The Drove Road and Windygill Ridge from Boltby

7 miles                                Drizzle

Today's forecast was for dry weather, partly sunny, but what we got was drizzle and sometimes rain, in a way a pleasant change from the recent weeks of constant dry warm weather.   We drove through Boltby and parked at a hard shoulder on the right hand side of the road, shown by 'P' on the map below.  After booting up we walked uphill along the same road, away from the village, until turning left at a footpath sign into a farm track to Lunshaw House Farm.

 

 

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

 

Take the left fork

.. then over the stile into fields

Follow the farm track for about a quarter of a mile then cross into fields at a way-marked stile.  At first the track is very clear but at this time of year it soon disappears into bracken.  Eventually we reached another stile and crossed into trees.  Here we encountered hundreds of recently released pheasants which ran along ahead of us.

At first the path is clear and the bracken short

.. but both soon change

We find the stile

.. and more bracken

.. and pheasants

It was amusing to be led along the woodland paths by dozens of young pheasants, still tailless and reluctant to fly.  Eventually our path led us to cross an almost dry Lunshaw Beck on old stone slabs and Low Paradise Farm came into view.

 

We follow the gang

Low Paradise Farm appears to the left

Lunshaw Beck is almost dry

We start the climb

We then started a mile long ascent which TSB correctly describes as a 'muscular climb'.  This climb first passes Low Paradise farm, then Oak Beck cottage before continuing to climb all the way to High Paradise Farm.

 

Low Paradise Farm

Noisy hounds at Oak Beck Cottage

Oak Beck Cottage

High Paradise Farm

High Paradise Farm has a nice cafe which is open from Thursday to Sunday during the summer months and we decided to pop in. Rhubarb scones were on offer and we enjoyed a nice break but as we ate the light drizzle turned to rain.

 

Rhubarb scones and coffee at High Paradise

 

After finishing our coffee we left the farm cafe and walked out into the rain towards Sneck Gate and the moor.  Passing through the gate we were now on the Hambleton Drove Road, which we followed left for 1.5 miles, soon reaching forest. To our right was Daletown Common Moor.

 

Leaving High Paradise

Approaching the Drove Road

 

On the Drove Road, Daletown Common to the right

We walked on through the trees for some time and then, just before reaching the ruins of Steeple Cross (first mentioned in 1246 but no longer a cross, now just a 2 feet high piece of stone) we turned left to enter the plantation's trees.

Steeple Cross, turn left here..

... and go through the gate

.. into Boltby Woods

A lot of felling has taken place

 ..and a lot of the woods are no more.

We walked on through the trees and after about 1.5 miles we reached Windygill Ridge which we followed with fine views (in better weather) down to Cowesby.

 

On Windygill Ridge

Just after passing Seta Pike the path turns left to descend on a steep forestry path.  Even in this dry weather the track was wet and boggy in places and the steep descents were slippery making progress slow.  We reached a forest access path which bordered Gurtof Wood and followed it down, thus avoiding what is the worst part of the descent, tricky even in dry weather but nasty today with high bracken masking the steep path.

 

Starting the descent 

We decide to follow this track instead of descending through bracken

The track skirts Gurtof Wood which we should be struggling through

 

We're back on TSB's track and again ignore a way-mark as the path it indicates is no more

Clive gazes down into Gurtof Wood and across to Boltby Forest

We then walked through fields using way-marks on the field boundaries as guides until joining a wide track.  We followed this to a green lane, which led us down to Boltby.

An English Elm, now rarely seen in our area as a mature tree

Descending into Boltby from Gurtof House

Walking through Boltby

The pony trekking centre used to be the village pub The Johnstone Arms

The old village pub, being renovated following a fire

We came to the Holy Trinity Church where we paused to look around.

 

The Holy Trinity Church, Boltby

Looking towards the altar

Altar window

A penitent on his knees at Holy Trinity 

Ah no, it's Clive who has dropped his donation

Holy Trinity churchyard seems to contain only fairly recent graves and a further look at our guidebook 'The Walker's Guide to the Hambleton Hills' explains why: apparently it was the custom until Victorian times to carry the dead from Boltby and Kirby Knowle for burial at Felixkirk, "swathed in linen and uncoffined."  It would be interesting to know the reason for this practice but unfortunately the book does not give one. It seems strange as they had perfectly good churches in both Boltby and Kirby Knowle. 

 

 

We continued through the village, crossing the old pack horse bridge and climbed steeply up the hill, heading towards the car and a well earned pint.  

 

"Cheers!"

 

 

 

Boltby to Gormire Lake and Whitestone Cliff

7 miles                  Fine and very hot

With the temperature predicted to reach 28 degrees by lunchtime we reached Boltby via the A19 Knayton turn off and drove through the village and up a steep hill to the small designated car park at the side of the road.

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

Cottage in Boltby

Years ago we used to see the two dogs depicted on the weather vane barking at the gate

 

We walked back into the village from the car park and turned left into a lane.  

Tom Scott Burns explains that Boltby is of great antiquity and is mentioned in the Domesday Book as the property of Hugh, son of Baldric.

We walked up the lane past the last of the houses and crossed Boltby Beck at a bridge. We then went through a gate to follow first a faint track and then a cart track over the shoulder of Little Moor to drop down to Greendale Farm.

 

The lane changes to a track

... and drops down to a stream

... then begins a climb to the woods opposite

Entering Cow Pasture Wood

Through the woods and we look down from Little Moor to Greendale Farm

Our path skirts Greendale Farm and its dead Ash tree

We walked down to Greendale Farm but bypassed it to the right, joining the farm track which led us quickly to Tang Hall Farm.  At Tang Hall we turned left before reaching the buildings and entered fields.

 

Whistle nonchalantly and keep walking 

Turn left just before the buildings of Tang Hall

Tang Hall looking a bit overgrown and neglected

More cattle fields after Tang Hall

 

After crossing a large field we joined a stony bridleway, once an old coach road, which crosses Huggon Howl to Southwoods Hall.  This bridleway was fenced several years ago and planted with hedges that in a few years will hide the hall completely.

 

It seems no time since Clive and I were chatting to the groundsman planting these hedges

Zoom image of Southwoods Hall

Once we reach the hedge in the centre of the photo the hall disappears from view

Small lake opposite Southwoods Hall

 

Southwoods Hall is a very grand place which was once the home of Seigfried Farnon (whose real name was Donald Sinclair), made famous by the James Herriot books.  Sinclair married into money, his wife Audrey Adamson came from a wealthy shipbuilding family and it was her money that bought their home.  Strangely TSB doesn't mention James Herriot in any of his guides.

 

Clive looking ahead for deer. We have seen them here on previous walks

Gated entrance to Southwoods Hall

The new fencing stretches past the hall to reach the trees at Midge Hole Gate and the gated south entrance to the hall.  We now turned into South Woods on a forest path which we followed to reach Southwoods Lodge.

 

 

In South Woods

Southwoods Lodge

Eggs at Southwoods Lodge. I bought 6 large, very nice too.

Next to Southwoods Lodge is the entrance to the privately owned  Garbutt Wood and we followed the track to Gormire Lake, where we found a comfortable spot for our coffee break.

 

 

Blissfully peaceful

There are two terraces around Gormire and TSB explains that these were once shorelines when the lake was much deeper.  It is often described as bottomless but is actually about 27 feet deep in the centre and covers about twenty six acres.  Tradition has it that a town stood here which was destroyed in an earthquake, but the lake is actually the result of a glacial overflow channel being blocked by a landslip, hence its position up a hillside.  No streams flow from it and its waters are mainly supplied by rain and diminish with evaporation.  A major landslip happened here on the 25th March 1755 which was described by Rev John Wesley as 'like many cannons or rolling thunder'.

 

The lake and surrounding woods were sold a few years ago for £500,000 and the current owner has chosen to remain private, a problem for anyone wishing to obtain fishing rights. It is known however that the current owners are very protective of the lake.

  

It was blissfully peaceful to sit by the lake in the sun but finally it was time to go, and leaving the lake we climbed straight up through Garbutt Wood to reach Sutton Brow.  This is a steep half mile diagonally up the side of the bank with views to the south across Happy Valley to Hood Hill Plantation.  

 

Clive starts the climb

We spot Hood Hill through a gap in the trees

The view from the top

 

Reaching the top there is a fine view down to Gormire Lake and over towards Roulston Scar.  After catching our breath we set off past Whitestone Cliff, still enjoying James Herriot's "best view in England" from various vantage points.

 

We look down on Gormire through a heat haze

Mad dogs and Englishmen.  Clive goes "Full Lawrence of Arabia"

The best view in England, according to James Herriot

Looking east from the same spot

We now had a three mile walk along the ridge, passing the remains of several tumuli to our right with fine views at all times to the left,  over Thirlby and then Boltby.

 

Walking along the Cleveland Way

Passing by some dead ash trees

We don't know whether these white flowers were a crop or wild flowers

Raventhorpe Manor through a zoom lens

Boltby below, Ravensthorpe Manor top left

The old barn comes into sight

 

Eventually we passed by the remains of an old hill fort and quarry and reached the derelict High Barn where we left the ridge at a sign, turning left to descend towards Boltby.

Aproaching High Barn

Turn left at this sign

... and descend

Remains of an old quarry and fort

A steep downhill took us past Hesketh Grange Farm, over a couple of bridges and then steeply back uphill, towards Boltby and the car park.

 

The sheep are too hot to move

My faithful old Tuareg guide respectfully holds the gate open 

Crossing Lunshaw Beck

The last climb of the day

Looking back, High Barn is among the trees on the skyline

This is a very straightforward walk to navigate with fine views and ideal for a summer's day.  There is no pub in Boltby so a short drive was necessary before our debrief.

 

"To Summer Walks!"