Goathland station

Before you go: the practical facts

• Address: Goathland station, YO22 5NF.
• Trains: the railway runs from Pickering (about 45 to 60 minutes), Grosmont (about 20 minutes) and Whitby (about 50 minutes). The 2026 season runs to 1 November. In winter only special trains run: the Christmas Pullman goes from Pickering to Goathland and back, but the Santa Express does not reach Goathland.
• Parking: Goathland Station car park is owned by the railway and run by CPS UK; Blue Badge holders are not exempt from charges. The National Park car park on Beck Hole Road in the village (YO22 5LX) has accessible toilets.
• Bus: the Coastliner 840 stops in the village at the Bus Shelter and Mallyan Hotel stops. The station is down a steep hill from the village.
• Facilities: the Goods Shed Tearoom (walkers and dogs welcome), a gift shop, and toilets including a wheelchair-accessible one.

Getting around the station

There is a step-free route from the main entrance to the ticket office, toilets, tearoom and shop. For a step-free route to the platform, ask the staff: it goes through a gate beside the ticket office and up a slope. The waiting room has steps. The path between the station and the village is steep, with a gradient of 17 to 19 degrees and an uneven, potholed surface, and the railway advises against it for manual wheelchairs.

A short history

The station opened in 1865 as Goathland Mill, on a new line the North Eastern Railway built to bypass the cable-worked incline at Beck Hole on the original Whitby and Pickering Railway of 1836. The station buildings came from the office of Thomas Prosser, architect to the North Eastern Railway, and are listed Grade II; the footbridge of about 1900 is listed separately. The tearoom is in a converted goods shed that the railway dates to 1922. British Railways closed the line in 1965, and the North Yorkshire Moors Railway began running public trains in 1973.

On screen

Goathland became Hogsmeade station in Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (2001) and was Aidensfield station in Heartbeat.

Walks from the station

• The Rail Trail: about 3.5 miles from Goathland through Beck Hole to Grosmont along the line of the original railway. You can return by train.
• Mallyan Spout: a waterfall of about 70 feet, reached by a footpath near the Mallyan Spout Hotel.
• Beck Hole: a hamlet on the Rail Trail with the Birch Hall Inn.

Check before you travel

In spring 2026, trains ran only between Pickering and Goathland while Bridge 42 near Grosmont was propped up, and through trains to Whitby returned on 1 June 2026. A permanent repair is planned for winter 2026/27, funded by the railway's Bridge 42 appeal, so check whether trains are running beyond Goathland when you go.

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