Coxwold and Beacon Banks from Kilburn
10.5 miles Fine, some sunshine
Part of today's walk is south of our North Yorks OS map but if you should require it, as we did, you can download the appropriate map free of charge from this North Yorks web site.
Tom Scott Burns starts his walk in Kilburn but our preference is to begin at Coxwold, where parking is easy on the High Street.
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| Today's walk from The Walker's Guide to the Hambleton Hills |
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| The Fauconberg Arms at Coxwold |
We parked next to the pub, booted up and walked along the High Street to the crossroads admiring the attractive houses. At the crossroads we turned right to commence a steady climb out of the village, passing the old railway track where the signal box has been kept in its original condition.
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| Wisteria in full bloom |
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| Houses on Coxwold High Street |
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| Turn right at the crossroads |
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| Approaching the old railway track |
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| .. which is now a house drive |
After half a mile we entered a field at a wooden sign and continued to climb following field paths until we reached a stile and High Leys Farm.
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| Leave the road at the sign |
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| .. and enter fields |
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| Looking back we see the White Horse |
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| ... and Coxwold |
At the farm we turned right onto the farm track for 100 yards or so, before returning to fields at a sign, and then followed the ridge of Beacon Bank Wood. This provided fine views in TSB's day but now there is no view whatsoever, the whole ridge being covered with gorse and bushes. We passed by a trig point and came to Beacon Bank's alpaca farm.
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| Lots of bluebells on Beacon Bank |
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| Male Orange Tip butterfly, the females have black wing tips |
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| Speckled Wood Butterfly |
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| Old ash tree with bluebells |
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| Beacon Bank Trig Point |
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| Beacon Bank ridge, no views! |
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| Beacon Alpacas |
We walked down past Lists House into Husthwaite village where we paused to look around St Nicholas' Church, which like most other churches in the area, has re-opened its doors to visitors.
After Husthwaite we passed through the remains of an old railway embankment and entered Ings Lane, which we followed north for a mile. We walked by a tractor garage and shop with an enormous selection of farm machinery.
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| Leave the road at Rufus's Roost |
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| Over the stile into dense vegetation for a while |
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| Robson's Tractors, Ing Lane |
We followed Ing Lane to the village of Carlton Husthwaite where we found a bench ideally placed on the outskirts of the village and looking back at our route so far. We decided to stop here for coffee and scones.
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| Useful ironwork at Carlton Husthwaite |
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| Time for coffee! |
Refreshed, we set off along Carlton Husthwaite high street and walked through the village past a blacksmith's, noting its pretty houses, one of which was very striking, a timber framed thatched house with tiny windows.
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| Houses in Carlton Husthwaite |
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| The Old Hall |
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| Blacksmith's art |
We left Carlton Husthwaite turning right into Croft Lane then left to join Common Lane. For the rest of this walk we had the White Horse in view as we approached Kilburn.
Turning off Common Lane we paused to look at some pigeon lofts, which seem to multiply in numbers each time we do this walk. The owner was present and he and Clive had an interesting chat about the dying art of pigeon racing.
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| Pigeon talk |
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| Pigeon lofts |
Saying cheerio to the pigeon fancier we walked on through fields, seeing hares and deer, to reach Kilburn.
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| Hasty shot of hare |
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| Even hastier shot of deer |
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| The White Horse is ever present on this walk |
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| Kilburn |
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| Turn right at the Forresters |
Passing reluctantly by the Forresters Arms we came immediately to St Mary's Church which we looked around playing 'spot the mouse'. Robert Thomson's famous mouse carvings are found on pews, rails and boards. Thomson was a resident of Kilburn and his first commission was from the parish priest at Coxwold, a crucifix, and he is said to have taken up the mouse symbol when he considered the expression 'poor as a Church mouse.'
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| St Mary's Church Kilburn |
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| A mouse and (unusually) a crocodile on the lecturn |
Leaving the church we soon reached a road that took us uphill to High Kilburn where attractive houses surround a village green. Tom Scott Burns tells us that there was once a duck pond in the village green but all that remains of that is the old village pump.
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| High Kilburn |
We passed an old barn with a curlew weather vane and reached Fox Folly Farm where we saw the farmer with an unusual looking terrier. She told us that it was a rottweiler-patterdale cross. They breed patterdales at the farm but an accident (an unobserved encounter!) occurred and this dog was the only survivor of the litter. They decided to keep it as a household pet and named it Yeti!
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| "Get up, mum" |
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| Yeti |
Leaving the farmer and Fox Folly Farm we crossed more fields to enter Coxwold.
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| Coxwold |
Entering the village we passed by Lawrence Sterne's cottage and Coxwold's fine church where Sterne was once the parish priest. Boots were quickly removed and we found ourselves reflecting on our walk, sitting in the afternoon sun outside the Fauconberg Arms.
