Skip to content Skip to navigation

Countryside Activities

Walks and Activities

Rail trails

Take on one of the East Riding's hidden gems. There are four trails in total that take you through the beautiful East Riding countryside.

Search for rail trails

Country Park

A great place to take the family for a picnic or leisurely stroll, taking in wildlife set amongst woods, meadows, ponds and cliffs.

Visit country park

Yorkshire Wolds Way

The Yorkshire Wolds present amazing chalk landscapes with dry valleys and stunning wildlife alongside vibrant market towns and ancient villages.

Find out more

Self-led Walks

Find popular walking and cycling routes all over the East Riding, including short walks, pub walks, mountain biking and more.

Search all walks

Design your own

Use the Public Rights of Way interactive map online to design your own walk on footpaths and bridleways in the East Riding.

Use the PROW map

National trails

Take on the challenge of the national trails that go through the East Riding, such as the Yorkshire Wolds Way.

Search for national walks

Cycling

The East Riding is a great place to go cycling. Whether it is through quiet roads in the beautiful Yorkshire Wolds or along the breathtaking East Riding coast.

View East Riding routes

Geocaching

Geocaching is a real-world, outdoor adventure that is happening all the time, all around the world. Get the app and start hunting.

Find out more

Get Outside App

Ordnance Survey have created GetOutside to make getting out and about more enjoyable for you and your family.

Where to download

What Was Here?

Go back in time with your smartphone to see how places looked in the past, with over 25 interactive heritage trails!

Get the free app

Walking the Riding

Browse our collection of self-guided walks, find out how to create your own or take on challenging longer walks along the England Coast Path, Yorkshire Wolds Way and Trans Pennine Trail.

Search for Walks

Public Rights of Way Interactive Map

Design your own walk

Want to make your own custom walks to share with friends? The Public Right of Way Map shows the location of existing foothpaths, bridleways and byways across the East Riding of Yorkshire. Use the draw tools to plan your own journeys!

(The information on the map gives the approximate location of the Public Right of Way network, and may only be used for general guidance. No guarantee is given to its accuracy.)

View map

Problem with a Public Right of Way? Have you found damage to a path or signage on a Public Right of Way? Please report it online to East Riding of Yorkshire Council on eastriding.gov.uk

Join the world's largest treasure hunt

Geocaching is a real-world, outdoor adventure that is happening all the time, all around the world. To play, participants use the Geocaching app and/or a GPS device to navigate to cleverly hidden containers called geocaches. There are millions of geocaches in 190 countries waiting to be discovered - there are probably even some near you right now.

Open access spaces

Access land in England falls into two categories, open country (mountain, moor, heath and down) and registered common land, and there is a right to outdoor recreation on foot on this land. In the East Riding, the majority of access land is in the unimproved grassland of the Wolds dry chalk valleys which are Chalk downland. There is a small area of heath near South Cliffe and the three commons around Beverley (Westwood, Swinemoor and Figham) that are also accessible. Some open country is not publicly accessible as they do not have a connection to a public right of way or highway.

Activities on access land

You are allowed to wander anywhere within access land for activities including running, dog walking, climbing, birdwatching and having a picnic however you are required to take your rubbish home with you. Dogs must be on a short lead between 1 March and 31 July or at all times when livestock are present.

Activities you cannot do are:

Cycling or horse riding
Water sports, including swimming or taking a boat onto a river, lake or reservoir
Driving a motorised vehicle
Lighting fires or camping
Shooting, foraging or picking flowers
Using a metal detector
Taking part in organised games or commercial activities
Interfering with activities of farmers or other landowners

What is Open Access?

This historic new right of open access started in the East Riding in 2005.

Open access means that you can walk through land mapped by Natural England as 'access land' without having to stick to formal paths. Most of the land that is available lies in the wolds, as dry chalk valleys snake their way through the landscape.

Most of the land in the East Riding is not 'access land' and you should stick to existing public rights of way, unless the open country symbol is clearly evident.

We have a useful guide for those who wish to explore these beautiful places and this answers frequently asked questions about closures and restrictions, safety for walkers, dogs and other rules when using this new right.

You can search for open access walks on the Walking the Riding directory.

More information on open access can be found on Natural England.

What is Registered Common Land?

Registered common land (RCL) is mostly privately owned but others have rights to use the land. For example to graze livestock and these people are called 'commoners'. Following the passing of the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 the public can walk freely across all land registered. Additional rights to ride horses also exist on urban commons.

You may take a dog on RCL unless there is a formal closure or restriction. Please note that between the 1 March and 31 July you should keep your dog on a short lead to protect ground nesting birds.

The three largest areas are around Beverley but many other smaller areas exist that you can enjoy. The most important piece of registered common land is Beverley Westwood and this is enjoyed by thousands of visitors each year.

To view the register please contact us on (01482) 393170 to make an appointment.

More information on registered common land can be found on Natural England.

Dog Walkers

When you take your dog on public rights of way, nature reserves and access land, always ensure it does not disturb wildlife, farm animals, horses or other people by keeping it under effective control. This means that you:

keep your dog on a lead, or
keep it in sight at all times, be aware of what it's doing and be confident it will return to you promptly on command
ensure it does not stray off the path or area where you have a right of access

Special rules

Special dog rules may apply in particular situations, so always look out for local signs - for example:

dogs may be banned from certain areas that people use, or there may be restrictions, byelaws or control orders limiting where they can go
the access rights that normally apply to open country and registered common land (known as 'open access' land) require dogs to be kept on a short lead between 1 March and 31 July, to help protect ground nesting birds, and all year round near farm animals
at the coast, there may also be some local restrictions to require dogs to be kept on a short lead during the bird breeding season, and to prevent disturbance to flocks of resting and feeding birds during other times of year

Lost dogs Report dog mess

Download "Get Outside" App

We know it can be difficult to get the kids outside and keep them occupied so the Ordnance Survey have created GetOutside to make getting out and about more enjoyable for you and your family. Instantly find ideas and information on things to do outside near you or search on a location of your choice. Visit the Get Outside website now!

Discover the world around you, reap the benefits of the great outdoors and build a treasure trove of fun-filled memories!