On The Hoof

Follow in the footsteps of drovers who took this North Yorkshire moorland route to drive herds from Scottish grazing grounds

- Terry Fletcher

Stepping out on this walk you are in good, if ghostly, company. Its highlight – in every sense of the word – is the airy section along the rim of Black Hambleton following the centuries-old Hambleton Street drove road along the western escarpment of the North York Moors. Hundreds of years ago this was the route taken by the drovers, hardy British ‘cowboys’ who used the track to drive their herds from their grazing grounds in Scotland to the booming and ever-hungry markets of English cities spawned by the industrial revolution. It was a hard life for both man and beast. It’s small wonder there are so many

Drovers Inns dotted up and down the country; they must have been welcome respite after a long day out in the wind and rain.

Today the track, now incorporated into the Cleveland Way National Trail, which encircles the North York Moors National Park, is a playground rather than a trade route, the province of the walker, fell runner, horse rider and mountain biker. However, the walk begins far below in the charming little village of Nether Silton, whose pub provides a welcoming end to the walk.

DIRECTIONS