York’s best National Trust walks for a Sunday stroll

If you’re looking for a walk within reach of York, North Yorkshire has plenty of National Trust routes that combine open countryside with history, wildlife and a pub at the end. The standout this week is the Fountains Abbey and Studley Royal Walk, which was placed second in GO Outdoors’ list of the UK’s best Sunday strolls, published on 10 August 2026. It received a Sunday stroll score of 9.69 out of 10, based partly on the nearest pub and its positive reviews.

The route takes around two and a half to three hours and follows the River Skell through parkland before reaching Studley Royal’s landscaped water gardens. Stone bridges, lakes and garden buildings lead towards the ruins of Fountains Abbey, with deer and mature trees along the way. It is a moderate walk, with maintained paths as well as muddier stretches, so walking boots or sturdy shoes are sensible. Reviewers on AllTrails described it as a gentle, family-friendly trail with good surfaces and quieter sections away from the abbey. The main entrance route to the abbey is steep for some wheelchair users, although disabled access is available through the west gate car park, including designated Blue Badge parking and the option to pre-book an electric wheelchair.

There is plenty of history to take in without turning the day into a formal heritage tour. Fountains Abbey was founded in 1132 and became the country’s largest and best-preserved ruined Cistercian monastery before the Dissolution of the Monasteries in 1539. The wider estate is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, bringing together the abbey, Studley Royal’s Georgian water garden, Fountains Hall and St Mary’s Church. The National Trust manages the estate in association with English Heritage, which is responsible for the abbey’s conservation. For a longer outing, the Fountains Way links Ripon with Fountains Abbey and Studley Royal, while the Studley Royal deer park walk offers a shorter circular route through an area home to around 300 wild deer.

The pub pairing for the featured walk is The Royal Oak, an 18th-century coaching inn at 36 Kirkgate in Ripon. It opens from 8am to 11pm from Sunday to Thursday and until midnight on Fridays and Saturdays. The menu focuses on Yorkshire-style pub classics, with cask ales, craft beer and wine, and there is a beer garden for warmer days. It is a straightforward place to finish a walk before heading back towards York.

Fountains is not the only National Trust option in the county. At Brimham Rocks, the Pastures and Panoramas route crosses fields, farms and meadows with views across Nidderdale, while the shorter circular walk stays closer to the distinctive rock formations and heather moorland. In the Yorkshire Dales, Horse Head Moor and Deepdale combines Three Peaks views with riverside sections beside the Wharfe. The Buckden to Kettlewell route also follows the River Wharfe, passing farms, dry-stone walls and habitats where kingfishers and other aquatic wildlife may be seen.

For woodland and estate scenery, Beningbrough’s Larch Walk is a circular route with birdsong, medieval pike ponds and spring bluebells, while the river and woodland walk at Beningbrough Hall follows paths towards the River Ouse. Nostell’s Obelisk Walk crosses ancient woodland and wildflower meadows, and the Menagerie Garden route follows the estate lake. Further afield, Malham village to Janet’s Foss makes a circular outing to the waterfall, and the accessible Malham Tarn trail for Trampers passes through woodland and moorland. Each has a different feel, but all offer a way to spend a Sunday outdoors without leaving North Yorkshire.