We had a fantastic day exploring the village of Goathland. Here’s a brief overview of our experiences, why we fell in love with this village, and why we believe it’s the ideal place to spend a day if you’re visiting nearby Whitby.
Goathland is a pretty village on the eastern edge of the North York Moors National Park. It is around a 20-minute drive from Whitby, approximately 9 miles away. It’s conveniently close to Whitby, York, and the Yorkshire Coast, making it a lovely pop-in. (Especially if you’re a Harry Potter or Heartbeat fan! This is a sentence we never thought we’d write!) To help you plan your trip, here’s some information about the local area, how we spent our day here, and a few recommendations to consider.
Good morning, Goathland!
We arrived at Goathland around 10 a.m., early enough to find parking easily. The parking fee is £4.00 for the entire day. Please be aware that the car park tends to fill up quickly during peak times. Additionally, there is a toilet available at this location.
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This area is quite popular among tourists as it was the setting for the long-running drama Heartbeat. The popular TV series Heartbeat was primarily filmed in Goathland, surrounded by the winding Yorkshire countryside. The show often featured roads through the moors and occasionally showcased nearby locations like Whitby. Additionally, the spin-off series The Royal was set in Scarborough.
You can learn more about Goathland’s Heartbeat history here.
First, we stopped by Scripps (Aidensfield Garage)
First, we decided to have a little wander around the village; it’s small but sweet and sheep on the road welcomed us! We stopped by Scripps (Aidensfield Garage)
We came across the Aidensfield Garage near the Aidensfield Arms (The Goathland Hotel). This vintage-looking garage has been featured in Heartbeat and was taken over by Bernie Scripps in season 5, who gave it a new name. It used to be a popular hangout spot for Greengrass and his schemes.
The garage has been transformed into a gift shop offering small refreshments. The garage’s exterior is adorned with vintage signs, pumps, and old cars, making it an excellent location for memorable photo opportunities. If you’re a fan of Heartbeat, it’s worth a visit, as the gift shop has various memorabilia and souvenirs.
We picked up some cake! You can stop for breakfast
We had already had breakfast, so we just picked up a couple of slices of cake to enjoy on our walk to the waterfall later. But Goathland Tea Rooms is perfect for breakfast, lunch, tea, and cake. It’s known for its delicious homemade scones, jacket potatoes, quiches, salads, an all-day breakfast, and Yorkshire cream tea!
They offer a range of vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, nut-free, and dairy-free savoury and sweet options. During warm weather, the tea garden is a lovely spot. If you fancy it, pop into the gift shop next door on your way out.
Next, we visited Goathland Train Station
We continued our stroll around the village before visiting Goathland Train Station, known for its appearance in the Harry Potter series as Hogsmeade Station.
It’s just a 10-minute walk from the village to Goathland Train Station, and this station is where Harry and his friends arrive at Hogsmeade for the first time. It’s where Harry reunites with Hagrid, and they all take the boats across the water to the castle. You can visit the spot where Hagrid greeted them and waved goodbye to all the students.
The Goathland Station is a significant part of the North Yorkshire Moors Railway (NYMR), a heritage railway featuring vintage steam locomotives and beautiful carriages. The NYMR offers an exceptional service, operating regular steam and diesel trains between Pickering and Grosmont, with Goathland as a stop.
The station hosts events throughout the year, including themed weekends and special steam train excursions. Additionally, visitors can explore the station’s shop and tea room, which is located in a converted 1922-style goods shed.
We did the Goathland to Beck Hole Circular and walked to the Mallyan Spout waterfall
After a quick stop to see the station, we decided to walk to the Mallyan Spout Waterfall. Although we had been on the train before, we had never walked to Mallyan Spout, so we decided to make that our focus for the day. (We also stopped to eat our cake along the way.)
This was a 2.8-mile circular route that took approximately 1 hour and 30 minutes to complete.
The Goathland to Beck Hole circular route
Leaving the car park, we followed the main road; it veers left. As you continue toward the village’s southern end, you’ll spot the Mallyan Spout Hotel on the right-hand side of the road. Just before reaching the hotel’s entrance, you’ll notice a path with a sign directing you to the ‘Mallyan Spout’.
Be mindful of the path in wet weather, as it can become muddy and has steep steps. The path will guide you to West Beck. By turning right at West Beck, you can follow the path to the stunning Mallyan Spout waterfall. It was a bit of a scramble across stones to reach the waterfall, but the breathtaking view of the gentle cascade was worth it.
After enjoying the waterfall, we retraced our steps alongside the beck. Instead of taking the path we initially used, we continued on the boardwalk, which ran alongside the beck for a while. Eventually, we came to a gate and walked along an elevated path with fields to our right and a steep wooded slope to our left. When you reach Beck Hole, you’ll descend once more.
Detour to Birch Hall Inn
As you emerge from the valley, you can detour to Birch Hall Inn, which is in Beck Hole.
If you’d like to take the short detour, turn left at Incline Cottage and follow the signs to Beck Hole. If you’re heading back from Beck Hole, turn right at Incline Cottage and follow the path uphill. It’s a slow, steady hill that leads out onto the road. Follow the road to the right, and you’ll end up back in Goathland Village, where the car park is.
Last but not least, food at The Mallyan Spout Hotel
To finish off our day in Goathland, we were hungry, so we decided to stop at the Mallyan Spout Hotel, which is known for its excellent menu, featuring dishes that celebrate the flavours of Yorkshire and change with the seasons. I would recommend the fish and chips; they were huge! Just what was needed after climbing up from the waterfall. The staff here were brilliant.
We loved spending the day in Goathland and hope this article has given you a few ideas and inspiration. We’d love to hear about your day trips to Goathland in the comments.
Header image credit: © Copyright Philip Barker and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence.
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