8.5 miles Drizzle then fine
We approached Kirby Knowle from the Knayton A19 turn-off and parked our cars on the grassed area set aside for parking, opposite St Wilfred's Church.
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| Todays' walk from The Walker's Guide to the Hambleton Hills |
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| St Wilfred's Church - not open to visitors |
We walked out of the village towards Upsall (up-salir, Old Norse 'high dwellings') along the tarmac road. Over to our right, high on the hill, we saw the imposing 'Newbuilding.' Originally called Kirby Knowle Castle, Tom Scott Burns explains that it actually dates from the 13th century. It has been restored and modernised but still contains many of its original features. At the moment work appears to being carried out in the grounds.
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| Fine old house in Kirby Knowle |
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| Newbuilding and excavations |
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| We walked back towards Upsall |
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| Nice weathervane on outskirts of Kirby Knowle |
Just before Upsall we turned off the road into fields at a metal footpath sign to follow a little walked path towards Turton Beckstead. We passed through a field of cows, the first of many fields of livestock we would encounter today. From past experience Clive put his brolly down before we entered, it terrifies beasts! Then we followed a faint path along fields' edges, young partridges running ahead of us.
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| Turn left into fields before Upsall |
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| Clive goes ahead to negotiate our passage |
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| Cows are only aggressive when they have calves with them... oh 'eck they have. |
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| Partridge |
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| We are led along for a couple of fields until... |
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| ... we enter the trees of Millers Wood |
'Beckstead' means 'a farm near a river' and as we reached the beck we saw a large stone on which we could just make out the words engraved on it, 'The Turton Beckstead.' This old stone is deteriorating lying in the stream and had been completely covered with moss, Clive attempted to clean it to make the words legible.
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| Through Millers Wood |
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| Clive cleans the stone... |
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| ... to reveal Turton Beckstead |
We think the stone and others lying around must be part of an old bridge. Tom Scott Burns relates a strange story that happened here. In the 1860s some mourners were carrying a body to Kirby Knowle for burial. The bearers set down the coffin to briefly rest at this spot, but on lifting it again it felt much lighter and they discovered that the corpse had disappeared. The empty coffin was buried and the site at Beckstead Wood became known as Lost Corpse End.
It is a fact that bodies were carried by this route from Felixkirk to Kirby Knowle for burial, that much at least is true.
Leaving Turton Beckstead we climbed gently over Carr Hill and approached the village of Felixkirk through overgrown fields.
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| Wet fields |
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| Crossing Nevison Beckstead |
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| Horses at Mount View - the sight of Clive's brolly kept them at a distance |
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| Arriving at Felixkirk |
We reached the tarmac road at Mount View and turned right to walk into Felixkirk and the church of St Felix which we found to be locked. A cursory look around the building and graveyard was the best we could do before heading back along the road. As always we paid our respects to the tragic Hannah Cornforth, who died at 21 and has possibly the saddest epitaph we've seen.
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| St Felix at Felixkirk |
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| Grass-cutters |
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| St Felix |
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Hannah Cornforth 'Twenty years I was a maid, 1 year I was a wife. 18 hours a mother, and then departed life'
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The fine drizzle was still persisting and although we would normally press on to Cinque House for our break we decided to stop at the village green where there was a seat and a large sycamore tree for shelter.
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| "Where's the scones...?" |
Finishing our coffee we retraced our steps to the road junction where we turned right and climbed steadily to pass the lodge to Mount St John, and turned right again down a lane. Coming to a fork we turned right to head towards Cinque Cliff House passing through a field of frisky horses to reach a diverted path around the rear of Cinque Cliff House.
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| Mount St John Lodge |
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| Near Cinque Cliff House |
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| They're alright when you get on the other side of the fence.. |
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| Clive shares an apple |
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| Behind Cinque Cliff House |
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| Cinque Cliff House |
We rejoined the track below Cinque Cliff House to follow a grassy lane to the road, where we turned left and walked into Thirlby.
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| Entering Thirlby |
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| Fox weather vane at Thirlby |
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| A grove of Eucalyptus trees |
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| Pear Tree House |
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| Gurtof Beck |
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| Walking through Thirlby |
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| 'No shop or inn is there here about, so why not sit down and enjoy summat for nowt' - donated by 'two good sorts' |
Walking down the high street we came to Pear Tree House where Thirlby's own woodcarver lives; Bob Hunter, who worked with Mouseman Thompson at nearby Kilburn, and whose trademark is the wren.
Leaving Pear Tree Cottage we crossed the ford and left the tarmac at Thirlby Farm, turning left to follow a track through a grassy meadow.
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| Leave the High Street here |
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| ... and follow field paths |
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| Looking over at Boltby Scar |
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| A peaceful family |
We followed the path, sometimes across fields and sometimes through woods, steadily approaching Boltby.
We turned left at the packhorse bridge and walked through the pretty village before turning right at a waymarked sign at the lane between Spring Garth and Gurtof House.
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| Boltby and the weather fairs up |
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| Packhorse bridge |
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| Several mosaics in Boltby |
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| Gurtof Lane |
We followed a series of field boundaries to reach the modern mansion of Ravensthorpe Manor, glimpses of which can be seen on approach.
The path became easier and we walked gently downhill, eventually emerging in Kirby Knowle near the old school house, where we turned left and walked back towards the cars.
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| Kirby Knowle ahead |
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| The Lodge and Newbuilding behind |
As we passed the old school house we met a man whose tools showed him to be a mole catcher, so we asked him if he'd caught anything.
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| Have you caught any? |
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| How the trap works |
He told us he'd just set his traps. He said he catches around 9,000 moles a year in this area but also works for landowners in other areas. We asked if he skins the moles and he said it was no longer worthwhile. He used to get fourpence a skin. Mole fur can be made into waistcoats and hats and used to be valued because, unlike other fur animals where the nap goes from the head to the tail, on a mole the fur can be brushed in any direction, so that the mole can reverse in its tunnel. Skins would be dyed to get a uniform colour. The word 'taupe' is French for 'mole'. He told us that one mole in 100,000 is white but at Carlton Husthwaite he once caught 16 white moles in a half mile area. He said it must have been a dominant gene.
He went on to tell us that another problem with taking moles away for skinning is that landowners are a suspicious bunch and want to see what he has caught, as he is paid a bounty on each mole. In order that they don't suspect that he has brought dead moles from other properties he has a policy of leaving all the moles he catches with the client and it is up to them what they do with them.
He showed us a trap which was tunnel shaped, unlike the scissor traps I have seen, and when he pushed his stick in it it snapped shut. It would break the mole's back and death is instant, he said.
He was very a interesting character to talk to and we felt we had learned something today!
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| "To moles!" |
We continued to the cars and a short drive took us to the Golden Lion at Osmotherley where we discussed our walk, and the mole catcher, over a pint of bitter. This is a nice walk taking you through some pretty villages but needs some navigation preparation as some paths are practically unwalked.
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