Accessibility
Accessible Thornton-le-Dale and Dalby Forest
By Jon Cosson · Last checked
Two honest halves. First, the free all-terrain mobility vehicles at Dalby Forest, which are genuinely useful and not widely known about. Second, the village itself, where we set out only what this guide already knows and name plainly what we have not yet checked on the ground.
All-terrain mobility vehicles at Dalby Forest
Forestry England offers all-terrain mobility vehicles at Dalby Forest. They are commonly called trampers, and Forestry England's own page heading calls them all-terrain mobility scooters. Both names describe the same machines.
Hire is free of charge, for either a half day or a full day. Book by phoning 01751 460295 before you travel. You collect from the visitor centre at Low Dalby, Thornton-le-Dale, Pickering, YO18 7LT.
You must be over 16. You do not need to be registered disabled.
Opening hours are not published on Forestry England's page; ring before you travel. We would rather say that than invent a time.
All of the above is taken from Forestry England's tramper hire page for Dalby Forest. Check with Forestry England before you travel.
Ellerburn trail
Level-graded, and suits a standard mobility scooter.
Forestry England, tramper hire page for Dalby Forest.
Housedale Rigg
Varying terrain, and better suited to the all-terrain vehicles than to a standard mobility scooter.
Forestry England, tramper hire page for Dalby Forest.
Getting around the village
This section repeats only what this guide already states elsewhere. Anything that would need checking with a tape measure or a wheelchair is in the list below instead.
The car park
The main car park is the National Park pay-and-display off Maltongate, sat-nav YO18 7SD, about two minutes' walk from the village centre. Blue Badge holders are not exempt from the charges, so buy a ticket as normal. There are accessible bays close to the exit towards the village, and the four 75kW rapid EV chargers include two accessible bays.
Full tariffs and payment methods are on the parking page.
Arriving without a car
There is no railway station in the village. The 840 Coastliner runs Leeds, York, Malton, Pickering, Thornton-le-Dale, Goathland and Whitby, and East Yorkshire's 128 and 28 run Scarborough to Helmsley via Pickering. Thornton-le-Dale to Pickering is roughly a six-minute hop on the 840.
Routes, nearest stations and drive times are on the getting here page.
Planning the visit
Where the village is, the best time of year to come and what everyday services it has are all on the visitor information page. Toilets, the pharmacy and the GP are on practical facilities in Thornton-le-Dale.
The Mathewsons museum
The Mathewsons museum, also signed on site as the North Yorkshire Motor Museum, at Roxby Garage in the village (not the Pickering auction saleroom), is reached up steps, and its own sign at the entrance warns that they are steep, so it is not step-free. That warning comes from the museum's own board, not from a survey by us, and we make no claim about the number of steps, handrails or any other entrance.
Visiting details are on the Bangers & Cash and Mathewsons page.
Walks
The seven circular walks from the car park are listed with the terrain and access notes we have been able to verify, and with distance and ascent left blank where they have not been. See the walks page.
What has been checked on the ground
These four points come from the guide author's own inspection, not from a published source. Nothing wider than what is written here has been checked.
The beck footbridges
The beck footbridges are passable with a wheelchair, including the Priestman's Lane footbridge where the waymarked walks begin.
– Checked on the ground; not a published source. Jon Cosson, September 2026
Maltongate car park into the village
The path from the Maltongate car park into the village centre is short and level.
– Checked on the ground; not a published source. Jon Cosson, September 2026
The Blue Walk
The Blue Walk loop has been walked as a whole, using the lane and the Whitbygate return instead of the kissing gate into China Garth. The lane and Whitbygate are firm and wide enough for a wheelchair the whole way round.
– Checked on the ground; not a published source. Jon Cosson, September 2026
Dropped kerbs
Dropped kerbs are present along the main street and around the green. Their locations have not been individually recorded, so this confirms that they exist, not where each one is.
– Checked on the ground; not a published source. Jon Cosson, September 2026
What we have not yet checked on the ground
- Which shop and pub doorways have a step, and how high.
Accessible toilet: the North York Moors National Park publishes that the public toilets at the Maltongate car park are near the lake, reached over the footbridge, and that a RADAR key is needed for the accessible toilet. See the National Park's car parks and toilets page.
If you know any of these from experience, or if you have found something here wrong, please write in. Local knowledge is how this page gets better, and until it does, the honest answer is that we do not know.
Common questions
Can you hire a mobility scooter at Dalby Forest?
Yes. Forestry England offers all-terrain mobility vehicles, commonly called trampers, at Dalby Forest free of charge for half a day or a full day. Book by phoning 01751 460295 before you travel and collect from the visitor centre at Low Dalby, Thornton-le-Dale, Pickering, YO18 7LT. You must be over 16, and you do not need to be registered disabled.
Which Dalby Forest trails suit a mobility scooter?
Forestry England describes the Ellerburn trail as level-graded, which suits a standard mobility scooter. Housedale Rigg has varying terrain and is better suited to the all-terrain vehicles.
What are the hire opening hours?
Opening hours are not published on Forestry England's page, so we do not state any here. Ring 01751 460295 before you travel.
How accessible is Thornton-le-Dale village itself?
Parts of the village have now been checked on the ground by the guide's author, Jon Cosson, in September 2026: the beck footbridges, the path from the Maltongate car park, the Blue Walk loop and the presence of dropped kerbs along the main street and around the green. This page says exactly which, and nothing beyond them has been checked, so we make no other claims about surfaces, gradients, step-free routes or doorways. Separately, the North York Moors National Park publishes that the public toilets at the Maltongate car park are near the lake, reached over the footbridge, and the accessible toilet needs a RADAR key. The specific things still to check are listed on this page.