Selby Canal loop walk.
- Michael Palmer
- Feb 3, 2023
- 7 min read
Updated: 5 days ago
Selby Canal Loop Walk – 4.46 Easy Miles Along a Historic Yorkshire Waterway
If you enjoy peaceful waterside walking without too many hills, our 4.46-mile Selby Canal Loop Walk is a lovely easy route through this part of North Yorkshire.
Lyn and I personally walked, photographed and GPS recorded this route for The White Shire.
We rate this walk as easy.
The Selby Canal gives the route its character, with waterside paths, open countryside and plenty of reminders that this peaceful place was once an important part of Yorkshire's transport network.
At just under four and a half miles, we think it's a very manageable distance for a relaxed few hours outside.
Selby Canal Loop Walk at a Glance
Distance: 4.46 miles
Route type: Loop
Difficulty: Easy – based on our experience
Location: Selby
County: North Yorkshire
Terrain: Canal towpaths, tracks and countryside paths
Highlights: Selby Canal, waterside scenery, surrounding countryside and local industrial history
Walked and photographed by: Michael and Lyn Palmer, The White Shire
Our 4.46-Mile Selby Canal Walk
Lyn and I found this to be one of our easier Yorkshire walks.
There aren't the climbs we'd encounter on some of our Dales routes, and the canal sections allow us to settle into a comfortable walking pace.
That's one of the reasons we enjoy canal walks.
We don't always want steep hills or challenging terrain.
Sometimes it's simply nice to get outside, walk for a few miles together and see what we discover along the way.
Selby Canal is perfect for that.
Walking Along the Selby Canal
Today, the canal feels peaceful.
Boats, wildlife, walkers and the surrounding countryside create a very different atmosphere from the reason the canal was originally constructed.
The story begins with the Aire & Calder Navigation.
Increasing trade created a problem because boats had to use the narrow and shallow tidal River Aire. The solution was a new canal running approximately five and a half miles between Selby and West Haddlesey. (Canal & River Trust)
Construction began in 1775 under engineer William Jessop.
The Selby Canal opened on 24 April 1778 and cost around £20,000 to build. (Canal & River Trust)
William Jessop and the Selby Canal
William Jessop is one of the great names of Britain's canal-building age.
He was employed to engineer the Selby Canal on a salary of £250 per year. (Canal & River Trust)
More than 250 years later, Lyn and I are enjoying the results of that engineering for an entirely different reason.
We're not transporting goods.
We're out for a walk.
That's something we encounter repeatedly while exploring Yorkshire.
Places built for industry and commerce have gradually become some of our favourite places for recreation.
A Canal That Helped Selby Grow
The new waterway played an important role in Selby's economy.
Cloth and agricultural produce were among the first goods transported along it, with the canal providing a much-improved connection between Selby and the wider navigation network. (Canal & River Trust)
And it became successful.
In fact, success eventually contributed to its decline as an important commercial route.
Traffic through Selby caused delays, while the town's port was relatively high up the tidal River Ouse.
In 1826, a new canal between Knottingley and the new port at Goole provided a better alternative and took much of the Selby Canal's traffic. (Canal & River Trust)
Passenger Boats to Hull
One detail we particularly like is that the canal story wasn't only about freight.
Selby had a steam packet service to Hull running six days a week.
By the 1830s, around 20,000 passengers a year were using the service. (Canal & River Trust)
Then came the railways.
The Leeds-to-Hull railway opened in 1840, although the packet boats continued operating until the 1870s. (Canal & River Trust)
It's quite something to imagine when we're walking beside the quiet canal today.
From Industry to an Easy Yorkshire Walk
For us, that's part of the appeal of walking somewhere like Selby Canal.
We're seeing another layer of Yorkshire.
This isn't dramatic Dales scenery or a grand country estate.
It's a landscape shaped by Yorkshire's commercial and industrial past.
The towpath we're using for a leisurely walk once existed alongside a busy transport route carrying goods and passengers.
And much of that history is still visible if we know what we're looking at.
Why We Rate the Selby Canal Loop Easy
Our difficulty ratings are based on how Lyn and I personally experienced each route.
We rate this one as easy.
At 4.46 miles, the distance is manageable, and we didn't find the overall route particularly strenuous.
The canal sections are naturally fairly level, making this very different from some of our hillier North Yorkshire walks.
That doesn't mean we'd turn up in completely unsuitable footwear.
Towpaths and countryside sections can become muddy after prolonged rain, so conditions underfoot can change.
But overall, this sits comfortably within our easy category.
Wildlife Along the Canal
Canals have become valuable wildlife corridors as well as places for walking and boating.
That's another reason Lyn and I enjoy them.
Once we slow down, there's always something to look for around the water, banks, trees and hedgerows.
Birdlife, insects and waterside plants all add interest to what might otherwise appear to be a very simple route.
And because we're not concentrating on climbing a hill, we've got more opportunity to actually notice what's around us.
A Different Side of North Yorkshire
Mention walking in North Yorkshire and it's easy to immediately think about the Yorkshire Dales.
And we love the Dales.
But North Yorkshire is much more varied than that.
Selby gives us a completely different landscape.
It's flatter, more closely connected with waterways and agriculture, and shaped by its relationship with the River Ouse and Yorkshire's navigation network.
That's why we want a mixture of walks on The White Shire rather than concentrating solely on the obvious walking destinations.
How Long is the Selby Canal Loop Walk?
Our GPS-recorded Selby Canal Loop measures 4.46 miles.
I've checked that against both your existing White Shire article and the North Yorkshire Walks collection, where the same 4.46-mile distance is shown. (The White Shire)
How long you'll need depends on your pace and how often you stop.
As usual, Lyn and I aren't racing around.
We're taking photographs, watching the water and looking at whatever catches our attention.
That's part of the enjoyment for us.
Is the Selby Canal Loop Suitable for Beginners?
Based on our experience, we'd consider this one of our more approachable routes.
The distance is under five miles, and we've rated the walk easy.
If you're reasonably comfortable walking for a few miles, we think it's a good option.
It's also the sort of route we'd consider when we want to increase our mileage without taking on a particularly difficult walk.
As always, recent weather can affect the condition of countryside paths and towpaths.
Exploring Selby
If we've got time after the walk, Selby itself is worth exploring.
The standout landmark is undoubtedly Selby Abbey.
Its story begins in 1069, when Benedict of Auxerre came to Selby and founded the monastery. The Abbey became one of Yorkshire's wealthiest medieval religious houses and was visited by English kings and northern nobility. (Selby Abbey)
The Abbey survived the Dissolution and eventually became Selby's parish church.
Today it remains at the heart of the town.
Selby Abbey Today
One of the things we like about Selby Abbey is that it isn't simply a preserved historical monument.
It's still a living part of the town.
The Abbey currently welcomes sightseeing visitors and remains free to enter, although donations help towards the substantial cost of maintaining the building. (Selby Abbey)
That makes it a natural addition if you're turning our canal walk into a longer visit to Selby.
When is the Best Time to Walk the Selby Canal?
We think this is the sort of walk that can work through much of the year.
Spring brings new growth along the canal banks.
Summer gives us long daylight hours.
Autumn changes the colours of the surrounding vegetation.
And on a crisp winter day, a quiet canal can have an atmosphere all of its own.
Recent rainfall probably matters more than the season.
If it's been wet for several days, we'd expect some sections to be muddier.
More North Yorkshire Walks
Selby Canal adds another very different route to our North Yorkshire collection.
We've explored Dales villages, reservoirs, historic battlefields, woodland and now one of Yorkshire's historic waterways.
That's deliberate.
We don't want The White Shire to become a list of twenty versions of essentially the same walk.
Yorkshire has an enormous variety of landscapes, and we want our walks to reflect that.
Discovering the Real Yorkshire
The Selby Canal is exactly the sort of place we mean when we talk about discovering the real Yorkshire.
It's not somewhere that necessarily appears at the top of every Yorkshire tourist guide.
There's no enormous visitor attraction waiting for us halfway around.
Instead, we've got a quiet waterway, countryside, wildlife and a story stretching back to the great age of canal building.
The canal helped Selby develop.
It carried goods.
It carried thousands of passengers.
Then new canals and railways gradually overtook it.
Today, Lyn and I can walk beside the same waterway simply because we enjoy being outside together.
For us, that's Yorkshire history still sitting quietly within the landscape.
And those are exactly the places we want The White Shire to keep finding.
About Michael and Lyn
Michael and Lyn Palmer explore Yorkshire together on foot, personally walking, photographing and GPS recording the routes featured on The White Shire.
We're not professional hikers.
We're simply a husband and wife who enjoy getting outside together, finding interesting places and learning more about Yorkshire along the way.
Our difficulty ratings are based on how we personally experienced each route.
Selby Canal Loop Walk – Our Verdict
Our Selby Canal Loop Walk measures 4.46 miles.
Lyn and I rate it as easy.
It's a peaceful route that gives us a very different experience from our hillier North Yorkshire walks.
For us, the canal's history makes it particularly interesting.
Construction began in 1775, the canal opened in 1778, and within decades it was carrying both commercial goods and thousands of passengers. (Canal & River Trust)
Today, things are considerably quieter.
And that's precisely why we enjoyed it.
A manageable 4.46-mile walk, a historic Yorkshire waterway and another little piece of the real Yorkshire explored on foot.
Selby Canal loop walk. 
Selby Canal loop walk. 
Selby Canal loop walk. 
Selby Canal loop walk. 
Selby Canal loop walk. 
Selby Canal loop walk. 
Selby Canal loop walk. 
Selby Canal loop walk. 
Selby Canal loop walk.
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