Sleights

Before you go: the practical facts

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Parking

there is no National Park or North Yorkshire Council car park in Sleights; the parish council's village trail starts from a small car park on Coach Road; park considerately. The nearest National Park car park is at Grosmont (Front Street, YO22 5QE).

Toilets

we have not found public toilets in Sleights on the council or National Park lists. Grosmont has public toilets on Front Street.

Shops, post office and cash

Sleights Post Office, 83 Coach Road (YO22 5EH), offers cash withdrawals. The parish council also lists a village store, bakery, butcher, fish and chip shop and doctor's surgery.

Buses

Arriva service 95 runs roughly hourly between Whitby and Sleights via Ruswarp, Monday to Saturday. The Coastliner 840 between Leeds, York, Pickering and Whitby also stops in Sleights, crossing the moor via Goathland.

Trains

Sleights station is on the Esk Valley line. In the current Northern timetable (to 12 December 2026) there are six trains a day towards Whitby from Monday to Saturday and four on Sundays, with a similar number the other way.

Dogs

keep dogs on a short lead near livestock, and on the moor between 1 March and 31 July.

A short history

the parish council's village trail picks out a toll bar of 1763 on the first turnpike road in the district, Sleights Hall of 1762, and the Church of St John the Evangelist, built in 1895. The present road bridge opened in 1937, replacing an earlier bridge downriver that the 1930 floods washed away. The railway here began as a horse-drawn line in 1836. Botham's, the Whitby bakers, give 1865 as their founding year.

The salmon leap

the Esk is Yorkshire's only salmon river, according to the Esk Valley Railway. At Sleights a small weir lets salmon move upriver to their spawning grounds, and October to December is the time to look.

Walks

Sleights is on the final section of the Esk Valley Walk; the National Park gives the Grosmont to Whitby stretch as 8 miles, via Sleights and Ruswarp. You can walk just the Sleights to Whitby half, or catch the train to Grosmont and walk back. The parish council's village trail around Sleights takes 1½ to 2 hours and is suitable for wheelchairs and pushchairs.

Where to eat and drink

The Plough Inn, 180 Coach Road: an early 19th century stone pub with an open fire and a beer garden looking over the valley; CAMRA lists home-cooked food at lunchtime and in the evening. The Salmon Leap, Coach Road: a family-run hotel by the station with a public bar, open evenings Monday to Saturday and from noon on Sundays (CAMRA). Botham's, Coach Road: bakery shop for bread, cakes, sandwiches and hot drinks to take away, open Tuesday to Saturday.

Nearby

• Whitby
• Ruswarp
• Grosmont
• Goathland
• Esk Valley and Grosmont walk
• Getting around without a car
• Littlebeck

Sleights FAQs

How do you pronounce Sleights?

It rhymes with "heights".

Is there parking in Sleights?

There is no National Park or council car park in Sleights. Grosmont has the nearest National Park car park.

Can you get the train to Sleights?

Yes. Sleights is on the Esk Valley line between Whitby and Middlesbrough, with six trains a day each way from Monday to Saturday in the current timetable.

When can you see salmon at Sleights?

The Esk Valley Railway suggests October to December, when salmon head upriver past the weir.

Can you walk from Sleights to Whitby?

Yes. Sleights is on the Esk Valley Walk, whose last section runs from Grosmont through Sleights and Ruswarp to Whitby.

Sources checked 29 October 2026: Eskdaleside cum Ugglebarnby Parish Council (village trail, amenities); Esk Valley Railway, Sleights station; Northern timetable 17 May to 12 December 2026; North Yorkshire Council bus timetables (95, 840); National Park car park list; National Park Esk Valley Walk; National Park walking with dogs; Visit North Yorkshire, Botham's Sleights; CAMRA WhatPub; Post Office branch finder.