A walk to the delightful waterfall Falling Foss

1. Falling Foss –
Medium Walk

2. One of my favourite walks, this
woodland walk takes you to the
spectacular Falling Foss waterfall, and
the tea gardens above the waterfall -
a hidden gem. Along the way you will
come across The Hermitage a
sandstone refuge but the walk is
worth doing just for experiencing the
Falling Foss waterfall for the first
time.

3. Getting There
You need to follow the A171 road to
Whitby and go past Whitby and look
for the B146 turning which is a right
turn and then when on this road take
a very sharp left to be on the May
Beck Farm Road- follow this road
down until you reach a car park which
is the starting point for the walk.

4. The Walk
From the car park cross the
bridge and then turn
downstream along a signed
footpath to Falling Foss. The
path rises and passes through
a gate into thicker woodland
and then crosses a side
stream. At a fork in the path
bear left returning to May
Beck at a ford. Carry on a
little further to a stone bridge.
Continue North and cross
over the wooden bridge
pictured:

5. Falling Foss Walk route

6. You will pass in front of Midge Hall
which is also the home of the Falling
Foss tea rooms - definitely stop in the
summer when its open for a pot of tea
and sandwiches with the waterfall as
its backdrop.
Forking left beyond Midge Hall you
will find a grand view of the Falling
Foss waterfall. Stop for as long as you
like before sticking with the main path
above. You will come to a junction on
the path and go left where the sign is
signed to Littlebeck.

7. Follow this path which
passes through another
junction until you come to
The Hermitage.

8. Have a look inside the building which
is made of sandstone and sit on the
bench inside - handy if it starts to
rain to take shelter. Perched above
The Hermitage are a couple
of "chairs"- sit in one and make a
wish in the other to make it come
true according to local folklore. The
initials above The Hermitage belong
to George Chubb who was a
schoolteacher in the nearby village of
Littlebeck.

9. Turn around as if to retrace
your steps but instead
immediately bear right. on
the path to descend to the
stream below. Cross the
bridge over May Beck but
ignore a second bridge later
on and instead follow a path
climbing from the valley. At it
reaches its crest it swings
right falling to cross a side
brook. The path then winds
on to meet a gravel track.

10. You can revisit Falling Foss from here
(its worth another look) otherwise the
way back to the car park is to the
right. Abandon the path almost
immediately in favour of a path on
the left that meanders through the
wood. Ignore two stiles you come
across and on the third stile you
encounter which is beside a bridle
gate, go through this gate and
descend the path back to the car
park.