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!"

 

 

 

Kirby Knowle to Felixkirk and Boltby

8.5 miles          Warm and sunny

We approached Kirby Knowle from the Knayton A19 turn-off and parked on the grassed area set aside for parking, opposite St Wilfred's Church.

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

St Wilfred's Church, Kirby Knowle

A lovely display of daffodils at St Wilfred's

The church was open to visitors so we walked over and had a look around.  

Looking towards the altar

Modern window, see text below

We like the modern stained glass windows dedicated to Doctor Jane Rajan.
For more about the window and Dr Rajan see here

We walked out of the village along the tarmac road towards Upsall (up-salir, Old Norse 'high dwellings') .  Over to our right, high on the hill, one can see the imposing 'Newbuilding.' Originally called Kirby Knowle Castle and sometimes referred to as Newbiggin, Tom Scott Burns explains that this actually dates from the13th century.  It has been restored and modernised but still retains many of its original features. 

Leaving Kirby Knowle

Newbuilding

.... or Newbiggin

Just before Upsall we turned off the road into fields at a metal footpath sign to follow a little walked path towards Turton Beckstead.  Tom Scott Burn's walks often follow rarely visited paths but today's route must be the least walked of all and there was no sign that other boots had passed this way.

Turn left off the road at the metal sign

A hare spots us and quickly leaves

Unwalked fields

We reached Miller's Wood and followed the path down to Turton Beckstead.  'Beckstead' means 'a farm near a river' and in previous years we have found a large stone block engraved with the words 'Turton Beckstead'.  We haven't seen the stone for a couple of years but Clive noticed a large moss covered block and investigations showed this was our missing stone.

Millers Wood

Through the trees

This block looks interesting

Clive gets to work with a stick

'The Turton Beckstead'

We were pleased to have found the Turton Beckstead stone and decided that the next time we do this walk we'll bring a wire brush and clean it up properly.  Tom Scott Burns relates a strange event that apparently happened here. In the 1860s some mourners were carrying a body from Felixkirk to Kirby Knowle for burial.  The bearers set down the coffin to rest briefly at this spot, but on raising it up again it felt much lighter and they discovered that the corpse had disappeared. The empty coffin was buried and the site at Beckstead Wood became known as Lost Corpse End.

It is a fact that bodies were carried by this route from Felixkirk to Kirby Knowle for burial, so that much at least is true.

Leaving Turton Beckstead we climbed gently over Carr Hill to approach the village of Felixkirk. 

Following field margins...

... and occasional way marks

... we reach Felixkirk

We reached the tarmac road at Mount View and turned right to walk into Felixkirk and the church of St Felix.  The most striking feature of the church is the domed roof.  There are only six churches dedicated to St Felix in the UK.  He was a 7th century monk from Burgundy who converted the kingdom of East Anglia to Christianity.  The use of the name suggests there has been a church here since Saxon times.  The church was restored in 1860 but much of the stonework is original and dates to the 12th century.

The Wren Man of Thirlby has made the gate

Clive spots sheep and lambs in the graveyard

Triplets!  "We keep the grass short"

Unusual domed roof

A knight

.. and his lady

Graffitti or mason's signature?  Thomas Carlton 1629

Hannah the lamented wife of David Cornforth. "20 years I was a maid, 1 year I was a wife, 18 hours a mother, And then departed life"

"Afflictions sore I did bear, Physicians their skill tried, I left my wife and childer dear, for GOD to be their guide"

Note the use of the word 'Childer' in the epitaph above, Yorkshire dialect for children.

St Felix Church was owned by the Knights Hospitaller in the 12th century and nearby Mount St John, which we would shortly pass by, was the location of a preceptory of the Order of St John of Jerusalem in the 11th Century.

Retracing our steps to the road junction we turned right and climbed the lane to pass the lodge of the said Mount St John, now famous for its equestrian centre and gardens.  Shortly afterwards we turned right off the road and onto a farm track that we followed towards Cinque House, but here the track diverts from TSB's map above, as it has been re-routed to a sheep field around the rear of Cinque House.  This sloping field has a lovely view and makes an ideal rest stop, so  we paused to enjoy our coffee and scones.

As we climb towards Mount St John we can see Newbuilding in the distance

Lodge at Mount St John

Turning off the road towards Cinque House

Coffee and scones in the sun

Coffee over, we set off once more and our diverted path led us back to the original route which we followed to Thirlby.

Walking towards Thirlby

House in Thirlby

Some nice weather vanes in Thirlby

Thirlby is a very attractive village and a point of interest is that Alf White aka James Herriot lived here.  Also in the village is a plaque to his veterinary partner Donald Sinclair, who appeared in the books as Seigfried Farnon.  Sinclair lived in nearby Southwoods Hall with his wife Audrey.

'James Herriot' died in February 1995 and Sinclair's wife in early June the same year.  Sadly Sinclair (Seigfried) then took his own life by barbiturate poisoning two weeks later.  The plaque is near to the village hall.  We think it's strange that there is no memorial to James Herriot in the village, surely its most famous resident.

Thirlby Village Hall

Memorial to Donald Sinclair (Seigfried)

A little further along the high street we came to Pear Tree House, the home of the Wren. Bob Hunter worked with 'Mousey' Thomson at nearby Kilburn where he learned his carpentry skills.  While Thomson chose the mouse as his symbol Hunter uses the wren and it is to be seen on various houses in the village.

A bench near the beck is the work of the wren man.  'No shop or inn is there here about, so why not sit down and enjoy summat for nowt'  - donated by 'two good sorts in memory of Bill'.

We continued along the lane through the village, crossed the ford and leaving the tarmac at Thirlby Farm, turning left to follow a track through a grassy meadow. We continued on our path, sometimes across fields and sometimes through trees, steadily approaching Boltby.

Turn left at the sign

... and follow field tracks

Freshly released into the fields but very quiet

Lots of Hawthorn blossom about

Boltby appears ahead

Packhorse bridge at Boltby

At Boltby we turned left at the packhorse bridge and walked through the pretty village before turning right at a waymarked sign at the lane between Spring Garth and Gurtof House. 

Once The Johnson Arms, now a pony trekking centre

Ravensthorpe Manor in the distance.  We see there has been much felling above the hall

The path around Ravensthorpe Manor has been re-routed and takes one much higher towards the top of Westhow Plantation. This is a steep climb at this stage of the walk.  We were just below the skyline in the above photo and walked through the few trees left after felling with no view whatsoever of Ravensthorpe Manor, which I'm sure will have been the principal reason for re-routing the path.

An old photo of Ravensthorpe Manor

Walking above the Manor on the new track

A bit like The Somme

Eventually we rejoined the old path and we followed it as it descended towards Kirby Knowle and the end of the walk.

Kirby Knowle 

Back at St Wilfred's in Kirby Knowle

This is a nice walk taking you through some pretty villages but it needs navigation preparation because, as stated in the text, many paths appear unwalked.

"'To the Turton Beckstead!"