Nether and Over Silton to Hanging Stone and Oakdale Reservoir

                             7.8 miles                                 Fine and dry



This is one of our favourite walks as it has a bit of everything; moors, villages, forests and even a reservoir.  We parked once again at Square Corner, the moors car park which is two miles from Osmotherley on the Hawnby road.  

Leaving the car we walked southwards along the forest path up the shoulder of Black Hambleton.

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

Climbing Black Hambleton

We turned right through a gate giving access to the remains of the conifer plantation and our path, known as Moor Lane, took us steadily downhill for about 2.5 miles.

The path re-entered trees and after pausing to examine some frogspawn we realised we were being watched by a deer. It remained motionless long enough for me to zoom my camera in on it and take a shot before she was off, high- tailing it through the trees.

Turn right off Black Hambleton

Walking down Moor Lane

Plenty of frogspawn in ponds and ditches

Who's that in the trees?

Watching us watching her

After that happy meeting we walked down through conifers until we came upon the ruins of a lime kiln. Passing imposing Moor House we saw a couple of Southdown sheep in a field.  Obviously pet sheep, they ran across to be fussed and Clive bit a Jakeman's Throat and Chest lozenge in half, giving a piece to each sheep which they appeared to relish.

Old lime kiln

Moor House

Trotting to see us

The strange looking Southdown Sheep

Pet lambs

It was hard to say goodbye!

A little further along Moor Lane we came to Rose Cottage and then on the right an ancient drinking trough, before joining the lane leading into Nether Silton.  

Our path from the village was almost hidden where it leaves the road alongside the old post office, through a white gate at a point opposite the chapel of All Saints. 

Ancient drinking trough

Entering Nether Silton

We need to be through the white gate, note the faint yellow arrow

After crossing several fields we came to the ancient and isolated church of St Mary, Over Silton, standing alone in the middle of fields without any path leading to it.  The graveyard was full of daffodils but unfortunately we appeared to be a week or so too early to see them at their best.

St Mary's appears in the distance

St Mary's Church

'Just in the darling of my youth, then death to me was sent, and you who have a longer stay, be certain to repent'

We sat in the peaceful graveyard on the Jubilee Bench and enjoyed our coffee and scones before spending some time exploring the church.

Looking towards the altar, no electricity of course!

Altar window

Clive checks out the organ

Looking back from the altar

We returned to the graveyard and spent a few minutes looking at the maudlin Victorian epitaphs which were obviously very fashionable hereabouts. 

'Happy soul thy days are ended, All thy mourning days below, Go by Angel guards attended, To the sight of Jesus go'

'In vain the tears that fall from you, And here supply the place of due, How vain to weep the happy's dead, And now to heavenly realms are fled, Repine no more your 'plaints forbear, And strive at last to meet me there' 

Mary, wife of Charles who died April 16th 1788 aged 44. 'Sweet children and husband dear, live still by faith and nothing fear, But sin which is the root of strife, The seed of death the bane of life, What am I now, dust and shade, Yourselves the same, your life doth fade, This I suggest from silent urn, that whilst I speak your heart may burn, and be in flame with heavenly love, Aspiring still to things above,'

On the back!  'Can love you hate, can life you kill, Can evil spring from God's good will.  This is his will that widowers chaste, Should trust in God and not make haste, Accept those words. Not else I crave.  Do not despise a spouses grave. And let me whisper one thing more, you and the children have in store, Treasure of sighs, tears, groans and prayers,  Of which you are the rightful heirs.  She that in silent dust doth sleep For you to God did often weep.  Struggling with God that he might give,  you grace in Christ to make you live. Hoping for this she did expire, God will you save, you shall Admire, Our pledges to thy care are given, the choicest gift of kindest heaven,  Their father, mother both in thee, United now they nearly see,  The soul that hindering wishes to be free,  Would yet a train of thoughts impart to thee,  But strives in vain the chilling hand of death.'

The epitaphs on the graves from the eighteenth century usually seem to leave a cautionary message for the living but we were baffled by the above. Exactly what was the long message about?  It must have been very expensive to have a gravestone engraved with such a long epitaph.

We walked across the fields away from the isolated church and towards the village of Over Silton where we passed by the old manor house.  TSB tells us that this was once owned by the gallant gentleman Sir George Orby Wombwell, baronet, who served with the 17th Lancers and took part in the charge of the Light Brigade at Balaclava on 25th October 1854.  His horse was shot from under him and he was taken prisoner but escaped on a Russian horse to rejoin his brigade and charge again, without sword or pistol!  He managed to continue to cheat death until 1913 when he died aged 81.   

Looking back at isolated St Mary's Church, which has no footpath or lane to service it

The Manor House, Over Silton

Clive approaches the sign where we turn left, steeply uphill to Crabtree Bank Plantation

We turned right and walked beyond the houses to a signpost where our path left the road and climbed steeply into Crabtree Bank Plantation. 

The next 2.5 miles were to be through conifers, sometimes on wide forestry tracks and sometimes on narrow footpaths but always very muddy and difficult to negotiate.  

We climbed steeply for the first mile then our path levelled out for a mile.  As we picked our way through the muddy tracks of Crabtree Plantation we saw the Hanging Stone above us.

Hanging Stone

Horse and bikes have made our paths very muddy

We came to a fork in the path where we turned right through a very muddy entrance and headed immediately upwards.  A steep climb took us through the Thimbleby Bank Plantation to emerge at a conifer wood below Thimbleby Moor.

At the fork, Clive figures the best way across. We need to be up to the right

We walk above the path for a while

Descending through Big Wood

We followed a distinct path into the dense trees of Big Wood and  crossed a clearing where felling had taken place, to re-enter dense conifers and follow a way-marked path until we came to a slippery descent into Oak Dale.

Reaching the bottom we exited the trees and crossed a bridge over Jenny Brewster's Gill and emerged from the wood.

Tom Scott Burns explains that Jenny Brewster's Gill was named after a famous witch and was once the haunt of smugglers who peddled liquor to the surrounding villages.  Several secret stills were dotted around the moors, one being at Solomon's Temple, another Wildgoose Nest, near what is now Cod Beck Reservoir and another at Swainsty Crag on Nether Silton Moor.

We now walked alongside Oakdale Reservoir which was built in the 19th century to provide water to the local area but which has now been decommissioned. The reservoir has been downgraded to a small lake that it is hoped will attract wildfowl.  Nothing to be seen today however!

Approaching Jenny Brewster's Gill

Approaching the run-off for Oakdale Upper Reservoir

Oakdale

  

Leaving Oak Dale we climbed steeply back to Hambleton Road where a brief walk took us to our car.  A short drive from Square Corner took us once again to Osmotherley and the Queen Catherine Hotel, where we discussed today's walk over a pint of Thwaites Wainwright.

Looking back at Oakdale from our climb...

.. to Square Corner

Burning heather at Black Hambleton, must be the last burning before nesting begins

Arden Great Moor Circular

10.5 miles              Dry and windy

This is a longer walk from the Tom Scott Burns book 'A Walker's Guide to the Hambleton Hills'.  We chose this route as much of the walk is on good paths and the recent snow and rain has made field tracks into quagmires.  TSB suggests starting the walk from Arden Hall but we prefer to park at Square Corner on the Osmotherley to Hawnby road.

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

We set off and climbed up Black Hambleton facing into a strong and cold wind.  Once on Hambleton we walked along the drovers' road known as Hambleton Street, which we followed for about 2.5 miles from Square Corner until we reached the ruins of an old drovers' inn that was known as Limekiln House.

Black Hambleton looms above in the distance

A steady climb

Still snow on the higher moor

Looking through the murk towards Kepwick

Close to this information stone about Limekiln House Inn is a small memorial 'To Bert'.  We would like to know more about this memorial but haven't been able to find anything online.

Clive secures Bert's memorial cross

Bert, man or beast?

At the site of these memorials we turned left to walk to the hidden valley of Thorodale.  A slippery mud path leads steeply down into the valley.

Steep descent into Thorodale

Thorodale

Walking through Thorodale

We followed our track through Thorodale Wood then North Moor Wood with brief glimpses of Thorodale Lake below.  As the track approached Arden Hall we found ourselves walking through masses of snowdrops which TSB suggests were probably planted by the nuns that occupied this site in the Benedictine nunnery of St Andrew, founded in 1148.  All that's left of the nunnery is an old chimney, now embodied into Arden Hall.

TSB says that the name Arden was probably derived from arn, an eagle, and doen, a deep valley - the valley of the eagle.

As we neared the hall we saw more and more little yellow flowers among the snowdrops.  These are winter aconites which are somewhat poisonous and also known as wolfsbane.  TSB says these were also planted by the nuns to use in preparations of medicine..

Approaching North Moor Wood

A nice green lane through the woods

Hiker's memorial bench

Our view from the bench

Wolfsbane

In a secluded spot overlooking a stream is a memorial bench which is dedicated to three hikers who were killed in a car crash when driving home from a hike in this area 27 years ago.  It is situated in a lovely sheltered spot and was ideal for our coffee stop.  Fresh flowers had been placed on the bench.   The sun came out and we enjoyed our scones with a fine view.

Refreshed we continued along the track to pay a visit to Arden Hall before retracing our steps back uphill to rejoin our earlier path, this time turning right to walk towards Mount Pleasant Farm.

Rear approach to Arden Hall

Views of Arden Hall

Arden Hall from the car park that TSB recommends as starting point for this walk

As we walked past Mount Pleasant Farm we had fine views over to Coomb Hill on our right.

Walking away from Arden Hall

North Moor Woods

Looking back at Arden Hall

Coomb Hill looking almost surreal in sunshine

Mount Pleasant Farm

Walking up from the farm we passed the pretty cottage known as Harker Gates then into the woods of North Moor. Ahead to our right was the unmistakable shape of Hawnby Hill.  

The last time we walked through these woods we saw trees being felled at an amazing rate by a logging machine.  Today the loggers have moved on and there is now an empty wasteland where we had stood and watched them at work.

Hawnby Hill

Harker Gates cottage

Early in 2017

The same spot today

Approaching Eskerdale Beck

After crossing Eskerdale Beck by a small bridge our path took us past two ruined farms, Brewster Hill and Cow Wath.  Although no longer occupied, the outbuildings of Brewster Hill are still in use and we looked into an old byre to see a couple of new born calves and their mothers.

The bridge over Eskerdale Beck

Brewster Hill with a window knocked out to allow sheep to shelter

Calf and mother at Brewster Hill

We continued following our faint path, now with the River Rye running parallel below us until after a couple of miles we passed the ruins of Far House.

A field path with the River Rye below

Passing the ruins of Cow Wath

Looking down at the River Rye

The ruins of Far House

We approached a gate where a spring ran into a large pool and then out again down towards the River Rye.  Here we were surprised to see masses of frogspawn and we wondered whether it would survive the unseasonably cold weather we are having this spring.

Masses of frogspawn on our path

Wheat Beck

Progress was slow on muddy paths as we passed by Low Locker Farm and over a large bridge at Dale Head.  Just upstream from this bridge is the source of the River Rye.

Lowe Locker Farm

Sheep on the skyline at Low Locker Farm

Muddy moorland paths

Wide bridge at Dale Head

Walking away from the bridge we passed by our last ruined farm before walking across the heather of Low Locker Moor to join the Osmotherley to Hawnby road where we turned left to walk back down to the car.

The last ruined farm of Dale Head

Disused lime kiln at Dale Head

Low Locker Moor gate

A place to grow what?  Is this expensive new information sign necessary on the little used road from
 Hawnby to Osmotherley?

A short drive took us to Osmotherley where we discussed an enjoyable walk over a pint in the Queen Catherine hotel.