Stonegrave and Caulkleys Bank from Nunnington
7 miles Fine and bright
This is the most southerly walk in Tom Scott Burn's book, The Walker's Guide to the Hambleton Hills. Set in the gently rolling Howardian Hills this route would be graded very easy and the going is good underfoot.
We approached Nunnington on the B1257 from Helmsley and parked in a lay-by opposite Nunnington Hall, next to the river.
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| Today's walk from The Walker's Guide to the Hambleton Hills |
Tom Scott Burns explains that the name Nunnington is derived from the old English personal name Nunna and not from the Saxon nunnery that once stood where the hall now stands.
We crossed the bridge over the river and walked through the village admiring the neat streets, laid out in a grid formation with all the houses decorated in the same dark green and cream paintwork.
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| The old school |
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| Houses in a neat grid |
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| Life size weather-vane of Percy the labrador (see below) |
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| Village community |
As we passed Nunnington studios we paused to admire the weather vane which we were once told is a life sized memorial to a much loved dog, a spaniel called Percy. Apparently the spaniel was a real character who led a very independent life, doing exactly what he pleased. At the other end of the village is a small copse of trees named after the dog and known as Percy's Plantation.
Leaving Nunnington at Bridge Cottage we walked for about a mile alongside the river until we crossed a small bridge over a beck. Here we turned sharp left and walked away from the river into fields.
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| Following the river |
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| Angler's hut |
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| Hawthorn blossom in full bloom |
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| This old bridge could easily be removed |
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| Bank collapse |
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| New signs and fences at our left turn |
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| The path is now enclosed |
After walking through several fields we turned left onto the tarmac of High Moor Lane and after a hundred yards or so turned left again at a signpost to return to fields.
As we climbed gently along the field path we saw a deer standing still and apparently watching our approach. I took a quick photo and it was off, but unusually we heard it barking, almost like a dog, for several minutes, presumably to warn others. This loud barking makes us think it was an adult stag rather than a buck.
After half a mile or so we dropped down to reach the busy Malton road and the village of Stonegrave.
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| Stonegrave |
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| We spot the Minster |
Crossing the busy B1257 we followed the wooden sign to the rear gate of Stonegrave Minster, England's smallest minster.
TSB explains that Stonegrave is derived from steinn-gryfia meaning a 'stone cleft', and there were important quarries of building stone here in the Middle Ages.
We entered the churchyard by a stile and crossed to the Minster where we took advantage of a bench to enjoy our coffee and scones, before exploring the old building.
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| Stonegrave Minster |
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| A good spot for coffee |
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| Inside the minster |
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| The Altar window |
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| The Thorntons |
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| Celtic Wheel Cross |
Leaving the Minster we walked past the old manor house and crossed back over the Malton road to join a grassy path that veers left from the road to climb Caulkleys Bank.
The name Caulkleys is a corruption of 'Chalk Lands' and in The Walker's Guide to the Hambleton Hills one reads that the terrain here consists mainly of rich deposits of reef limestones and detritus known as Coral Rag, all pointing to the marine origins of this hillside.
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| Climbing Caulkleys Bank |
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| The old Manor House at Stonegrave |
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| Stonegrave from Caulkleys Bank |
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| We were surprised to see this black rabbit running with wild rabbits |
Reaching the top of Caulkleys Bank we walked along the grassy ridge and after passing Caulkleys Wood we had fine views in all directions.
We followed the ridge walk for about 2.5 miles: at its highest point it is marked by a trig point. TSB says that no less than 22 towns, villages and hamlets and sixteen churches can be seen from here.
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| Cowslips |
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| Walking alongside Caulkleys Wood |
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| What happened to the pine? This pine is well and truly dead |
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| Same tree in 2019 looking quite healthy |
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| Clive counts the sixteen churches |
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| We think this trig point pre-dates the standard concrete model |
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| 180 degree panorama from the trig point |
All along the ridge we saw cowslips coming into bloom. It was nice to see such large numbers of this increasingly rare flower.
Eventually our path began to lose height and we reached the houses of the tiny hamlet of West Ness, where we passed an old Wesleyan Chapel, long disused, and a telephone box, full of cobwebs but still working and in service!
Just past a Wesleyan chapel built in 1836 the path leaves the road and rejoins the River Rye. We walked alongside the peaceful river for about 1.5 miles and reached Mill Farm.
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| Turn off the road at the signpost |
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| Looking back to West Ness Farm |
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| We reach the old mill |
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| Mill Farm |
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| The chase is on. An egg thief is pursued with a lot of noise at Mill Farm |
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| Dust baths at Mill Farm |
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| The old mill |
TSB says there has been a mill here since Domesday and the present mill dates from 1875. Until 1950 the mill race powered a generator providing electricity for Nunnington Hall.
Continuing alongside the river we reached Nunnington Hall, where the screeching of peacocks could be heard. This was owned by Sir Thomas Parr in the sixteenth century so it's possible that Catherine Parr, Henry VIII's last wife, played in the village as a child.
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| Nunnington Hall |
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| Old Alms Houses |
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| Side view of the hall |
We crossed the bridge and returned to the car just as the sun came out. Sadly the village pub, The Royal Oak, has closed its doors to business, so a short drive was required to reach the bijou bar of Helmsley Brewery where we sat in the sun and discussed today's walk.
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| To the Chalk Lands! |
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