Choosing a Walk

We believe that you are best placed to assess your own fitness and capabilities when choosing a walk. However, below is some information to help you to choose a suitable route.

Walkers come in all shapes and sizes. Some of us have mobility problems that make climbing stiles or steps difficult. Others have difficulty getting pushchairs over narrow bridges and stiles. Sometimes we will walk with others who aren't as agile as us. Whatever your situation, the walks on this website come with three key pieces of information:-

Grade

Length

Duration

Grade of the walk

There is no nationally accepted grade for walks in England and we have therefore devised our own based on our experience of running our guided walks within the Countryside Events programme.

If you are an experienced walker perhaps used to walking in the Lake District, Pennines or Yorkshire Moors, none of the routes will be particularly difficult.

If you have only ever walked in East Yorkshire then only parts of the Wolds will be challenging.

The boot symbol on the maps shows the grade of each route:-

One boot

Easy - likely to be on level path over surfaces that are easy to use and with no stiles or steps.

Two boots

Moderate - likely to be on average quality paths with a few gradients and the possibility of the odd stile.

Three boots

Challenging - likely to be hilly or across rough ground, perhaps with some poor surfaces and structures such as steps and stiles.

The length of the route

This is obviously not open to any interpretation. You can search for:-

Short walks: 0-4 miles

Medium walks: 5-10 miles

Long walks: over 10 miles

Time the walk will take

Please note these are based on averages, and you should be prepared to make adjustments to these times if you walk at a different pace. The choice of pace is yours. Some people are comfortable striding ahead whilst others prefer to saunter and enjoy the wildlife and natural surroundings. The timings are based on a walker covering two miles an hour.

There are three main types of walks on this site:-

· Challenge walks that are primarily long and strenuous

· Recommended walks of varying lengths and accessibility

· Healthy walks that are very short and easy to access, often running from leisure centres in urban areas

All of the walks on this website come with a grade, a distance and an estimated duration.

We have described the barriers, hazards and gradients found along each of the routes. Look at the 'accessibility information' box of each walk record to see if your chosen route contains the likes of stiles, busy roads and steep slopes.

You can use some routes in a motorised wheelchair. The ‘tramper’ mobility scooter can cope with almost all routes in the East Riding, apart from those with steps. Of course, your type of disability and your willingness to test out the capabilities of your machine will have an impact on how far you can actually go.

Over time more of our countryside paths will become accessible to more people as stiles are replaced with kissing gates. For certain identified routes larger mobility scooter gates will be installed to enable everyone to enjoy walks in the East Riding of Yorkshire.

If you plan to take one of these walks and require further information about path surfaces, structures and accessibility please contact the relevant Public Rights of Way officer for your area.

Map of the areas covered by PROW officers

Note - You can generally assume that as routes get longer they become more difficult. Short walks are generally the most accessible.