Shiyor one

Verified Slow Way

Verified by 75.00% of reviewers

It was a fine Easter Sunday for this walk. The plotted Slow Way route runs straight from the railway station, across Lendal Bridge, but there's also a traffic-free route out of the station across Scarborough Bridge. Anyway, I took the Slow Way and the bank of the River Ouse between Lendal Bridge and Scarborough Bridge was very busy, and very chaotic. It's a shared route, but not many folk realised how to use it... people walking abreast blocking the way for cyclists... cyclists tearing past without warning... dogs off leads cutting across cyclists... then it got a lot quieter.

There's no problem following the riverside path, which is very obvious, passing under a busy road bridge at Clifton. There's a huge meadow at Clifton Ings and the Slow Way runs along a tarmac path beside it, rather than along the riverside path. Another stretch of riverside path leads beneath another busy road bridge. The only place where you could get off-route is at Rawcliffe Farm. The cycle path leads away from the river, then back again, while the riverside path isn't so obvious and cuts across a lawn in front of a house.

After passing under a railway bridge, the riverside path becomes broad and had recently been mown, so it was all short grass. This broad path gives way to a more rugged field in front of the farming hamlet of Overton. This is where earlier reviewers had problems with the path being closed and/or overgrown, but it was all in great condition when I was there. There's no option but to walk along the road from Overton, which is marked as the number 65 cycleway. The road feels like it is climbing a hill as it crosses a bridge over the mainline railway.

A short cycleway alternative to the road has just been built and signposted. You might as well use it, but it only cuts out a corner from the road, and passes a construction depot where materials have been amassed for the Yorkshire Green National Grid upgrade. Bear in mind that there will be ongoing works here until 2027.

The road can be busy and it passes an old railway station where carriages and a signal have been added, now offering B&B and a restaurant. On entering Shipton, just before reaching a 'Welcome Rest' bench, turn right along a gravel path, and later turn right along a track. This leads to the main road in Shipton, where there is a pub, as well as plenty of buses heading back to York. A lovely walk, all in good condition, and while much of it is fine for cyclists, some parts are for walkers only.

I walked the route from Shipton to Haxby. I found that the traffic on the road section from Shipton to the Overton Road was quite busy and fast. There is no pavement so it was necessary much of the time to walk on the road, where there was no grass verge. However I always felt safe. The road to Overton was quiet and I did not experience any of the issues found by previous reviewers. Once alongside the river Ouse, walking was fine. Overall I can say I enjoyed this route.

A very pleasant walk, mostly beside the River Ouse. The obstacles mentioned in previous reviews have been removed: the narrow footpath between fences has recently been cleared of nettles, and the footpath is open all the way along. Coming from Shipton, the first cafe I came across near the path is the YHA as you enter the city at Clifton.

I walked this as part of an able-bodied group with a young dog in June 2023 and it took about 3 hours whilst chatting and litter-picking along the way. The majority of the walk is easy i.e. reasonably flat/smooth surfaces either on the road (no pavements) or well trodden footpaths away from roads. About an hour in from the Shipton by Beningborough there is a section of narrow path with fences on either side, overgrown bushes and nettles and a stile at the end. We struggled to get past this unscathed! Not long after this section there was a second stile followed later by a section of the footpath that is closed - there is a diversion sign in place pointing to the road nearby. Navigating the route required assistance via phones/apps even with people in the group reasonably familiar with the area, and other than the spiky narrow path it was a reasonably easy walk/trek/hike, and was enjoyable. Definitely not suitable for anything on wheels.

This was a great route apart from the last closed off section of footpath. I followed the cycle route to Overton. I'm sure once the works are finished the complete route will be fine.

Start of route is road based with no footpaths and limited access to verges. On footpath there is a small section which is very narrow and overgrown with nettles - this would be extremely difficult if you had mobility issues .
Part of the route is currently closed which resulted in a detour onto a cycle path (no signs saying where to go which was a pain).
Once past all this the route was pleasant and the footpath was good quality. Nice walk by the river.

In the current state with the nettles and closed footpath, would not do it again.

We started this walk in Shipton by Beningbrough after getting the bus from York. The buses aren't very frequent, so we decided it was easier to get the bus to Shipton by Beningbrough and then we had no time pressure for completing the walk.
After a pleasant walk down Burrell's Lane, the next couple of miles were on country lanes which had a surprising amount of traffic. There are no footpaths, so it was hard to enjoy the walk while being on the alert for cars. This section makes it hard to recommend the walk, especially with children. We didn't see any other walkers on this stretch, so you may not feel comfortable if walking on your own.
At Overton the route then went through a very narrow, overgrown section between hedges, resulting in several nettle stings. This wouldn't be suitable for anyone unsteady on their feet.
There was then a short section through a field, where we needed to do a small detour to avoid the cows with their calves. The path then followed the river which was very nice until we found that the route had been closed off, which was on the opposite side of the river to the Lord Nelson. We had to detour back onto the country lane, which added about half a mile to the route. In hindsight we would have been better staying on the road to save time and avoid the nettle stings.
It wasn't until about the halfway point that we reached the cycle path near Skelton and then the route is then all off road.
After about 5 miles a short detour took us to the Riverside Farm pub on Shipton Road for a well-earned break.
The path to follow the river is hard to spot, it is at the bottom of the slope before the cottages and cycle path. The path passes the front of a house but seems to be a proper right of way.
The last few miles were a pleasant walk along the flood bank in Clifton Ings and continuing to follow the riverbank until we reached York.
If there has been heavy rain then there is a chance that the flood plain is underwater and you may not be able to walk alongside the river, this is more likely in the winter.
For any social media influencers we had a good phone signal throughout!
The walk took about 3.5 hours to complete at a relaxed pace.

A lovely route which I walked from Shipton to York on a sunny humid June day after a spell of dry weather. A fair amount is on tarmac and in between are several pleasant grassy stretches along the River Ouse, where I enjoyed lots of birdsong, wild flowers, and (near to York) the rare tansy beetle. There are also some great safe locations for trainspotting and railway photography of the East Coast mainline.
As at June 2021 there is a diversion in place from GR 559551 to GR 566554 due to the footbridge marked at GR 566554 being broken. The diversion in place (take farm track north then turn right onto Overton Road to pass under the railway at Folly Bridge, the right again to join National Cycle route 65) adds about half a mile to the route.
At GR 571553 the route bears right off the cycle track to head through a garden but if you'd rather avoid the kissing gates you can take a short diversion by staying on the cycle track (bear left up Landing Lane then turn right to rejoin the main route).
On reaching York, if you are heading straight for the railway station there is no need to continue along the river bank to Lendal Bridge, as there is now step-free access to Scarborough railway bridge which will cut a quarter of a mile off your walk.

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