Yorwhe one

Verified Slow Way

Verified by 80.00% of reviewers

Good path but some walking over fields and on road is required. Also the path should turn off one turn earlier from the river Ouse to make it easier and more accessible.

Not many dog bins along the route.

We walked this route in November 2023 on a sunny day preceded by several days of rain which made some sections of this walk a bit boggy. Suitable footwear is essential.
We walked the route from Wheldrake to York. Starting out at Wheldrake the route takes you back along the main road with no footpath, however there is a wide grass verge until you turn off at Benjy Lane. After passing Warren House Farm and Sheepwalk Farm we took a small detour as per another reviewer and followed the footpath off the road to the left at a small bridge. The path (rather boggy to start with) went through Spring Wood and out into the fields (beware of the Bull) and a track which took us into Escrick. This avoided a long stretch of walking on tarmac.
In Escrick we turned right and passed the church before turning left and following the path past Crabtree Farm and out onto the Naburn Lane before joining the original route heading through the fields to Gillrudding Grange. This is the only time that we went wrong, we missed a left (approx. OS ref 62.3,44.5) and had to retrace our steps a little.
The track after this is well signposted and brought us out at the old railway line heading towards Naburn Marina and Bishopthorpe. Note that the Blacksmiths arms in Naburn is shut Mon/Tues if you were thinking about refreshments.
This part of the route still had the self service café and we noticed sign posts for tea rooms. This is a fairly long stretch of the walk on tarmac and therefore we decided to take another diversion just as we left the village. We took the path down to the river and followed this under the ring road, through several fields and re-joined the original route at Millennium Bridge before finishing in York. Again this was boggy after prolonged periods of rain.
Overall the route is fairly pleasant. We noticed that there were clearer signs for those heading from York to Wheldrake. There were few natural places to stop after leaving Escrick before arriving at Naburn. The reason we took the detours was that we preferred not to be next to roads where we could. Though these detours were especially boggy after rain. This is not a wheelchair friendly walk due to the stiles, gates and uneven terrain. The Slow Ways route was accurate, and the route was safe to walk - though care is needed after rain or when the rivers are in flood.
The Slip Inn is a great place to stop and rest those tired legs, shares tales from the trek, and enjoy a well deserved beer.

Overall I’d say this is a good route for a pleasant walk and I’d don’t think there are better options between York and Wheldrake. The key concern is the A19 crossing but there are some options for that. There is also a reasonably busy road on the edge of Wheldrake which has no path but there is a good grass verge. Most of the route is clear but there’s a section of about 2-3km near Naburn to Deighton which I felt was less clear, so I’ve given more detail later on.

There is quite a bit of walking on pavements near roads but I don’t think that can be avoided between 2 built up areas. There are plenty of places to stop for food and drinks and some sights along the way. As mentioned in the previous review the route seems a little long but I tried a more direct route on the way back and it meant walking along a long section of road with no path and limited grass verge so I can’t recommend that (for info, this involved walking along the road towards Crockey Hill, turning north to join the footpath leading up to Heslington Tillmire and then using footpaths to return to York). I couldn’t see any other possible more direct options.

I walked the route from York to Wheldrake. The route starts at York station and goes along pavements towards the river around the far side of the Wellington Row Aviva office. It then follows the same route as the river towards the Millennium bridge. The flood defence work is now complete so the route is open. You can detour very slightly to walk through Rowntree’s park by entering at the car park but the tree-lined path along the river is also very nice. The route turns right up towards the racecourse a little bit after the Millennium bridge and follows the trans Pennine cycle route (first photo). Alternatively you could continue straight on through fields along the river on the Ebor Way and re-join the route by Bishopthorpe Crematorium if you prefer. That route has some stiles, is a bit longer and sometimes floods but is very nice when there hasn’t been much rain.

There is a good path past the racecourse which is green and open. Signs point you back towards one of the busier roads on the route to go into Bishopthorpe after this. The crossing is quite close to the bend but has good visibility (photo below). The alternative river route I mentioned re-joins just after this. The route then goes along paths by roads through Bishopthorpe. There’s a co-op, some pubs and various shops just off the route on the main street. At the end of Bishopthorpe you need to go left uphill back to the cycle path but the sign can’t be read from this direction (photo below). This is a nice quiet section away from the road with a lot of trees and birdsong. There’s a small self-service cash only café with benches just after Saturn (this is the solar system cycle path). About 1km out of Bishopthorpe you need to turn left onto a farm track. This isn’t marked so could easily be missed from this direction. There’s a sign pointing to Naburn and the Blacksmith’s Arms in the opposite direction (photo below). There are signs showing the public route as you go along the farm track. The sign for the first left is a little small (photo below) but all the others are very clear. Just after the last outbuildings of the second farm you turn right at a marker and follow straight until a large gap in the hedge (photos below). The route turns right just past the gap and follows the curves of the treeline to Deighton.

The route reaches the A19 at the edge of Deighton. You could cross straight away at the traffic island and then walk along what appeared to be a wide grass verge. I didn’t cross as there is a footpath on the Deighton side. I continued past where the route turns off the A19 as the road was very busy and I thought there was an alternative route which looked nicer on the map. If you want to follow the standard route I expect it’d be easiest to either cross immediately at Deighton traffic island or walk a bit past the turn off and cross near the Shell garage (photo below).

I carried on to Escrick and crossed at a traffic island just by the beautiful Parish church (photo below). I then walked along Skipwith Road (opposite the church) until a footpath sign on the left at a road bridge over a stream. This route followed the stream and re-joined the standard route after about 1.5km. The alternative I used is probably about half a km longer and there were some muddy patches even though it’s been very dry recently so it may be boggy after rain. You also need to climb through a small wooden gate/stile just before entering the woods (photo below).

After this there are a series of tracks and minor roads to walk along. The final section of road into Wheldrake is about 0.75km along a relatively busy road with no path but a large grass verge (photo below).

I enjoyed a very pleasant walk along "Yorwhe one" on a bright sunny day with a chilly breeze. I walked the route from Wheldrake to York which was a good choice because walking west and then north meant the sun was behind me most of the time.

On the map the route seems to meander a bit and certainly isn't the shortest way to York from Wheldrake but it's hard to see how to make it more direct without a lot more road walking. It's a flat walk without a huge amount of variety in the terrain, but quite a few points of interest along the way (see photos!). The route was easy to find; the only time I hesitated was in Deighton village where the turning off the residential road onto the footpath through a farm is not marked (turn left beside a tall yew tree). There were several kissing gates along the way but no stiles.

Wheldrake is a lovely linear village with some very attractive cottages, a beautiful church, a useful convenience store/post office and a coffee shop. The first half mile on the road out of Wheldrake is on grassy verges, easily passable at this time of year and the traffic was steady not busy; still, I'd say this was the least pleasant part of the day. Turning off left into Benjy Lane you leave the traffic behind and the road soon becomes a wide track/bridleway through farmland, and later passes the site of the disused North Selby coal mine.

On reaching the busy A19 I'd suggest crossing straight away using the grassy traffic island (limit 50mph) as there is a pavement on the other side; however, if you choose to continue up the verge on the right side of the road there is another crossing point opposite the White Swan and just before the turning into Deighton village (limit 40mph).

There are some well-placed benches opposite Deighton's old church and another on reaching the Greenway (aka the old York-Selby railway line). There is a spot on the track just after Highfield Farm where, looking north, you can spy the towers of York Minster and the clock tower of Terry's chocolate factory on the horizon.

There are plenty places on the route to find a drink/snack; Bishopthorpe village is particularly well supplied.

At the time of walking (March 2022) Terry Avenue in York is still closed for flood defence works so there is a diversion in place leaving the River Ouse at Millennium Bridge; I chose to use Bishopthorpe Road to head towards York city centre, then turned left along Nunnery Lane to reach the railway station.

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