Coomb Hill and Dale Town from Hawnby

6 miles                         Cold and grey

A very cold day promised for the hills so we decided to do a shorter walk that we haven't done for a couple of years.  Tom Scott Burns suggests parking on the grass verge in front of the church but this carries a risk of getting bogged down so we parked at the village hall and walked down the road, adding a mile to TSB's 5 mile walk description.

We approached Hawnby from the Laskill turn-off and drove through the top village, then down to the village hall in the bottom village.

Today's walk from The Walker's Guide to the Hambleton Hills

Did we or didn't we, and if so how much?

Hawnby bottom village

We walked along the tarmac road to reach All Saints Church which is practically invisible among trees until you are almost on top of it.

TSB explains that the church is basically a Norman structure, rebuilt in the late 14th century and restored in 1876 at a cost of £600, raised by subscription.   It was unlocked so Clive and I went in for a look around and found it to be surprisingly free of damp, considering its location.  

All Saints Church, Hawnby

A fine display of snowdrops

Affliction sore long time I bore, physicians skill were vain, I dying left my husband dear, for God to be his guide

We were interested to see a newspaper cutting from 1924 showing the dedication of the war memorial window and another indicating the shocking number of men from Hawnby parish who were killed in WW1.

There is also a wreath to four German airmen who were killed in 1942 when their plane crashed on nearby Pepper Hill.

Side window at All Saints

Altar window

Looking from the altar towards the memorial window

45 men from Hawnby

The memorial window

We left the church and walked down to Church Bridge where we turned sharp left, then right at an Inn Way sign and started our climb to Coomb Hill.

As we approached the hill we saw the first of the three fallen sheep we passed today, perhaps victims of recent bitter cold nights.

Having gained height we circumnavigated the hill, passing the ruins of two old buildings and dropping down to rejoin the tarmac road we left at Church Bridge.

Walking to the bridge from All Saints Church

Follow the Inn Way sign to Arden Hall

Climbing Coomb Hill

A sad sight on the hill

Entering the trees at Coomb Hill

Leaving the trees in a snow shower

We reach the tarmac and turn left

We walked along the road to reach Arden Hall, passing what TSB describes as 'the small but eerie ravine of Stoney Gill Hole'.  

After the entrance to the hall the tarmac peters out and our road became a track which climbed steeply for three quarters of a mile until reaching a disused quarry overlooking Thorodale Lake.
As we would soon be climbing onto Dale Town Common where there would be no shelter we decided to stop at this quarry.  We sat on the bank with a fine view down to Thorodale Lake and to the right Hawnby Hill, and enjoyed our coffee and scones.

Stoney Gill Hole

The rooftops of Arden Hall

Old North Riding sign, the road to Kepwick is not really passable

Passing the front of Arden Hall

A steep climb to.....

.....our coffee spot.  Hawnby Hill and Easterside Hill beyond

Below us Thorodale Lake, it's time those saplings were cut down!

TSB describes the view of the lake at 'splendid' but as has so often been the case when following in his footsteps, saplings have grown to partly obscure the view in the years since the book was written.

Our path now veered left from the road and across Dale Town Common which takes its name from the medieval lost village to the South East.

At the first gate we came to a dyke that follows the line of a dry stone wall to the right, and we followed this wall.  Apparently the dyke dates from the late Bronze Age, 900 - 600BC, and it is thought that it and other similar dykes were constructed to define the limits of farming settlements.

We arouse some interest on Dale Town Common

We pass an old water tank

Turn left through the gate before the copse of trees

Frozen water tank

Shortly after passing an old water tank we turned through a gate and walked across fields for a mile or so until we reached an old barn where cattle were over-wintering.  We stopped to pass the time of day with a fine bull who was happy to have his head scratched.

Suffolk Rams near the Old Barn

Old Barn

"Good day"

Chewing the fat

"What about us?"

Clive chats to the girls

Just past the old barn our path went through an area of tumuli and TSB explains that before the moorland was enclosed there was a group of about 20 tumuli here, only about 7 or 8 now remain. During the 1850s some excavation work was carried out and in one large mound, 40 - 50 feet diameter and 4 feet high, the skeleton of an Anglo Saxon lady of rank was found preserved in the limestone.  At her head was a bronze bowl with three handles, round her waist a leather girdle inlaid with garnets and her hair was secured with gold and silver.

Remains of tumuli near Old Barn

We start to drop down, Hawnby Hill ahead

Our route now headed towards the perimeter of North Bank Wood before turning sharp left downhill at a sign just before Sunnybank Farm.   There was now a steep and occasionally tricky descent back down to the River Rye.

Farm track to Sunnybank Farm

Lower Hawnby in the distance

Turn left at the sign just before Sunnybank Frm

Steep descent down to the River Rye

Another fallen sheep

As we entered a field with Dalicar Bridge over the river ahead of us we noticed an old shed containing two elderly tractors which we have seen slowly deteriorate over the years.  We stopped to admire them and then crossed the bridge to reach the tarmac road back to Hawnby.  

Last stile of the day

Dalicar Bridge

Vintage tractors

Fordson Tractor badge

As we walked uphill we were surprised by a low flying helicopter.  We could see the words Defence Helicopter Flying School on the side so the pilot was probably learning how to buzz old hikers.

A quick change of footwear and we were ensconced in the Inn at Hawnby to discuss today's walk over a pint of Timothy Taylor's Landlord.