Helmsley, Cleveland Way, White Horse and Rievaulx Abbey
Three proper North Yorkshire landmarks - a market town, a chalk-cut white horse and a genuinely beautiful ruined abbey - linked by one of the best waymarked trails in the country.
Effort: Ultra distance, gentle gradient
Underfoot: Some uneven or off-path ground
E5·T2 — how we grade routesA big 40.3km waymarked loop from Helmsley along the Cleveland Way escarpment, taking in the White Horse of Kilburn and the ruins of Rievaulx Abbey, with 265m of climbing spread over the distance.
Three proper North Yorkshire landmarks - a market town, a chalk-cut white horse and a genuinely beautiful ruined abbey - linked by one of the best waymarked trails in the country.
The route
Helmsley's market square makes an easy, well-signed start, and the whole route follows the Cleveland Way National Trail, so waymarking is about as good as it gets in England - useful given the distance involved. The path climbs onto the Hambleton Hills escarpment early, running along the edge above the Vale of York with the ground dropping away sharply to the west.
The White Horse and Rievaulx
The White Horse of Kilburn, cut into the hillside in 1857 and visible for miles across the vale below, is the first big landmark, best appreciated from the escarpment path rather than up close. The route then swings back east towards Rievaulx Abbey, a 12th century Cistercian ruin set in a wooded valley that's one of the most complete monastic sites left in England - worth slowing down for even mid-run.
Why it works
At 40.3km this is one of the longer routes on the site, but the modest 651m of ascent and the quality of the waymarking mean it's a genuinely manageable ultra-distance day rather than a battle with navigation on top of distance. The variety helps too - escarpment, woodland, riverside, ruins - so the ground keeps changing even as the legs tire.
Getting there
Helmsley has direct Coastliner bus connections to York and Scarborough, both useful if you want to arrive without a car. Carry enough food and water for the full distance - there's a long gap between Helmsley and any other services once you're out on the escarpment. Sutton Bank, roughly a third of the way round, has a visitor centre and cafe if you want to treat the route as two halves rather than one continuous effort, and it's a natural place to check in with anyone tracking your progress on a long solo day.
Exposed, unfenced escarpment edge above the Vale of York in several places - take care in high wind. This is a long day with limited resupply between Helmsley and Rievaulx, so carry what you need.
Leave No Trace
- Leave nothing but footprints, take nothing but memories.
- Please respect the countryside and all its inhabitants.
- Dogs on leads near livestock, and around ground-nesting birds from March to July.
- Gates as you find them — open or closed, leave it that way for the farmer and the next runner.
- Take it all home — wrappers, peel, tissue, the lot. It doesn't count as biodegradable if you can still see it.
- Stick to the path where the ground either side is wet, planted, or nesting habitat.
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