Not sure what’s in the VG book but the Rosedale Loop is well worth doing: a mixture of estate track, old railway line (really!) and singletrack. If you start at Cropton then down the valley to Sinnington, other side of valley to Appleton le moors, then Spaunton/Lastingham. On to the moors and up to Ana Cross and continue to pick up the old railway round the head of the valley, follow this to its end (not all simple riding as there have been landslips), down in to Rosedale Abbey then up the bottom half of Rosedale Chimney to The White Horse pub, turn left here and follow the track which becomes brilliant singletrack back to the road between Lastingham and Cropton, back to Cropton.
You can add variants at the head of Rosedale – look at the map and there’s various bridleways on to the moors, i.e. leave the railway at Blakey Ridge then cut across the very top of the valley and round to drop down to Dale Head Farm.
Worth waiting till things are either dry or frozen on the moors as the tracks can be bog-fests when wet.
