Harkna eight

Slow Way not verified yet. Verify Harkna here.

I noticed this route had not been reviewed yet so I thought I would pick it. As I know the area, I suspect the reason it hasn't been chosen is due to quite a large part of it being along the main A59 route between Harrogate and Knaresborough and that is always pretty busy with traffic and not the most scenic of options when compared to some of the other routes. That being said, and as noted in the introduction to this walk, it may be a route of choice for someone who is on a bike or just wants the most direct route with footpaths between the two towns. For these purposes, I would probably give it a four star rating as practically it is the best option available. Another positive aspect of this route is that there are a lot of facilities along the route due to it going through fairly built up areas with supermarkets, fast food, coffee shops, and public toilets at the beginning (Harrogate), middle (Starbeck) and at the end (Knaresborough). As there are also three train stations and it follows the main bus route from Harrogate to Knaresborough it also gives a number of alternative options if you decide you want cut the walk for any reason. The route is also very easy to follow.

The start of the walk from Harrogate Station soon cuts across to side roads in the town leading to a brief part over the Stray before turning onto the A59, this generally goes on an incline down to Starbeck which has various shops including a Costa and some public toilets. After Starbeck, the road proceeds uphill for a while followed by another downhill incline to Knaresborough. This part has three lane traffic but fortunately there is a cycle path off the road starting at Harrogate Golf Club right down to where you enter into Knaresborough. Crossing the bridge in Knaresborough gives a good view of the town including the railway viaduct and the castle. Taking a right after the bridge leads into Waterside and you then head uphill along Water Bag lane to follow the narrow streets via the train station to end the walk in the Market Square. The side roads here are picturesque and narrow with little traffic so nice to walk, but bike riders will need to de-mount at various points I suspect.

So in summary while the start and end of the routes are nice avoiding a lot of traffic, travel along the A59 is busy with a lot of cars/noise. As other routes take more scenic cross country options they are preferable unless you are on bike or want to take the quickest most direct option. Bare in mind that travelling in the reverse direction from Knaresborough to Harrogate involves quite a climb which will be quite hard work on foot or bike.

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