April 2026
54°16'13.67"N 0°55'59.34"W
Starting from the Kirk by the moor side (Kirkbymoorside) this low tech off road route mixes ancient drove roads and super scenic, sweet riding singletrack for an awesome gravel/XC adventure. Rich flora and fauna, old farmsteads (ruined and robustly alive) plus prehistoric and historic spiritual sites add plenty of interest between spectacular panoramic vistas.
It’s relatively rideable all year round too, although the exposed moorland sections are not forgiving if the wind and weather decide to play dirty. That makes taking extra layers a must if the forecast looks remotely rogue. There’s only a couple of potential stop and refuel options too so it’s primarily a self sufficient situation. There’s a simple short cut option though, as well as epic extension possibilities if you want more moors.
POLARIS Bransdale Beauty
41.5KM, 901M VERTICAL
Start and finish point - The route starts in the pretty but often forgotten town of Kirkbymoorside. This important transport and trading centre has been in existence since prehistory and is particularly rich in Anglian history. While most of the buildings in the centre date from its prosperous Georgian era, the Black Swan and George and Dragon pubs as well as All Saints church all date from the 13th century. Now it’s bypassed by the A170 it’s a lot quieter, but it’s still a focal point for the local farming community and has a pharmacy, Co-op supermarket and petrol station as well as other facilities.
what3words ///acclaim.altering.shuffles
This what3words address refers to a 3 metre square location. Tap the link or enter the 3 words into the free what3words app to find it.
For full navigation data download the GPX file and watch the Strava fly through. Then watch our ride video for a highlights preview of the route.
Stops & shops
There are public toilets at the car park where you start as well as a various cafes, shops, pubs, takeaways and restaurants in Kirkbymoorside.
The nearest bike shop is Big Bear bikes in Pickering (7 miles away) but you’ll pass Sutton Bank Bikes at the North Yorks Moors National Park centre (14 miles away) if you’re heading in from the west.
Once you’re rolling there’s only an honesty urn with brew making supplies and a Portaloo at Cockayne chapel (26km) and the Royal Oak pub at Gillamoor at 36km. Obviously you’re nearly home by that point so take plenty of food and drink to get you round.
Watch out for
The bottom of the descent at Rollgate Bank can be muddy and rutted so don’t go diving down it too fast.
The singletrack descent down to Stork House is narrow with some small drops and rocks that can be obscured by undergrowth so be wary of getting too wild.
The section down to the stream and the climb after can be slippery in the wet too.
Finally, Rudland Rigg is a BOAT (Byway Open to All Traffic) which means you might meet 4x4s and motorbikes coming the other way.
Route information
Kirkbymoorside to St Gregory’s Minster 0 - 6km
From the car park, loop round onto the high street then head north out of town towards Gillamoor up a gentle warm up climb. Take the first left onto the narrow tarmac lane past Hagg Farm and then turn left again (south) at the T junction. After a few hundred metres, look for the grassy bridlepath down the side of the field and follow it into the woods of Kirkdale Howl. This first bit of off road is a lovely piece of lost singletrack threading through primroses when we rode it in spring. The caves in the walls of the shallow gorge turned out to be full of extinct ice age and earlier animals when explored. Kirkdale Cave is over 200m long and the longest crawl in the North York Moors.
The singletrack hoiks up steeply and then rolls over the top in a proper roller coaster dive back into the valley, so go steady if you’re on skinny tyres and a tall seat post. If the weather is dry then follow the main track through the meadow which takes you through a rocky ford. If you don’t want to risk wet feet there should be a bridge on the official bridleway that peels off to the right. To be honest I was having too much fun navigating the rocky riverbed to check and the OS map doesn’t help so it might just be a double ford situation.
Either way it’s a lovely piece of pastoral landscape to ride through and the Anglo Saxon church of St Gregory’s Minster is a wonderful point of interest for anyone with an interest in history.
St Gregory’s Minster to Rollgate Bank 6 - 14km
Roll past the Minster car park and then look for the signposted bridlepath that corkscrews up the bank on the right just as the road curves round. You can cut this section out if it looks a bit strenuous and just continue on the road before taking the next right. You’d be missing a nice bit of field side singletrack and a short wooded section though, so even if you have to push up to the gate it’s worth the effort. You’ve then got a few km of super quiet farm back road as you head north and then west past the posh country pile of Nawton Tower. Be ready for a moment of mirth as the road heads into the woods and turns left, as the bridleway heads straight on down and up a singletrack half pipe through Howldale. Turn right on Beadlam Rigg and put the cruise control on as you head due north. The broad, hedge edged droveway that’s been used for shifting cattle on and off the moors for centuries, if not millennia. Rough tarmac turns to rougher sort of cobbled track, up to woods where it becomes a triple rut Scalextric up to the big moorland reveal of Rollgate Bank.
Photo courtesy of Graham Atkinson
Rollgate Bank to Stork House 14 - 19km
After you’ve taken in the spectacular panoramic view the top edge of the lower plate of the Moors geology gives you, it’s time for a bit of gravity fun. Don’t get too carried away though as while the top will tempt you to go ballistic the wetter bottom section of this sloping sunken road is often slippery and you don’t want to use the gate as a brake.
The next section of pasture can be boggy in winter too, but once you’re onto the moor the track is more rock and sand based and drains fast enough to keep rolling well for most parts. While you’re still climbing it’s a relatively gentle gradient too, so you’ll soon get to a section where the broader shooting tracks form a T junction at the site of a shallow quarry scoop (16.7km). At this point you need to go straight ahead onto the double track, through the heather, as it heads further up the moor on a mix of deep pedal scuffing ruts and flat sections of exposed bedrock.
After such an extended climb the temptation is to fully let fly as soon as you top out over Lambfold Hill, but you’ll be turning hard right back on yourself after only 150m so stay vigilant and control your velocity rather than overshooting. The reward for accurate targeting is a classic bit of moorland singletrack ribbon that threads all the way down into the belly of Bransdale. Even in winter / spring the heather can hide sniper rocks and occasional mini drops though and the lower section has serious bracken growth in summer. So again, don’t go crazy as if you clobber a rear mech or yourself you’re a long way from getting help.
Stork House to Cow Sike 19 - 25.5km
You know an area is seriously scenic when a big chunk of it is owned by the National Trust and that’s the case with the old monastic grange of Stork House. While it’s now a complete ruin, the views up and down Bransdale from the old farmyard are simply stunning. The descent down to Hodge Beck through old twisted trees and deep leaf litter is good fun too. It delivers you to another beautiful vignette, where a trestle footbridge over crystal clear water links to a shelf under overhanging rocks and a perfect grassy picnic spot.
It’s certainly a good spot to grab a snack if you think you might need one as the next section is a collection of several short steep climbs between gates on twisted root and rock, then slow grass. That means you’ll certainly be glad to get onto the last pitch up to the farm, but maybe not so glad to drop into the next valley and a second steep climb. Before levelling out to join the moorland road to Cockayne.
If you have had enough of pedalling you can head south straight to Moorend which cuts the total ride to 34km and misses out the last big climb. It also misses out the historic and decent highlight of Rudland Rigg though so it’s definitely worth turning left and doing the full route if you can. After a gradual shallow road climb along the ridge top, you’re rewarded with a super fun twisting tarmac descent back into the valley past solidly built farmhouses in a drystone wall matrix of small fields that probably hasn’t changed since before the Anglians and Vikings arrived. Speaking of old relics watch out for the elderly farm bulldog at Cow Sike too. Not because he’s vicious but he’s only got one eye and seems to be deaf too, so he won’t always see you when he’s tottering about in the road.
Photos courtesy of Graham Atkinson
Cow Sike to Moorend 25.5 - 32.6km
Elderly dogs petted and escorted to safety, hook up and right off the road from Cow Sike farm up the double track to the gate. You’ll already have the best part of 800m of climbing in your legs at this point and it gets a bit loose and rocky at the top, but it’s genuinely the final rough climb of the route. The views back down Bransdale as you climb up and over into Farndale and Blakey Rigg are worth it. OK, so there’s maybe one more noticeable rise up to the ‘Golden Heights’ with their prehistoric cairn monuments, but Rudland Rigg is a fast rolling rock and sand surface again. Once you’re over the top though it’s a glorious 2.5km gallop charge straight down the Rigg. Be aware that while there’s nothing too knobbly, there are loose rock and sand patches that could catch you out. It’s popular with walkers and 4x4 drivers too and they’ll obviously be concentrating on ‘living their one life’ rather than watching out for riders.
Moorend to Kirkbymoorside 32.6 - 42km
Once you’ve buzzed over the cattle grid at Moorend you’ve still got another km of gentle but fast road descent to enjoy before the short road climb back onto the lower ‘plate’ of the moors. Be ready to take the left-hand fork straight along the narrow lane to Gillamoor. This gorgeous village follows the classic linear layout which is best admired from the benches outside the Royal Oak with a refreshing drink in hand ready for the final furlong.
From Gillamoor take the road next to the Royal Oak towards Kirkbymoorside but go straight on down the narrow lane as the road bears right. Carry on as the tarmac turns to white gravel curving along to High Park farm. While the signage looks like you should go into the farm and across their neatly mowed lawn we’re pretty sure they’d rather you actually went down the track on the far side of the hedge instead as that’s where you’ll end up anyway. Then it’s a couple of field’s worth of edge singletrack before you enter the Manor Vale woodland nature reserve. This is a very pleasant, flowing way to finish the ride but it can be busy with dog walkers and other visitors so go steady so as not to startle them or any of the 38 different bird species that have been seen there. As you reach the end gate the big slab of old wall on your right is the last remaining piece of the 15th century hunting lodge that stood on the original castle site. History duly noted, it’s just a short roll back into town to complete what’s hopefully been a really enjoyable ride in an area that often gets unjustly overlooked in favour of biking centres like Sutton Bank and Dalby Forest.
Photo courtesy of Graham Atkinson
