Kepwick and Cowesby from Over Silton

5.5 miles          Cold and wet

We parked at Over Silton at the roadside opposite the Old School House, having approached the village from the A19.

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

The Old School House

The Manor House at Over Silton

The Wombwell coat of arms on the Manor House

Tom Scott Burns notes that the name Silton probably derives from Sal as in Upsal, which means Hall, and Ton, which is old Anglian for place or town.

We followed the road out of Over Silton and turned into a field at a gate. We then walked through wet fields until we reached Greystone Farm, passing by the attractive and tidily kept buildings to see a small open barn full of rosettes and prize certificates for the farm's Suffolk sheep.

Conditions were very wet underfoot

Members of The Silton Flock

Greystone Farm

Trophies of the Silton Flock

The route continues along field paths until reaching Nether Silton where we crossed the road near to the village green and rejoined our path which led us to Hall Farm.

Nether Silton with its huge lime tree on the village green

Silton Hall

Approaching Hall Farm

We continued beyond the farm to walk through sodden fields until we reached the footbridge over Sorrow Beck.

Sorrow Beck

Crossing Sorrow Beck

The Hiker's Dilemma, which sign to obey?

After crossing the beck we walked through fields to reach a stone footbridge that is built over what used to be a 3.5 mile narrow gauge railway.  Constructed in 1833, this railway brought limestone mined near Kepwick to kilns near to the Yarm and Thirsk turnpike road.  We crossed another field and joined Peasland Lane which we followed for a mile into Cowesby.

Railway Bridge

Budissa Bag - New way of storing Silage

Pen Hill - our return route - from Peasland Lane

Follow the road to Cowesby

St Michael's from Peasland Lane

The first building one comes to on entering Cowesby is St Michael and All Angels Church.  We were pleased to find the door was unlocked and we spent a few moments exploring the old building.  Although very smart from the outside, the interior is suffering from damp, indeed we thought the inside of the church was colder than outside, but at least it gave shelter from the rain.  Plaster had fallen from the roof and walls and it was apparent that a tree had fallen at the rear of the church, breaking a window. 

Clive seeks shelter at St Michael's

The sign warns of damage

Broken windows

Sanctuary

Feeling better for coffee and scones we went back outside to see what damage had occurred to the church.  

Poor St Michael's, in need of TLC

Tree damage at the rear of the church

Although the present church dates from only 1846 it replaced one of the oldest churches in the district, which stood on a Saxon site. We saw that the weather vane, which had been fallen on our last visit, has still not been replaced and there is extensive damage to the boiler house, guttering, windows and slates, caused by the fall of a huge beech tree.  We do hope money is found for its repair.

We walked through Cowesby, past Home Farm, then followed a path bearing left along the western shoulder of Pen Hill. This path then leads down towards Kepwick.  

Houses in Cowesby

Walking through Cowesby

Cowesby from Pen Hill

We were pleased the path has been surfaced since our last visit

From Pen Hill

Descending to Kepwick

Tom Scott Burns in The Walker's Guide to the Hambleton Hills mentions that a marble obelisk can be seen on Howe Hill as one descends Atlay Bank.  John Henry Boyer Warner erected Kepwick Hall and constructed two reservoirs upon the moors above to service the estate and village. The obelisk is a memorial to him but is now invisible to all, unless you climb Howe Hill and fight through the trees and vegetation to get to its base.  

Howe Hill on a previous visit

Memorial to Warner

Reaching the road at Kepwick we crossed the tarmac and a stile to re-enter fields which took us first to the disused railway and then to Bridge Beck which we crossed on a new bridge.  A hundred yards later we reached and crossed Sorrow Beck, taking great care as this bridge was slippery and the handrail has broken off.

Approaching the road at Kepwick

Cross the road and stile and re-enter fields

Descending to Bridge Beck

Crossing Bridge Beck

Sorrow Beck, take care!

In pathless fields way-marks are few and far between, but keep straight ahead to the outskirts of Nether Silton and the old Manor Stone which is in the middle of a field next to the 16th century manor house.  The stone is cryptically inscribed with letters whose meaning I've set out below the photograph.  This inscription was the idea of a Squire Hicks to mark the spot where the medieval manor house once stood.

Heavy going causes Clive to refuse at the first jump

.. and we can't even reach the second jump

The Manor House appears in the distance

Elizabethan Manor House

Monoliths

Here The Grand Old Manor House Stood

The Black Beams Were Oak, The Great Walls Were Good

The Walls At The East Wing Are Hidden Here

A Thatched Cottage Like A Barn Was Erected 
Year AD 1765

A Wide Porch Spans A Yard And Alcove

A few steps further took us to the church of All Saints but we decided we were now too wet and muddy to enter, so we crossed the road and passed through a white gate to fields beyond.

All Saints Church, Nether Silton

Through the white gate

Once in the fields we were now returning to Over Silton and walking parallel to Greystone Farm and its Suffolk sheep.  After crossing the tarmac of Kirk Ings Lane we passed St Mary's Church, which appears abandoned in the middle of a field, before walking over the field to reach Over Silton.

St Mary's at Over Silton

This is a nice short walk and recommended for a winter's day.

"To dry boots!"