Cleveland Way hiking guide: route map, stages & where to stay

The Cleveland Way is a National Trail in North Yorkshire, in the north of England. It runs for 109 miles (175 km) in a great horseshoe around the North York Moors National Park, from the market town of Helmsley to Filey Brigg on the Yorkshire coast. The first half crosses the heather moors and the edge of the Hambleton and Cleveland Hills; the second follows the cliff tops of the North Sea coast. It opened in 1969, the second National Trail in England after the Pennine Way, and is waymarked with the National Trail acorn. Most walkers go clockwise, from Helmsley to Filey, and take about nine days.

The route

From Helmsley Castle the path climbs out of the Rye valley past the ruins of Rievaulx Abbey and through woods and farmland to Cold Kirby and the escarpment at Sutton Bank, with its famous view over the Vale of York. An out-and-back spur leads south to the Kilburn White Horse, cut into the hillside in 1857. The second day follows the edge of the Hambleton Hills, past Gormire Lake and along the old Hambleton Drove Road, to the village of Osmotherley.

The third day is the hardest inland: a switchback over five moors (Scarth Wood Moor, Live Moor, Carlton Bank, Cold Moor and Hasty Bank), with the Lord Stones café halfway and the gritstone pinnacles of the Wainstones near the end, down to the road pass at Clay Bank. Next the path climbs onto Urra Moor, at 454 m the highest point of the North York Moors, and follows an old ironstone railway past Bloworth Crossing, the remotest place on the trail, before dropping to Kildale. The fifth day passes Captain Cook's Monument on Easby Moor, makes a short out-and-back climb to the summit of Roseberry Topping, goes through Guisborough Woods and Skelton, and reaches the sea at Saltburn.

The coast is the other half of the walk. South of Saltburn the path climbs to Boulby Cliff, at 203 m the highest cliff on England's east coast, and drops into the harbour villages of Staithes and Runswick Bay before Sandsend. Then come Whitby, its abbey above the 199 steps, the cliff path to Robin Hood's Bay, the old alum works at Ravenscar, the wooded cove of Hayburn Wyke, Scarborough's two bays, Cayton Bay and finally the rocky point of Filey Brigg, where the Yorkshire Wolds Way also ends.

This guide follows the route as mapped on OpenStreetMap and the National Trail's nine official sections, 9 stages of about 18.7 km each. The two out-and-back spurs (the White Horse and Roseberry Topping) are not in the line: add about 1 hour and 45 minutes for them. The elevation profile adds up to about 3,300 m of climbing in total, but many short, steep steps on the coast are smoothed out, and the real figure is closer to 5,000 m.

Highlights

• Rievaulx Abbey: great Cistercian ruins an hour from Helmsley
• Sutton Bank and the White Horse: the view James Herriot called the finest in England
• The Cleveland Hills: five moors, the Wainstones and long views over Teesside
• Roseberry Topping: the half-cone hill known as Yorkshire's Matterhorn
• Staithes and Runswick Bay: fishing villages tucked under the cliffs
• Whitby: the abbey ruins, the 199 steps and the town of Captain Cook and Dracula
• Robin Hood's Bay: red roofs on the cliff and the end of the Coast to Coast walk
• Filey Brigg: a long rock reef full of seabirds at the finish

When to walk the Cleveland Way

The trail is open all year, but National Trails recommends spring to autumn, because the coastal paths are muddy in winter. May, June and September are the best months. The heather on the moors is purple in late August and early September. July and August are the busiest, and coastal rooms fill early. The moors are exposed to wind, rain and low cloud, and the coast often has a cold sea mist (sea fret) even in summer.

How many days do you need?

The official plan, followed here, is nine days of 12 to 28 km. The longest day is Saltburn to Sandsend (28 km, with deep climbs in and out of Skinningrove, Staithes and Runswick Bay): you can split it at Staithes or Runswick Bay. Fast walkers join short stages and finish in seven or eight days. You can also walk it in parts, using the railway at Kildale, Saltburn, Whitby, Scarborough and Filey.

Permits, booking and accommodation

No permit or fee is needed. You sleep in inns, B&Bs, hotels, youth hostels (YHA Helmsley, Whitby, Boggle Hole and Scarborough), bunkhouses and campsites. There is no general right to wild camp in England, so camp only on campsites or with the landowner's permission. Sutton Bank and Clay Bank have almost no beds: at Sutton Bank stay in Kilburn, Boltby or at a farm campsite, and at Clay Bank in Great Broughton or Chop Gate, where hosts often collect walkers from the car park. Book early for May to September. Companies such as Sherpa Van carry bags between overnight stops.

Getting there and away

Helmsley has no railway station; it is reached by regular buses, so plan the journey on Traveline. Moorsbus adds summer services in the National Park. On the route there are railway stations at Kildale (Esk Valley line between Middlesbrough and Whitby), Saltburn, Whitby, Scarborough and Filey, and buses run hourly along the coast between Whitby, Robin Hood's Bay and Scarborough. From Filey trains run to Scarborough and Hull, and from Scarborough to York.

Money and phone signal

Cards are accepted almost everywhere, but carry some cash for small campsites and farm B&Bs. Cash machines are in the towns. Shops are scarce on the inland stages, with nothing at Clay Bank or Kildale, so carry lunch; Sutton Bank National Park Centre and Lord Stones have cafés. Mobile signal is good on the coast and patchy on the high moors, especially Urra Moor and Bloworth Crossing.

What to pack

Waterproof jacket and trousers, warm layers, a hat and gloves outside midsummer, boots with good grip for the steep, muddy coastal steps, sun cream, a first-aid and blister kit and enough water and food for the moorland days. Carry a map or a phone app with offline maps: the Ordnance Survey OL26 and OL27 (North York Moors) and Explorer 301 cover the route.

Safety

The Cleveland Way is a moderate walk with no technical sections, but the moors are high and exposed and the cliffs are unstable. Keep back from cliff edges, follow diversion signs, and check the National Trails website before you go: in January 2026 the cliff path just south of Robin Hood's Bay was closed and diverted inland via Middlewood Farm and the Cinder Track. At Runswick Bay the path crosses the beach, so check the tide. Keep dogs on a lead on the moors from 1 March to 31 July and near livestock. In an emergency call 999 or 112: ask for the Police and Mountain Rescue on the moors, and for the Coastguard on the cliffs and beaches.