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The northernmost reaches of the National Park are crossed by the east-west Esk Valley , whose pretty river flows into the sea at Whitby. It's a part of the North York Moors overlooked by many visitors - partly, one suspects, because its very attractions, at least in the eastern stretches, are its valley characteristics: there's not much moorland tramping to be done until you reach Danby , one of the finest of all moorland villages. Train access is easy: the North York Moors Railway connects at Grosmont , where you're on the Esk Valleyline which runs between Middlesbrough and Whitby (4-5 daily). GROSMONT , little more than a level-crossing, station and a couple of tearooms, sees plenty of summer traffic, as does EGTON BRIDGE - similarly tiny but with the bonus of a beautifully sited riverside pub, the Horseshoe . Further west, the scenery becomes tinged by the looming moors until at the isolated stone village of DANBY , you're once again within striking distance of some excellent walks, all detailed on trail leaflets available from the Moors Centre (Easter-Oct daily 10am-5pm; Nov, Dec & March daily 11am-4pm; Jan & Feb Sat & Sun 11am-4pm; tel 01287/660654, ). The Stonehouse Bakery & Tea Shop is great for daytime snacks, while a mile out of the village at Ainthorpe , the Fox & Hounds (tel 01287/660218; GBP50-60) looks out over the moors. South of Grosmont , train, footpath and beck climb out of the Esk Valley towards Goathland. Only on foot will you be able to stop at BECK HOLE , after a couple of miles, an idyllic bridgeside hamlet focused on the Birch Hall Inn , one of the finest rural pubs in all England. A gentle path from the hamlet runs the mile through the fields up to GOATHLAND , another highly attractive village, this time set in open moorland beneath the great expanses of Wheeldale and Goathland moors. If it seems familiar - and if it seems unduly crowded - it's because it's widely known as "Aidensfield", the fictional village at the centre of the Heartbeat TV series. Signposts pointing you to the local sight, the Mallyan Spout , a seventy-foot-high waterfall. This lies half a mile or so from the imposing, stone Mallyan Spout Hotel on the common (tel 01947/896486; GBP70-90). Plenty of other local B&Bs offer cheaper rooms, among them Glendale House , on the common (tel 01947/896281; GBP40-50).
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