Walking in North Yorkshire: Gormire

Boltby to Gormire Lake and Whitestone Cliff

7 miles Fine and warm

We're dog-sitting for a few days and decided to do this walk from Boltby as it has very few farm animals to be disturbed by a small terrier. We reached Boltby from the A19 Knayton turn off and drove right 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

Walking downhill into Boltby

Years ago the two dogs depicted used to bark at us as we walked past

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.

Conditions are good and dry underfoot

Crossing Boltby Beck

... and then plunging in

Approaching Little Moor

Cow Pasture Wood

Looking down on Greendale Farm

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.

Walking towards Tang Hall

Tang Hall, turn left before the gate

Paths are quite overgrown

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.

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.

Zoom view of stately Southwoods Hall

On Huggon Howl, the hall in the distance

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.

Passing Southwoods Hall

The hall's lake is full of weed at this time of year

Southwoods Hall gates at Midge Hole

We now walked on a broad path through South Woods to pass Southwoods Lodge and enter Garbutt Wood. Our path led us to the shore of Gormire Lake where we sat to enjoy our coffee while the dog puzzled how to catch the ducks without getting her feet wet.

Entering Garbutt Wood

View from our coffee stop

"Look, ducks!

"How can I get them and stay dry?"

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'.

Coffee at Gormire

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.

"I shouldn't have had that scone.."

Hood Hill

Gormire 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.

On top of Whitestone Cliff

A last view of Gormire

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

Three mile ridge walk

Boltby in the distance

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.