Lyke Wake Walk
| Lyke Wake Walk | |
|---|---|
Live Moor: looking west across Scugdale towards Near Moor (left of centre, mid-distance) and the start on Scarth Wood Moor (at centre, on the horizon) | |
| Length | 40 mi (64 km) |
| Location | North Yorkshire, England |
| Designation | Long-distance footpath |
| Trailheads | Scarth Wood Moor, Osmotherley Beacon Howes/Ravenscar |
| Use | Hiking |
| Highest point | Botton Head, Urra Moor, 1,489 ft (454 m) |
| Lowest point | Scugdale Beck, 410 ft (120 m) |
| Difficulty | Moderate to strenuous |
| Season | Year round |
| Hazards | Bad weather |
The Lyke Wake Walk is a 40-mile (64 km) challenge walk across the highest and widest part of the North York Moors National Park in North Yorkshire, England. The route is named after the "Lyke-Wake Dirge" and commemorates the many corpses carried over the moors on various old coffin routes and the ancient burial mounds encountered on the way. The name derives from a lyke, the corpse, and the wake, the watch over the deceased. Its associated club has a social structure, culture and rituals based on the walk and Christian and folklore traditions from the area through which it passes.