Malton to Pickering Cycle Route

18th May 2022

The Malton to Pickering Cycle Route was funded by the European Union and opened on 9th May 2022. It's a pleasant ride between two charming Yorkshire market towns.

The route uses country roads and bridleways. The roads are generally quiet, and the bridleway sections reasonably well-surfaced. I guess the EU money paid for some resurfacing and for the signage.

I rode a mountain bike, but you'd be ok on hybrid or cyclocross bike. I wouldn't be happy using my road bike for this trip.

There are some interesting attractions on or close to the route, including Eden Camp, Flamingo Land, and Pickering Castle.

Malton to Pickering Cycle Route: Map

The map above gives an overview of the Malton to Pickering Cycle Route.

This is the ride on Plotaroute; you can download a navigation file from there.

Malton to Pickering Cycle Route: Route Notes

Malton to Pickering

The ride starts at Malton Station, which is on the south side of the river Derwent.

Cross the river and ride up Railway Street to Yorkersgate. Turn left on Yorkersgate then right on Saville Street, and go round the Market Place.

Finkle Street links to Wheelgate/Newbiggin, which is quite busy with traffic.

Turn right onto Outgang Lane, a tarmacked bridleway that runs through a fairly new housing estate. Leaving the housing estate, the bridleway takes you over the A64.

After the A64, the bridleway is a crushed limestone effort called Ryton Still Road and/or Ryton Stile Road. It runs close to Eden Camp (but not right past the entrance).

Eden Camp is a visitor attraction set in a World War II prisoner of war camp. It will take you back to experience what it was like at the time of that conflict.

Ride over Old Malton Moor and join Edenhouse Road past Eden Farm, then cross the river Rye.

At the time of my ride there was a lot of standing water, including here by the Rye.

When comparing this giant puddle with the Great Lakes of North America, my detailed research shows it to be inferior in size to Lake Superior, but of a similar depth and surface area to the others.

Continue past a number of farms, and you find yourself on Dicky Grounds Lane. That is the best road name I've ever come across, so I propose that all roads should be called Dicky Grounds.

What's that, you think it could be confusing for DPD drivers? Ok, I'm prepared to negotiate. I'll settle for 30% of Britain's roads being renamed Dicky Grounds Lane - I can't say fairer than that. It's my final offer.

In the early morning there were roe deer and hares here.

Turn right towards Kirby Misperton (a busier road now).

Head through the village of Kirby Misperton.

Leave the village on Kirby Misperton Road (rather too busy and fast). Turn off towards Lendales Farm. At the farm, I missed the small cycling signs directing me around the outside of the farmyard, and went through it instead. It was the only point where I found navigation tricky.

After Lendales Farm you get views of Flamingo Land. I'd heard of it, but I didn't know where it was until I did this bike ride.

A pleasant country road by Pickering Beck takes you to Pickering.

In Pickering there's a busy junction where you cross the A170.

One of the attractions in Pickering is the castle.

There's also a station on the North York Moors Railway.

And the Beck Isle Museum has displays about Pickering's history.

There are plenty of cafés and shops in Pickering, especially on Market Place.

Return Route

Return by the same route. The one-way system in Malton means it's slightly different at Market Place on the way back.

Comments and Suggestions

1) There's a bit of confusion about the route at the start in Malton, with contradictory signs where Railway Street meets Yorkersgate, and the wrong route shown on the official map. I'm told that the correct route is via Market Place, and my Plotaroute GPS file goes that way.

2) There's a lot of standing water on the route. The crushed limestone feels quite smooth at the moment, but it doesn't drain properly. Farmers use some sections with their tractors, and that will degrade the surface quickly.

Overall, I don't think the crushed limestone sections will remain in good condition for more than 5 minutes.

The EU funded this project, but we won't be getting any more European money for repairs and improvements; maybe Mr Johnson and Mr Rees Mogg would like to stump up for drainage improvements instead.

3) The roads just before and after Kirby Misperton are quite busy and fast. Where cycle routes are on-road, Sustrans recommends 20mph limits in towns and villages and 40mph in the countryside. The highways authority should reduce the limits in and around Kirby Misperton accordingly.

Have you done this bike ride? What did you think of it?