From the road junction in the village centre where Station Road meets with High Steet on Castle Hill, you can turn east and go downhill along Church Street towards Danby Low Moor and the War Memorial, or go uphill, up High Street, where the shops and pubs are.

Primrose Hill used to be called Stock Hill, as there was once a medieval punishment stocks located there. The stocks have been replaced with a sundial, erected to commemorate that John Wesley preached from Primrose Hill on 19 June 1772. An inscription on the column reads, quoting Ecclesiastes 3:1 " To everything there is a season and a time to every purpose under the heaven."

From the sundial you can peer up High Street towards the village shop, post office and co-op. This part of High Street is usually quite busy. At the top of High Street is the ancient Castleton Quaker Cemetery and the site of Gallows Howe Round Barrow, and the gibbet that was once placed atop it, and also the Nuclear Monitoring Bunker.

Hawthorn Cottage, now 4 High Street, Primrose Hill, was formerly known as Stocks Hill, taking its name from the medieval stocks that used to reside on the green where the sundial now stands. This property, once converted to a bank, has been reconverted to a domicile. A "Hand of Glory" was discovered in the attic of this property in 1935, and is now on display in Whitby Museum.

The Hand of Glory had been cut, in accordance with Usage, from a hanged man, often a thief, and preserved in a special pickle. It is thought that the man was hanged at Gallows Howe, about 200 yards outside of the west side of the Village. The Hand is now on display at Whitby Museum. Folklaw has it that placing a lit candle between the fingers of the hand would ensure the occupants of the house slept during a burglary.

In the centre of Castleton is a tearoom, converted from a former Methodist chapel. There is a limited amount of outside seating. The Tearoom serves traditional English food, including breakfast.

The Primitive Methodist Chapel was erected in 1861 facing the Castle Mound that was once a Motte and Bailey Castle. This is at the top of Primrose Hill. The property has now been converted to a private residence. Its location allows it views over Esk Dale. The chapel cost £150 and seated 170 people.

The River Esk, still in its infancy, has made its way from its Esklets on Westerdale Moor, and through Westerdale Valley. It enters Castleton under the Dibble Bridge at the north end of Castleton Rigg, and sweeps from the west of the Village to the north, bypassing it just south of Castleton Railway Station, where it enters Eskdale.

Coast to Coast Trail Guide

"Hiking the Coast to Coast" is a digitally enhanced eBook available from Apple Books for all people who have either a Mac, an iPhone or an iPad, and is designed to accompany you on your walk of the Coast to Coast path. The trail guide contains Ordnance Survey maps and other advanced mapping features, step by step directions, hundreds of colour photographs, details of the route, its conditions in different weather and research snippets relating to places of interest along the way.