Caydale and Noddle End from Murton

7.5 miles                           Fine and breezy

Clive is away and Carole agreed to join me for this enjoyable Tom Scott Burns route which we haven't walked for a couple of years.

We turned off the B1257 Stokesley to Helmsley road at Laskill.  Parking, shown by the 'P' next to the Grange in TSB's map below, is no longer available to the public, so we parked on the grass verge near to the buildings of Murton Grange at the top of Murton Bank.

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

Tom Scott Burns explains that a 'grange' was a farmhouse attached to a religious order and Murton Grange once belonged to the monks of nearby Byland Abbey. 

From Murton Bank we turned into the Grange's farm track and walked past the Grange, continuing straight ahead until arriving at a fork.  This is the main lane going on to Caydale Mill but here we took the right fork down into the hidden valley of Caydale.  Tom Scott Burns tells us that the last wild cat in England was shot at this spot in 1840, by a Charles Harrison. 

From our car at the top of Murton Bank

Murton Grange

Straight past the Grange..

.. until the fork. Bear right.

After crossing a couple of fields our path dropped down into the trees of the charming valley of Caydale.  We stayed on the farm track, ignoring a couple of footpath signs, until we saw a sign with a gate on our left, and here we turned through the gate.

Stay on the main track..

.. until you see the gate on your left

Caydale

We reached the bottom of the valley and crossed several streams of crystal clear water, known as 'rills'.  These are 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. 

Bridge over a 'rill' in Caydale

We crossed the valley floor and started up the other side.  Until a couple of years ago this climb passed through trees but now the trees have been felled and the area converted to rough grazing.

A consequence of this clearing has been the removal of the old 'Captain's Seat' which is shown on the map above, and which we used to pass by, although even then it was in a dilapidated state. We would like to know who the Captain was and why he would sit at such a remote spot.

Leaving the climb and Caydale we crossed several fields to reach High Leir Lane where we turned right and walked on tarmac to pass Weathercote Farm with its novel 'cat and rat' weather vane.

Climbing out of Caydale

Looking across Caydale the buildings of Murton Grange can just be seen

Field paths..

.. to reach High Leir Lane

Weathercote Farm

Cat and rat weather vane

Tractor...

.. and harvester, the gate is open which spoils the effect

After a mile we reached the junction with Cleveland Road which we crossed to follow field paths again, until reaching the high ridge of Boltby Scar. 

Straight across Cleveland Road into a narrow path

.. which opens out

.. to reach the gate above Boltby Scar

We now join the Cleveland Way

Boltby below

We turned right onto the Cleveland Way and followed the path along the ridge to pass the ruined High Barn. We passed old quarry workings and then crossed Sneck Yate Bank Road and continued along a forest path to reach High Paradise Farm. 

On the Cleveland Way and approaching..

.. High Barn

Continue past the barn

.. and into Boltby Forest

High Paradise Farm has a nice little cafe which is open during the summer months so we decided to stop for a coffee.

A scone at High Paradise

Bijou cafe at High Paradise Farm

Refreshed, we left the cafe and rejoined our path, following it to reach the old drove road, Hambleton Road.  We crossed straight over the road to enter Daletown Common where we followed a path all the way to a ruined barn at Noddle End.

Cross straight over Hambleton Road and go through the gate

.. onto Daletown Common

Daletown Common

Barley seems to be doing well, even exposed and at a height

Approaching Noddle End

Reaching the barn at Noddle End we had a fine view down into Gowerdale, before making the steep descent to reach lonely Gowerdale House.

Starting to descend into Gowerdale

Approaching Gowerdale House

Carole gets warm, Gowerdale is sheltered from the wind

'Look around and get out'

In his 'Round and About the North Yorkshire Moors, Vol. 2' Tom Scott Burns tells us that Gowerdale House is all that remains of a medieval village, called Dal in the Domesday Book, and Daile a century later. By 1433 there were 23 tenants recorded as living in Daletown but by 1569 in Humberston's Survey the entry was 'vocatum Dale Town'. Was the village wiped out by the Black Death?

We passed the front of the house which has the bleak message, "Look around and get out!" painted on the front door, and then followed a rising path to reach Dale Town Farm.

Dale Town Farm

The footpath passes between the farm buildings

We turned right into a cow field just after passing the farm buildings and followed the faint path steeply uphill to the top of Peak Scar Top where we turned left to reach Murton Bank Road and the car.

This walk ends with a steep climb to the skyline

Looking back to Dale Town Farm

Tree-hugger.  We make it to the top

Come on slowcoach! The end of the walk

Reaching the car we looked down to the village of Hawnby and its pub, The Owl, where we were soon to be found enjoying a pint and discussing today's walk.

The real end of the walk

To Dale Town

 

Coomb Hill and Dale Town from Hawnby

6 miles                         Cold wind and dreary weather

Tom Scott Burns suggests parking on the grass verge in front of the church at Hawnby but this is a wet grassy spot with a risk of getting bogged down so we parked at the village hall in the lower village and walked back to the church.

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

Clive digs deep for the honesty box

Lower Hawnby

Head into the wind!

Walking towards Hawnby Church

All Saints, Hawnby

Opposite the village hall is a farm with green woodwork and as the lady farmer was out and about we chatted to her for a while. Amongst other things she explained that green was the 'estate colour' and all the houses in Hawnby are painted this colour. Her farm just entered the village so she used it too. 

We walked along the lane to reach All Saints Church which is practically invisible among trees until you are almost on top of it. TSB explains that the church is basically a Norman structure, rebuilt in the late 14th century and restored in 1876 at a cost of £600, raised by subscription.

The church was unlocked and we popped in for a look around, I was surprised that it is in such good fettle considering its damp and sunless location.

A warning from the past for the future

Clean and damp free

We were pleased to find this plaque, see below

Window commemorating WWI

A dreadfully sad record

'The Fighting Parson'

We were pleased to find a small brass plaque set into the floor near the back of the church, in memory of William Mansell 38 years, the gamekeeper mentioned in my last blog, as having died while staying at Bumper Castle.  It would be interesting to know the circumstances of his death and why the Duke of Rutland would have this plaque made for a lowly servant.

One of the most notable features of the church is a modern window commemorating the dead of WWI.  The Revd. William Hughes was parson of Hawnby during the First World War and was known as 'The Fighting Parson' because of his encouragement of the young men of the area to join up.  Because of this Hawnby has a larger than usual 'roll of honour' and deaths, including the parson's own three sons.  The window commemorates these men. 

We left the church and walked down to Church Bridge then immediately after crossing this we turned sharp left, then right at an Inn Way sign and began our climb to Coomb Hill.

Church Bridge, Hawnby

Upstream from Church Bridge

The Inn Way passes here

Walking towards Coomb Hill

Through the gate and bear right uphill

Having gained height we circumnavigated the hill, passing the ruins of two old buildings and eventually dropping down to rejoin the same tarmac road that we had left at Church Bridge.

Bear right at the fork on Coomb Hill

Descent from Coomb Hill House

Exit field through gate in bottom right

Joining the Arden Hall to Hawnby road, turn left

We walked along the road to reach the gates of Arden Hall and from this point the road begins a steep climb.  When we reached the site of an old quarry we found a couple of flat stones and sat to enjoy our coffee.

We pass the gates of Arden Hall

Arden Hall

Set below North Moor Wood

The road gets steep from this point

Approaching the old quarry

"This looks sheltered"

Coffee time

After enjoying our coffee we walked a little further uphill to see a track heading left onto Daletown Common.  Having gained height we could look down to our right into Thorodale, catching a glimpse of Thorodale Lake through the saplings.

Hawnby Hill and Easterside Hill to the right of the photo

Thorodale Lake behind us

Crossing the common to pass through a gate we came to a dyke that follows the line of a dry stone wall to the right.  Apparently the dyke dates from the late Bronze Age, 900 - 600BC, and it is thought that it and other similar dykes were constructed to define the limits of farming settlements.

Shortly after passing a new plastic water tank we turned through a gate and walked across fields for a mile or so to reach a barn.

It gets a bit windy for Clive's brolly

Tups on Daletown Common

We follow the line of the dyke along the wall

Turn left through the gate by the copse of trees

Ram in harness leads his ladies through the turnips

Reaching the barn, shown as High Buildings on OS map

We paused at the barn to chat to some calves, who were comfortably over-wintering in it, before going through an area of tumuli, also shown on map. TSB explains that before the moorland was enclosed there was a group of about 20 tumuli here but only 7 or 8 remain. During the 1850s some excavation work was carried out and in one large mound, 40 - 50 feet diameter and 4 feet high, the skeleton of an Anglo Saxon lady of rank was found preserved in the limestone.  At her head was a bronze bowl with three handles, round her waist a leather girdle inlaid with garnets and her hair was secured with gold and silver.  This would be a good site for detectorists!

Calves at High Building

Tumuli

The route now headed towards the perimeter of North Bank Wood before turning sharp left downhill at a sign just before Sunnybank Farm.  A steep and occasionally tricky descent back down to the River Rye followe, this area shown as Toad Hole on the OS map.

Hawnby and Easterside Hill in the distance

Turn left off the track before reaching the farm

.. and follow the way-marks down

.. and down to reach the River Rye

We entered a field with Dalicar Bridge over the river ahead of us and stopped to look at the old tractors and their shed adjacent to the right of way.  Then we passed a couple of sheep, their heads discoloured by the salt lick bucket and crossed the bridge to reach the road.

Old tractors

Clive checks out the old Fordson tractor

Basic!

Discoloured sheep

Dalicar Bridge

The River Rye from the bridge

A short walk on tarmac brought us back to the village hall.  This is a nice walk and short enough to make it suitable for a winter's day.