Mallyan Spout to Thomason Foss, Beck Hole Walk with Kids

Last Updated on May 1, 2023 by Suzy McCullough

Mallyan Spout and Thomason Foss are picture-postcard waterfalls located near and in Goathland, North Yorkshire. They are both accessible on foot but neither are easy, especially Thomason Foss at Beck Hole.

This is a link to the walk that I printed out. We love the walks suggested on this website and although I had it at hand I only referred to it a couple of times. The walk itself is really easy to follow as there is nothing complicated and there are lots of handy signposts.

Goathland is a beautiful and quaint village in the heart of the North Yorkshire Moors. My heart was stolen on the drive there with stunning views of the heathland and plenty of sheep by the side of the road. As we turned into Goathland there was a herd of sheep being moved by a farmer on a bike. My son loved seeing the sheep in front of our car, all a first for him.

We have been through Goathland before on the North Yorkshire Moors railway but we certainly couldn’t appreciate its true beauty from the train. Did you know that the TV program Heartbeat was filmed in Goathland?

The walk itself is 3 miles long. The diversions to Mallyan Spout and Thomason Foss are however considerably longer. Not especially in distance but in the time that it takes to traverse rocks, muddy paths and steep slopes. You couldn’t really do the walk without stopping off to properly see the waterfalls as neither are visible from the walk without going on the two diversions.

The walk requires you to park at the car park in Goathland. There was a pay and display car park plus someone had opened up their field for people to park. They were both charging £3.50 for all-day parking. There are public toilets in the pay and display car park, these were the only toilets we saw all day.

In all honesty, we thought the walk was the wrong way around. It would be a far easier walk to head first to Beck Hole/Thomason Foss and then round to Mallyan Spout. The incline from Beck Hole to Goathland was never-ending. It was at least 1.5 miles of uphill walking. Whereas walking down it would have been much easier as the walk back up to Goathland was a little steep but much shorter.

The walk takes you right from the car park past the shops and tea rooms. After the shops, you then take a left. It is signposted well and it is then a relatively short walk along the pavement towards the Mallyan Hotel.

Turn right along Goathland’s main road, past the village shops, towards Egton Bridge. Use the pavement where available. At the Beck Hole junction follow the road around to the left (signposted
‘Church, Mallyan Spout’).

If you just want to visit Mallyan Spout then you can park on the road near the hotel. On the right of the hotel, there is a gate and a signpost for Mallyan Spout. This is then a downhill walk in woodland to the edge of the beck.

Turn right (through a gate) down the side of the Mallyan Spout Hotel, signposted ‘Footpath Mallyan Spout’, and descend into the woods.

Once you reach the beck it is left for Mallyan Spout or a right for Beck Hole. We had a paddle in the beck for a bit before heading left for Mallyan Spout. The walk is just a few hundred metres.

At the junction at the bottom, the path to the left leads upstream to Mallyan Spout. The waterfall can be seen by following the stream’s edge for a short way – it’s a rocky scramble and should only be attempted by the sure-footed.

You can not see the waterfall without scrambling over rocks. We found the rocks and the short route a lot easier than our visit to Falling Foss Waterfall. We did see a few younger children attempting the climb over the rocks but some were getting very upset. I would perhaps wait until they are a bit older and more confident/longer in leg length!

Mallyan Spout is so pretty especially with all the greenery growing around it. It is the tallest waterfall in the North Yorkshire Moors. We found a giant rock to sit on and watch the world go by. There are some lovely mini waterfalls in the beck itself. The water is deep and fast flowing here and not suitable for paddling.

We then made our way back to rejoin the walk, this time in the direction of Beck Hole.

Return to the junction and follow the boardwalk (signposted to ‘Beck Hole’) through the woodland. Keep to the path as it crosses the fields and climbs high above the valley, before descending again.

You absolutely can not go wrong here. There are a lot of gates to pass through and although you climb high it isn’t steep and the paths here are very good. Once you arrive in Beck Hole you have two options. Continue with the walk by heading right at Incline Cottage or head left for Thomason Foss waterfall.

At Incline Cottage, turn right up the broad incline towards Goathland. (For the short detour to Beck Hole turn left instead and follow the signs.)

Beck Hole the village is indeed a short detour. There’s a quaint pub, just a few houses and a shallow river that runs through its heart. Next to the pub, there is easy access to the river if you want a paddle. I assumed they meant that Thomason Foss is a short detour. It is anything but a short detour. There’s a signpost for Thomason Foss pointing to the right. This is on the right, past the pub and over the bridge.

The walk took us around half an hour to the waterfall. It was a really tough walk that at times I found myself questioning the decision to walk there. The path is narrow and mostly steep.

As you get closer to the waterfall the path becomes very challenging and very muddy. But we didn’t have to cross any rivers and although we almost gave up we made it.

Thomason Foss is the end of the road for the path. The water is the size of a swimming pool and a lot of people wild swim here. The rocks around the water are stunning and it feels like you have stepped back to a time long before humans. Luckily for us, there were only 4 other people there at the time. We spent quite a while paddling at the water’s edge (it gets deep quickly and it was far too cold for us).

We then made our way back to rejoin the walk. The walk back didn’t seem or feel as hard as on the way. Perhaps it was because we knew what to expect. We met a family at the end with two young toddlers and a buggy wanting to know if the walk was short and for them. I’m sure you know what I said!

It was now time to start our walk from Incline Cottage on the old disused railway bed from Beck Hole up to Goathland. It is certainly called Incline Cottage for a reason. The walk back is around 1.5 miles of constant walking uphill. It would have been a lot easier downhill. Eventually you will cross a road.

Cross the road and continue up the path.

It’s then, from here, a short walk to Goathland. Once in Goathland, you turn right and we then found our car park.

At the road, turn right and return to the car park.

I’m so pleased that we managed them both in one day. Next time, however, we will either attempt the walk in reverse or visit the two waterfalls separately.

Are you looking to visit other great waterfalls in the area? We can highly recommend Falling Foss Waterfall.