Caydale and Noddle End from Murton
7.5 miles Fine and breezy
Tom Scott Burns explains that a 'grange' is a farmhouse attached to a religious order and Murton Grange once belonged to the monks of nearby Byland Abbey. We drove to Murton Grange taking the Laskill turn-off from the B1257 Stokesley to Helmsley road and parked on the verge near to the white buildings of the Grange.
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| Today's walk from The Walker's Guide to the Hambleton Hills |
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| Murton Grange |
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| This swallow was flying in and out of Murton Grange outbuildings |
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| Splendid plate fungus near Murton Grange |
As we walked past the Grange we stopped to speak to a wagon driver who was securing his load of deciduous tree trunks. He told us they were Ash trees from Caydale Wood and that he was taking them to Doncaster where they would be made into firewood for domestic wood burning stoves. In the old days, he told us, Ash would have been used in motor car interiors and furniture but there is no demand for it anymore.
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| Ash trees for burning for heating |
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| Walking towards Caydale |
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| More Ash trees await collection, we bear right onto the smaller track |
We came to a fork, the main lane going on to Caydale Mill but we went straight ahead here and down into the hidden valley of Caydale. Tom Scott Burns tells us that at this spot the last wild cat in England was shot in 1840, by a Charles Harrison.
As we descended into the valley a hare ran ahead of us then hid in the long grass at the side of the path. As we approached it lost its nerve and ran off allowing a photo or two. Its gait was the same as that of a running dog.
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| A hare ahead! |
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| Off he goes... |
We reached Caydale, taking the second footpath sign to drop down to the valley bottom. Here there are several crystal clear waterways, shown on the map above as Old Byland's Water Race and Limperdale Gill. In the 1740s a Joseph Ford of Kirbymoorside perfected a system of tapping into springs and channeling water in open 'rills' some 12 inches wide. Water was diverted by this method through Caydale from King Spring to the village of Old Byland and the straight rills remain.
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| Caydale |
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| Left off the path at this sign |
The valley floor was covered in flowering Iris and we crossed a couple of waterways and started up the other side. Until a couple of years ago this climb was through trees but all vegetation has been removed and sheep now rule the slope.
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| Walking across several bridges on the valley floor |
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| Lots of flowering Iris |
A consequence of this clearing has been the removal of the old 'Captain's Seat' which is shown on the map above, although we did find the remains of it near the path. Who the Captain was and why he sat there is lost in time.
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| Climbing out of Caydale through a new sheep pasture |
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| Remains of the Captain's Seat |
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| The Captain's Seat in 2015, already delapidated |
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| Looking back across Caydale, Murton Grange in the far distance |
Leaving the climb and Caydale we crossed several sheep fields to reach the tarmac of High Leir Lane where we turned right and walked to pass Weathercote Farm with its novel 'cat and rat' weather vane.
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| Rich pastures for sheep |
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| A dead 'un, no sign of injury |
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| Weather vane at Wethercote Farm |
We now followed the Cleveland Way along Boltby Scar, past the old quarry workings and the ruins of High Barn, briefly crossing the tarmac of Sneck Yate Bank and on through the trees of Boltby plantation to reach High Paradise Farm and its tea room.
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| Walking along the Cleveland Way, Boltby below |
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| The old barn appears in the distance |
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| High Paradise Fram on the skyline, Low Paradise below |
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| Entering Boltby Forest |
We sat in the sunny farmyard enjoying a pot of coffee and scones while hens and ducklings begged around our table. As we finished the large walking group arrived to a prepared lunch and took up the remaining tables, but by this time we were on our way. We laughed as the hens and ducks moved across the yard to their new prey.
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| I wonder if they have scones...? |
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| High Paradise Tea Room |
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| Residents at High Paradise |
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| A hen lurks under our table, we guard our scones |
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| High Paradise Farm |
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| Clive shares an apple with a Shetland Pony |
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| We could hear the snores but piggly wouldn't come out to play |
Refreshed, we rejoined the track to walk past the farm to reach Sneck Gate and the old Drovers' Road, which we crossed into Daletown Common. A two mile walk along a nice green track eventually brought us to the barn at Noddle End. We walked past a couple of fields that appeared to have been returned to meadow land, perhaps courtesy of some sort of agricultural grant, and they were full of bees and butterflies.
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| Daletown Common |
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| A lot of sheep had red paint on their horns, presumably for ID on this common land |
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| Fields full of wild flowers and different grasses |
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| The barn at Noddle End |
When we reached the barn we paused to enjoy a pleasant view into Gowerdale, before following the path down to reach the ruined farm of Gowerdale House.
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| Through the gate at Noddle End barn |
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| Dropping towards Gowerdale House |
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| Abandoned Gowerdale House |
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| "Look around and get out" |
Our path led steeply downhill to the single deserted farmstead of Gowerdale House. This area was the site of what was once a medieval village, long abandoned. TSB speculates whether the Black Death visited this secluded valley. We walked in front of the house which has the bleak message, "Look around and get out!" painted on the front door, and followed a rising path through the yard of Dale Town Farm.
We walked straight uphill from the farm, turning left along Peak Scar Top and soon reaching Murton Bank Road and the car.
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| Hawnby Hill and Easterside Hill from Peak Scar Top |
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