Coomb Hill and Dale Town from Hawnby

5.5 miles  Good weather with high cloud

 

We drove past last week's parking place at the old Wesleyan Chapel and followed the narrow lane down towards the River Rye and All Saints Church, where I parked on a wide grassy verge.  We put our boots on and went to look round the old church, which is Norman and was rebuilt in the 14th Century.  The church is unlocked and we went inside where we found a fine stained-glass war memorial window and in front of it a wreath to the four German Airmen killed at Pepper Hill, whose death I mentioned in last week's walk description.
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 Tom Scott Burns' map of today's walk

 War Memorial Window and wreath to German Aircrew

All Saints Church at Hawnby

 A cautionary epitaph

We left the church and walked over Church Bridge where we turned sharp right along a farm track towards the woods of Coomb Hill.  At this right turn we saw a footpath sign inscribed with The Inn Way logo and realised we were joining that long distance walk for a while.  

Our footpath skirted the woods and the track was very indistinct in places, sometimes just an impression in the grass and bracken.  At the end of the woods we had to double back on ourselves.  It seemed wrong but this is the direction the right of way takes.  It was confusing but suddenly we came to a gate which had a board and a map with a "You are Here!" arrow and all became clear.  We were very close to the road which we quickly joined and which led us passed Arden Hall.

 Indistinct paths lead us around Coomb Hill

 Arden Hall

Once past the hall the road became little more than a cart track and we followed it steadily uphill until we reached an old limestone quarry, after which we turned left onto Dale Town Common. The long climb from Arden Hall to the open plateau of Dale Town Common had given us an appetite and as it was nearly noon we decided to pause for our coffee and scones.  We sat with a spectacular view down onto Thorodale Lake below us and over to the right, our walk so far.

 Looking down on Thorodale Lake from our coffee stop

 Looking right from our coffee stop, back at Coomb Hill woods to the left

Setting off again we walked across Dale Town Common following a green lane which seemed little used by man or beast (well just a few sheep) and which had a good springy surface. We reached an old water tank and climbing up to look inside saw that it was still full of water.  

The high plateau of  Dale Farm Common

 Old water tank

We turned left just past this point and followed a long straight walk through fields until we came to an old barn which is marked on the OS map as High Buildings.  The field here was full of cattle which had made a mess of the track but just past the buildings we had a good view over to the twin mounds of Hawnby Hill and Easterside Hill, the latter of which we walked last week.  

Just past the barn are a series of mounds which Tom Scott Burns tells us are a group of bronze age tumuli, one of which was excavated in the 1850s and found to contain the skeleton of an Anglo-Saxon lady of rank.  She wore a leather girdle round her waist with a gold clasp inlaid with a cross of garnets and her hair was secured with gold and silver.  

 Tumuli

View across Toad Hole from Sunny Bank Farm, Easterside Hill in the distance

We walked on towards Sunny Bank Farm and noticed a sign pointing sharp left which said, "View Point" and "Clean Path for walkers."  This should have been our trail but mistakenly we continued along the main path which eventually brought us down to Hawnby Bridge, and gave us an additional half mile walk along the road.

 Hawnby Bridge

As we neared the church and my car we saw the rigid steel Dalicar Bridge on our left, where our footpath should have brought us out onto the road, thus is the way with walking!