Hole of Horcum Walk

😊 HOLE OF HORCUM WALK: DISCOVER SKELTON TOWER AND LEVISHAM MOOR
🌄 This circular walk starts at the North York Moors National Park car park at Saltergate, descends into the vast bowl of the Hole of Horcum via Low Horcum, crosses the valley to a footbridge, and climbs through the tree-lined ravine of Dundale Griff. From there, it follows Limpsey Gate Lane into Levisham, continues along Braygate Lane onto open moorland, and heads for Skelton Tower above Newton Dale. The route then tracks north-east across Levisham Bottoms beneath West Side Brow, with wide views over the moors and the North Yorkshire Moors Railway in the valley below.
🧭 The walk covers 7¾ miles, takes about 3¾ hours, and includes a total ascent of 294 metres. My walk page provides full directions, detailed route statistics, and parking advice. It also links to Ordnance Survey and Outdooractive maps, which let you print the route, download it to your device, and export it as a GPX file.
🏞️ The Hole of Horcum, often called the ‘Devil’s Punchbowl’, is a huge bowl-shaped depression, roughly three-quarters of a mile across and about 120 metres deep. It formed through spring-sapping, where water from underground springs eroded the rock over thousands of years. Local folklore tells of Wade the Giant scooping out the earth during a quarrel with his wife, Bell, with the clod landing nearby as Blakey Topping. The surrounding moor holds Bronze and Iron Age remains, including earthworks and burial mounds.
📸 Highlights include the first sweeping view into the amphitheatre from the path near the A169, the landmark barn at Low Horcum, and the steady climb through Dundale Griff. Levisham offers the Horseshoe Inn and St John the Baptist Church with its record of rectors. Out on the moor, the outlook opens towards Cropton Forest and Newton Dale, and from Skelton Tower you can watch the North Yorkshire Moors Railway winding through the valley alongside Pickering Beck, with woodlands banded across the slopes.
🚶‍♂️ If you enjoy a varied moorland route with memorable landmarks and big North York Moors views, this one’s for you. View the full route, maps, and planning tools on my website:
https://www.paulbeal.com/hole-of-horc...