Yorkshire’s sea and landscapes get into your heart and soul and there are few better ways to enjoy them then by walking.
Marsden-born Simon Armitage walked “wrong way round” the 256-mile long Pennine Way. He also completed it alone and without money, relying instead on poetry readings given en route to supply him with some cash and bed and board.
His experiences formed his book Walking Home.
The landscape inspires him. “Occasionally you go to find yourself and you get lost. You go there for comfort sometimes and you get challenged.
“Sometimes you find solace and contemplation,” said Armitage, now Poet Laureate.
The late Ted Hughes was born in Mytholmroyd and, as well as being Poet Laureate, found inspiration in the county’s landscape. The collection Remains of Elmet is about the ancient landscape of rural Yorkshire.
We take a look at countryside and coast walks.
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5. Bingley Five Rise Locks
From Crossflatts to Bingley along the canal towpath, this family and pram friendly walk is ideal to discover the Five and Three Rise Locks of Bingley. Finish with a nice stroll into town. Beckfoot and back by the River Aire in Bingley Beckfoot Packhorse Bridge is a special place along the River Aire. This easy short walk will show you most of the features along the river. Look out for wildlife and fish. Photo: Jonathan Gawthorpe
6. Walks in Stages - View of Staithes from the Cleveland Way
The Cleveland Way National Trail is a 109 mile walking route starting from the market town of Helmsley, across the moorland of the North York Moors National Park, before reaching the coast at Saltburn-by-the-Sea. From here it’s a visual feast along the North Yorkshire coastline to Filey, passing old fishing villages and lively coastal towns. It runs through the smuggler’s village of Robin Hood’s Bay and the resorts Scarborough and Whitby. Photo: Tony Johnson
7. Wolds Way
The 79-mile walking route in the chalk landscape of the Wolds. The National Trail winds through some of the most tranquil and gentle countryside in England. From the banks of the Humber estuary, along wooded slopes and through serene dry valleys, the walk climbs gently on to the airy tops of the rolling hills. Descending from the northern escarpment the final section of the Way finishes on the headland of Filey Brigg. Photo: Jonathan Gawthorpe
8. West Heslerton near Malton on Yorkshire Wolds Way footpath
A walker on his daily exercise passes a dew pond close to West Heslerton near Malton on the Yorkshire Wolds Way footpath. Photo: Tony Johnson