Coast to Coast: the Vale of Mowbray
Stages 11–12 of 16, Richmond to Osmotherley: 29.5 miles (47.6 km) with 549 m of ascent, about 13.2 hours of walking over 2 days.
Two days of flat farmland between the Dales and the Moors — the section walkers argue about. It has the least ascent on the whole route and the most road and field-path walking, and it is the part people most often skip or bus through. It is also the only place on the walk where you cross a working agricultural plain rather than a national park, and the two stages are long ones.
Every stage in this section
Figures are the ones each stage page publishes, so the totals below always match the stages they add up. Every row links to the full guide for that day — elevation profile, surface underfoot, water points, history and what to see.
| Stage | Route | Miles | km | Ascent | Time | Grade | Terrain |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11 | Richmond to Danby Wiske | 15.5 | 25.0 | 244 m | 6.9 h | Easy | Mixed |
| 12 | Danby Wiske to Osmotherley | 14.0 | 22.6 | 305 m | 6.3 h | Moderate | Mixed |
| Section total | 29.5 | 47.6 | 549 m | 13.2 h |
Places along the Vale of Mowbray section
2 places on these stages have a full history on this site, and 2 free audio guides between them.
Easby Abbey
Stage 11 · 1 audio guide
Easby Abbey is one of England's best-preserved monasteries of the Premonstratensian 'white canons', set in a quiet bend of the River Swale about a…
Read moreMount Grace Priory
Stage 12 · 1 audio guide
Mount Grace Priory is the best-preserved of England's nine medieval Carthusian charterhouses, founded in 1398 by Thomas Holland, 1st Duke of Surrey,…
Read moreCommon questions
How long is the Coast to Coast in the Vale of Mowbray?
29.5 miles (47.6 km) over 2 of the walk's 16 stages, Richmond to Osmotherley. That is about 13.2 hours of walking, and most people take 2 days over it — one stage a day.
How much climbing is there in the Vale of Mowbray section?
549 m of ascent across the section, an average of 274 m a day. The biggest single climb is Danby Wiske to Osmotherley at 305 m.
How hard is the Vale of Mowbray section of the Coast to Coast?
The stages here are graded easy, moderate. The toughest is Danby Wiske to Osmotherley (moderate), and the terrain is mixed.
Can you walk just the Vale of Mowbray section?
Yes, and people do. It is 2 days end to end, Richmond to Osmotherley, and both ends are reachable by public transport — see getting there for the trains and buses that serve each stage end. Walking the Coast to Coast a section at a time over several trips is common, and it is how most people with a working week fit it in.
What is there to see in the Vale of Mowbray section?
We cover 2 places along it in depth, with 2 free audio guides between them: Easby Abbey, Mount Grace Priory.
Planning the whole walk rather than this section? Itineraries sets out 12-, 14- and 16-day plans, best time to walk goes month by month, and getting there covers the trains and buses to every stage end.
