 2nd gate after the top of the hill. Although the track continues in the same direction, the BW actually goes left at this point. Go through the narrow gate, and follow the BW across a field and through a narrow gate. Then turn right and follow the gravel track to a full size gate.
Although the BW continues in the same direction, you’ll want the BW which turns left, and goes downhill past the wood. Take this track and just before the house at the end of the track look for a narrow gate into a field on the right. Cross the field along the line of an old ditch, taking care to not drop too far. The gate into the woods is quite tricky to find, and you may miss it.
Once through the gate into the woods, descend the rough muddy track until you arrive at a wooden bridge. Cross the bridge and climb up through the wood to arrive at a gate. Go through the gate, into the field and turn to the left, and head uphill. Go through the gate at the top of the field, and follow the path until you arrive at the road.
At the road turn left and head north. If you have time, head south about ½ a mile to the very rural but infrequently open New Inn. After ¼ of a mile, the road curves to the right and crosses a small stream. Immediately after the stream, on the right, is a gate. Go through the gate, cross the stream by a ford and follow a rough track upwards through the field, following the boundary of the woods until you arrive at a gate into the forest.
The described route is along a BOAT (Byway Open to All Traffic), which is marked on OS maps as a series of round dots. You can either follow this or any other suitable forestry track, as cyclists are allowed on Forestry Commission tracks. The BOAT is more interesting to ride, but in muddy conditions we’d recommend using the gravel tracks rather than the described route.
Carry on through the gate, and follow the boggy track to the south east. After 200 yard, you will come to a SW-NW trending forest track. In muddy conditions you may want to head north east up this track to the road and skip the next section. Cross the track and head into some mature pine trees.  The track then starts to curve to the left slightly. This track can be very muddy. You’ll then arrive at a north-south track running along the edge of the forest, which you turn left on. Then follow the track which heads back into the forest in a northerly direction. After a mile and a climb you will arrive at the A171. Simply turn right and the start is about ¼ of a mile down the road.
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