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

Caydale and Noddle End from Murton

 

7.5 miles                           Wet

We took the Hawnby turn-off from the B1257 Stokesley to Helmsley road and parked on the verge near to the white buildings of the Grange.  The forecast was for heavy rain but it was dry as we set off and walked away from the car along the tarmac road next to Murton Grange.

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

Alongside Murton Grange

Murton Grange

We followed the tarmac until we took a rough track branching right through an open gate. Pheasants ran ahead of us keeping to the hedgerows and eventually our track dropped down into the pretty valley of Caydale. Looking across the valley we noticed a JCB among the bushes and saw that much of the ground had been cleared and fires were still smouldering.

Tarmac Lane to Caydale Mill

We branch off onto a rough track

Little walked path through Caydale

Young pheasants lead us

Tom Scott Burns tells us that the last wild cat in England was shot at this spot in 1840, by a Charles Harrison.  Indeed, on past visits we found this to be a very wild place and have usually seen deer among the trees but today we saw nothing, possibly because of the  work going on above us.

Our faint track took us down to the bottom of the valley where we crossed bridges over clear man made becks or 'rills' and started the long climb up the other side.  We were soon standing among the debris of the cleared hillside.  We were sorry that a casualty of the clearing was the wooden ruin of the Captain's Seat, see TSB's map above.  We have previously commented on its dilapidated state but now it has gone, presumably into the flames.  We wondered what is being planned for this pretty valley?

Who the Captain actually was and why he sat at this remote spot we have never been able to discover but a Google search on Caydale reveals that 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. The rills are still to be seen and their water looks clean and pure.

 

One of the clear rills of Caydale

The Captain's Seat was just about here!

Fires still smouldering

Looking back down into Caydale

Leaving the climb and Caydale we crossed several fields to reach the tarmac of High Leir Lane where we turned right and walked by neat and tidy Weathercote Farm with its novel 'cat and rat' weather vane.  The rain had become heavy and for a while I put my camera in my rucksack, missing the farm, so here is an old photo of the weather vane, one of my favourites.

Weather-vane at Weathercote Farm

After a mile on the road we reached the junction with Cleveland Road which we crossed to follow field paths for another half mile until we reached the high ridge of Boltby Scar.  

Across fields to High Leir Lane

We saw several Yellowhammers in High Leir Lane

We now followed the Cleveland Way along Boltby Scar, past the old quarry workings and the ruins of High Barn, briefly crossing the tarmac of Sneck Yate Bank and on through the trees of Boltby plantation to reach High Paradise Farm and its tea room.  Here we stopped for a leisurely coffee and cake.

We join the Cleveland Way

Clive looks down at Boltby

Boltby

We walk towards High Barn

The ruins of High Barn

Continuing along the Cleveland Way

Approaching Boltby Plantation

Freshly sheared sheep

Rejoining tarmac to walk to High Paradise and its tea room

Looking over Low Paradise

Although a bit awkward to reach for motor traffic, High Paradise is a little oasis for cyclists and walkers and we found the coffee and cakes to be superb.

A cockerel leads us to the door

Much refreshed, we continued past the farm to reach Sneck Gate and the old Drovers' Road, which we crossed into Daletown Common eventually reaching the barn at Noddle End.

Approaching the barn at Noddle End

Clive at Noddle End, looking down at Gowerdale House

When we reached the barn we paused to enjoy a nice view into Gowerdale, before following the path down to reach the ruined farm of Gowerdale House.

Gowerdale House

This area was the site of what was once a medieval village, long abandoned.  TSB speculates whether the Black Death visited this secluded valley.  Gowerdale House has no road or track leading to it and we walked in 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 through the yard of Dale Town Farm.

We walked straight uphill from the farm, turning left along Peak Scar Top and soon reaching Murton Bank Road and our car. 

Daletown Farm

Looking back at Daletown Farm from Peak Scar Top