Take an Autumn Walk Through Dalby Forest With Matthew Wolfenden and Roxy Shahidi
Living North's columnists, actors Matthew Wolfenden and Roxy Shahidi (best known for their roles as David and Leyla on Emmerdale), continue their journey exploring Yorkshire one walk at a time
Dalby Forest, in the heart of the North York Moors National Park, offers the perfect place to escape, relax and enjoy an adventure. Covering more than 8,500 acres, the forest is packed with breathtaking views and miles of walking, running and cycling trails. There’s plenty for families too, from the Gruffalo orienteering course and Room on the Broom Trail to sculptures hidden throughout the forest. Dalby is also a designated Dark Sky Discovery Site, where on a clear night you can even experience the magic of seeing the Milky Way with the naked eye.
But we are here to walk... so, with Cooper and Iggy on their leads, walking boots tied, and a flask of coffee made to keep us going, we set off. Sitting on the southern slopes of the North York Moors National Park, Dalby is huge. You could probably come here dozens of times and never do exactly the same walk twice. For this one, we wanted something around our usual five-mile mark, starting around Adderstone Field, heading towards Ellerburn and then looping back through the forest.
October is arguably the best time of year to do it. Beech and oak turn shades of yellow, orange and deep copper, fallen leaves cover the paths and, when the sun manages to break through the canopy, the whole place seems to glow.
Why Dalby?
Matt: ‘This is proper autumn, isn’t it?’
Roxy: ‘Yep. Cold enough for a coat, but not cold enough for me to start complaining yet.’
Matt: ‘You complained getting out of the car.’
Roxy: ‘That was different. I’d just got warm! Anyway, I’ve got a coffee, so everything’s fine.’
Matt: ‘It’s funny to think that somewhere this peaceful has also hosted some pretty huge concerts. It was part of Forest Live, where stages were set up in forests around the country for open-air summer concerts.’
Roxy: ‘Really? So who played here?’
Matt: ‘They’ve had some massive names here over the years. Tom Jones, Kaiser Chiefs, McFly, James Morrison, Will Young, Madness…’
Roxy: ‘Wow… thousands of people coming into the forest to watch live music, with the trees as the backdrop. That must have been incredible.’
Matt: ‘And the money raised from the concerts helped support the nation’s forests as well, so it wasn’t just about putting on a gig.’
Roxy: ‘It’s hard to picture it now though, isn’t it? Standing here on a quiet autumn morning, you’d never know there had been thousands of people singing along here.’
Matt: ‘That’s what I like about Dalby. One minute it can handle a massive outdoor concert, the next it’s just us, two muddy dogs and a flask of coffee.’
Roxy: ‘And me not complaining.’
Matt: ‘I’ll give it 10 minutes!’
Let’s Walk…
We set off around Adderstone Field with Cooper and Iggy immediately doing what they always do: behaving as though they’ve never been outside before and needing to investigate absolutely everything.
Within minutes, though, we’re into the trees, and it feels as though we’ve left everything else behind. The further you walk from the busier areas, the quieter it gets, until pretty much all you can hear is the crunch of your boots through the leaves, birds somewhere above you and the dogs disappearing into every pile of leaves they can find.
Autumn is definitely the season for this walk. The forest is a mixture of different trees, so rather than everything changing at once, you get patches of colour everywhere. Some trees are still hanging onto their green leaves while others have completely turned, from bright yellow through to burnt orange and deep brown.
There’s something nice about walking in a forest, because you lose your sense of distance. On some of our previous walks you can see exactly where you’re heading from miles away. Here, the paths twist and disappear between the trees, so you just follow them and see where they take you.
Thankfully the trails around Dalby are well marked, because neither of us has the greatest track record when it comes to navigation. We won’t say which one of us is worse…
… It’s Matthew!
As the route takes you towards Ellerburn the woodland begins to change, and the landscape gradually opens up. Ellerburn itself is tiny and feels wonderfully tucked away. Stone buildings, countryside and woodland all sit together in a little valley and, particularly at this time of year, it feels a million miles away from everyday life.
Then it’s back towards the trees for the forest section of the loop. This was probably our favourite part of the walk. By now the flask has made another appearance, Roxy has also packed snacks, (vegan, of course), which apparently is now an essential part of our walks, and Cooper and Iggy have settled down slightly from their initial excitement... slightly!
The paths underfoot are generally good and there are no huge climbs to worry about, but this is Yorkshire in October, so it would be optimistic to expect to come home with clean boots. Fallen leaves can hide mud, tree roots and the odd slippery patch, so decent footwear is definitely worth having.
Dalby has a completely different feel depending on which part of the forest you’re walking through. Some sections are dense and dark, with tall trees packed closely together. Others are much more open, with beech and oak overhead and a carpet of leaves underneath. There’s wildlife everywhere too, although in our experience wildlife has an uncanny ability to disappear approximately three seconds before we manage to get a photograph of it. You’ll hear something moving in the undergrowth, both dogs will suddenly become incredibly interested, and by the time you look, whatever was there has long gone!
As the afternoon goes on, the light begins to drop, and the colours seems to become even richer. That low autumn sunshine coming through the trees is hard to beat, particularly when it catches the oranges and golds of the leaves. There’s a reason people flock to forests at this time of year, and there’s something nostalgic about it too. Walking through piles of fallen leaves immediately makes you feel about eight years old again. Although, when Roxy suggests kicking our way through them, I have to point out that at our age there’s now a very real possibility of slipping over and putting a hip out – but we do it anyway! And Cooper and Iggy need absolutely no encouragement.
Eventually the paths begin to bring you back towards Adderstone Field and, after spending the best part of a couple of hours enclosed by woodland, you suddenly realise just how far you’ve wandered. At around five miles, it’s a really manageable route. There’s enough distance to feel as though you’ve earned your lunch, without reaching that point where conversation stops and everyone just wants to know how much further it is to the car. And, more importantly, there’s a pub waiting.
The Fox & Rabbit Inn makes a great final stop after the walk and by the time we arrive, muddy boots and two tired dogs in tow, we’re more than ready for something to eat and a drink.
Dalby Forest is one of those places we’ll definitely come back to because you get the feeling you’ve barely scratched the surface. With thousands of acres of woodland and trails heading off in every direction, there’s always going to be another path to explore. But for an October walk, this one is difficult to beat. No huge climbs. No summit to tick off. Just five miles, two dogs, a flask of coffee, plenty of autumn leaves and a pub waiting at the end.
Sometimes that’s all you need.
