Walking in North Yorkshire

Ladhill Gill and Bumper Castle from Fangdale Beck

7.5 miles Grey and misty

We turned off the B1257 Bilsdale Road at the Fangdale sign and drove past a green telephone kiosk just past the junction. This unusual green telephone box was installed in the 1930s and was green at the request of Lord Feversham, who wanted it to blend in with its surroundings. In 1992 a battle was fought over this when British Telecom, without any consultation, removed it and installed one of the new 'shower cubicle' type boxes, not realising they had removed a Grade II listed building. To the delight of the locals they were fined £3000 and ordered to restore the original.

We drove into the village and parked at the side of the road opposite the old school house.

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

Lord Feversham's phone box

Fangdale from our parking place

Tom Scott Burns tells us that Fangdale comes from the personal Scandinavian name Fangi or Fangulf, giving 'Fangi's Valley'. Leaving the car we crossed the beck by the little bridge and walked past the old Wesleyan Chapel, now converted into a private house and currently up for sale.

Chapel converted into private house

The village hall, once the schoolhouse

Looking back at Fangdale

We followed the tarmac lane around to a farm with a wooden sign above the door inscribed Malkin Bower Farm (Matilda's or Maude's dwelling), and continued straight past the farm with the tarmac soon becoming a grassy track.

Malkin Bower Farm

In for the winter at Malkin Bower Farm

Through the new gate..

.. and follow the track through Bilsdale

Ropa Wood on the other side of Bilsdale valley

We followed the path along the valley of Bilsdale, parallel to the road below us. The path drops down to the River Seph and became wetter and muddier before climbing gently up to Helm House.

Helm House

In for the winter at Helm House

Passing below Helm House Wood

Leaving Helm House we crossed sheep fields before arriving at Benhill Bank Plantation where the track climbs steadily past the trees to reach the moor gate.

The moles seem to be following our path

Along Bildsdale

Climbing through Benhill Plantation

Spring in Benhill Plantation

At the top of the bank we turned right onto a tarmac road which leads to Wethercote Farm, but which we turned left to leave after a couple of hundred yards. We now walked across meadow fields, the path completely undetectable apart from the occasional yellow waymark.

Towards Wethercote Farm

Turn off through the gate into fields

We are viewed with some suspicion

Through the moor gate

The last gate took us to the moor edge where the path becomes more distinct, leading from the moor gate. Looking down to our right we saw the ruins of Bumper Castle behind a grove of trees. TSB tells us that the castle was once part of the estate of the Duke of Buckingham and also that the monks of Rievaulx once wrought iron on Bumper Moor. We crossed the heather to join an old cart track that leads to the ruin.

We follow a barely discernable path across the moor

.. to join a better path before the gate which we pass

.. to look down on Bumper Castle

Now just a ruin

Nothing much to see

There appears to be fire damage and the building is in an unsafe condition. We looked around and headed back to our track. We were interested to find out more about the ruin's original purpose and I have previously made an internet search, which found this:

For a farm house Bumper Castle was well built with a slate roof which would have to have been imported into the dale. There's a date on the gable of 1722. It is said that in the 18c the 3rd Duke of Rutland and the Marquis of Granby stayed here for the shooting. So the house may have been built as a shooting lodge.
From the Hawnby parish register in 1794 William Douglas, Bumper Castle, batchelor, 74, was buried "when there was the greatest depth of snow ever known in memory". In 1801 Samuel Tiplady was christened, son of Samuel (gamekeeper) and Dillery Tiplady, Bumper Castle. In 1811 William Mansell, gamekeeper to the Duke of Rutland, died at Bumper Castle aged 38.

From the mid 19c it seems to have been used as a farm. According to the 1851 census Richard Hilbert was farming 127 acres here. In 1881 and 91 Thomas Wrathall was resident. In 1920 Mrs. Clark, widow of Noah Clark was paying £25 rent.

Clive and I have seen a brass memorial plaque to William Mansell set into the floor of Hawnby Church and it would appear that he was staying at Bumper Castle at the time of his death. It would be interesting to know exactly what befell him.

TSB reports in The Walker's Guide to the Cleveland Hills that Bumper Castle was owned by George Villiers, the notorious second Duke of Buckingham, who, when he died in 1687, had squandered £50,000 a year and had become an outcast from society. There is no record of him actually visiting the building however.

Satisfied that we had seen all there is to see at Bumper Castle we set off along a muddy track to eventually rejoin our original path, which we followed down to Ladhill Gill Beck.

A fine drizzle sets in as we cross Bumper Higg

Sportsmans Lodge on the hill opposite

Descending to Ladhill Beck, Sportsmans Hall opposite

Reaching the stream we sat on some convenient rocks near the bridge and enjoyed our coffee sheltered from the breeze.

Coffee al fresco

We crossed the bridge and climbed steeply up the opposite side of the valley, turning left to join a track that led us above Sportsmans Hall. TSB suggests that this name probably has something to do with Bumper Castle and the Duke's sporting pastimes.

Bridge over the River Seph

Looking downstream from the bridge

A steep climb up the other side

Looking back at Bumper Higg

Cheviots and Black Cheviots watch us pass by

Walking above Sportsmans Hall

We walked towards the Hawnby road and turned right along Sunley Slack, a vehicle access track at the moor gate. The track divides twice and on each occasion we took the right fork, heading towards the new Bilsdale mast which was unfortunately obscured from view in today's misty weather.

Hawnby Hill had disappeared in cloud

Turn right off the Hawnby road onto Sunley Slack

Looking back at Hawnby Hill from Sunley Slack

Keep bearing right

Shown on OS map as Workings

We gradually descended past some old workings to reach Weatherhouse Beck and here we left the sandy track and headed off on a faint track through the heather. We lost sight of the track occasionally but it didn't matter, we knew we had to head east to cross the upper reaches of Ladhill Gill where it joins with Wetherhouse Beck and we followed a line of very basic shooting shelters.

Descend past the workings

.. to reach Wetherhouse Beck

Wetherhouse Beck merges with Ladhill Beck at this point

We turn left off the track to follow the shooting stands

The path is very vague and also wet

Stoat trap

A bleak view

This part of the walk is a bit hit and miss, the moor track being either non-existent or overgrown and very boggy. We turned right at the wall and walked on. A couple of years ago we were amused to see a field of blue sheep at this point.

Blue sheep

Also at this spot I took my favourite photo some years ago when we disturbed some grouse and my DSLR camera was already up to my eye. Nowadays I carry a point and shoot and don't think I would have captured this scene.

My favourite shot

We turned right at the wall and walked on, eventually reaching a line of poles marking shooting butts which we followed left, down towards the trees of Helm House Wood. The top of these poles have been painted white and we followed their line downhill towards Bilsdale, this is the dotted line going east off Shaw Side on the map above.

Follow the shooting butts down to Helm House Wood

Approaching Helm House Wood

We went through the moor gate and by some old quarries and then descended via the usual hollow way to emerge at Malkin Bower where we turned left to return to Fangdale.