Yorhax one

Verified Slow Way

Verified by 44.44% of reviewers

The beginning bit of the walk was lovely, walking through the corn fields towards the back of Haxby and down the river. What I didn’t expect was having to cross the northern side of the ring road. Luckily we carried out this walk on a Tuesday afternoon so it wasn’t busy but I imagine it’ll be difficult to cross it safely on a weekend or during rush hour. While walking along the river adjacent to Huntington Road the path was very narrow - not suitable for those with small children or with mobility issues. It was nice to walk along part of the city walls and experience it’s history. All in all, I’d give this walk 4 out of 5 stars.

As others have said, this walk is let down by the busy road crossing that you have to do. However, apart from this, it is an enjoyable route that is not too overgrown and provides a variety of nice scenery to look at while you go past. The part of the walk where you go on the walls is particularly enjoyable but would not be suitable for wheelchairs or prams due to the steep narrow staircase you have to descend.

This route is lovey apart from the awful crossing over York ring road. It was exceptionally difficult to cross the road (luckily someone let us across), but it would be worse at rush hour or during the weekend. I would not recommend that part of the walk; it can be avoided by following the Yorhax Two route (which uses an underpass) for the Haxby end of the walk. There is also a railway crossing, but this was very safe.

Walking along the bar walls to leave York was beautiful, although unfortunately the nature of the walls means it is not suitable for wheelchairs, or those with mobility issues.

The river section is very pleasant, but is narrowed by undergrowth in places and is unfenced, so could pose a risk to young children. I expect the footpath here would be quite muddy in winter.

Generally a good route, but spoiled by the road crossing.

Lovely walk overall. The main challenges were one busy road that was hard to cross (we were waiting maybe 2-3 minutes) and quite a lot of overgrown nettles on narrow paths. YORHAX2 avoids the first of these. Fairly easy to follow the route and it covers a nice range of scenery (small villages, riverside, meadows). It was wholly safe and well marked out with good visibility throughout. There was no climbing involved or any obstacles to navigate around - though it wouldn't be very disability friendly owing to narrow gates and paths and uneven terrain.

I walked this route in reverse from Haxby to York and it was a nice route mostly along the Foss river with a couple of sections through fields and finishing along the city walls when I arrived back in York.
Rated 3 stars as there was a very busy road to crossing (A1237) and there was also a very overgrown section which narrowed the path right next to the river bank.

Route map was easy to follow. I downloaded the GPX file and loaded it into Samsung Health on my phone (as the SlowWays app wasn't available on Android). I found this was less draining on my battery than my colleague who used the SlowWays app on an iPhone.

Generally a very nice walk at dry time of year.

A lot of the route runs alongside the Foss, much of which is very pleasant.

Some stretches a little overgrown, resulting in some nettle stings and bramble scratches.

I can imagine that at a rainy time of year, the riverside track might be muddy, and thus rather difficult to traverse- possibly even dangerous.

Per other reviewer's comments, the big drawback to this route was the crossing of a major road. We had to wait a long time to do so safely, only doing so eventually due to the gallantry of a driver who slowed for us.

Yorhax two to be preferred for this reason.

Mostly a good route. The route map is accurate. Near the start the route uses the City Walls walk which is only accessible via a flight of steps, but there are several alternative flat routes for those with wheels. The section up the River Foss is very attractive, though it can be muddy after rain.

However, for safety reasons I'm giving this route only 2 stars as it crosses the A1237 ring road on the level - this is a very busy road now and there is no island in the middle at that crossing point.

This is a great route that gives you a bit of bustle in York and then increasing quiet most of the way to Haxby which has plenty of places to grab a treat and to catch a bus back to York should you need to. The only problem is that this route takes you to a point where you need to cross the busy A1237. There is no help for pedestrians here like a bridge or even a central island and the speed limit is 60mph. I certainly wouldn't take younger children across. There is a safer route either using the underpass going from New Earswick to Haxby (less green route) or by walking further up the River Foss (sometimes muddy after heavy) which goes under the ring road and rejoins Landing Lane which is where you would have ended up had you crossed the busy road.

We walked this on a lovely sunny April day. Most of the walk hugs the Foss and the water gets clearer the nearer you get to Haxby. Flowers, trees, interesting back gardens to look into. We didn't spot any but there are kingfishers and even otters if you're lucky. Route was easy to follow, level and easy walking. We dawdled rather particularly round York city walls, and stopped off for coffee and cake at The Hound Lounge at New Earswick, so it took us around 3 hours. Regular buses run from Haxby to bring you back to the start.

Share your views about this route, give it a star rating, indicate whether it should be verified or not.

Include information that will be useful to others considering to walk or wheel it.

You can add up to 15 photos.