Kirby Knowle to Felixkirk and Boltby

8.5 miles          Fine and warm

 

We approached Kirby Knowle from the Knayton A19 turn-off and parked at the side of the road opposite St Wilfred's Church.

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

St Wilfred's Church

Looking towards the altar

Modern window dedicated to Doctor Jane Rajan

There is a fine modern window dedicated to Doctor Jane Rajan.  See this link for more information.  

We left the church and walked out of the village towards Upsall along the tarmac road.  Over to our right, high on the hill, we saw the imposing 'Newbuilding'.  Although it is called Newbuilding, Tom Scott Burns explains that it actually dates from the 13th century.  It has been restored and modernised but still contains many of its original features.

Walking from Kirby Knowle towards Upsall

'Newbuilding'

Just before Upsall we turned off the road into fields and followed a little walked and very overgrown path to Turton Beckstead.  Beckstead means 'a farm near a river' and as we reached the beck we saw that a large stone engraved 'The Turton Beckstead' which we had seen on a previous walk was now covered in moss and illegible, and remained so despite Clive's efforts to clean the lettering. There are a lot of  building stones here and it looks as if an old bridge has collapsed.

Leaving the road before Upsall

We cross a couple of cow pastures...

... before dropping down to Turton Beckstead

There was probably a bridge here

Old lettering on this stone had disappeared in moss

Scraped but still not readable

How it looked in 2014

TSB informs us that in the 1860s some mourners were carrying a body to Kirby Knowle for burial.  The bearers set down the coffin to briefly rest at this spot but on lifting it 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.

Climbing out of Turton Beckstead

Our path is hidden at the field edges

We pass a couple of fields that have been left to return to nature....

Meadow Salsify or Jack Go To Bed at Noon flourish in this field

Approaching the Felixkirk road....

...but first a couple of rickety stiles

Our path disappears amongst the wild flowers

Felixkirk appears in the distance

Our path does not appear to have been walked and we relied on yellow way mark signs on the field edges to keep us right.

We soon arrived at a tarmac road and walked into Felixkirk.  We were fortunate to find the church unlocked and going inside met the church warden who asked us if we were looking for a particular grave.  He told us he had a map of the graveyard we could study.  We assured him that we were just nosy hikers who were just passing by.

St Felix's is a large church for the size of the village and in very good repair.  Nice windows and again I was impressed by a modern window, dedicated to a retired army officer.

Pointer weather-vane at Felixkirk

Walking through the village

St Felix church at Felixkirk

Interesting carved heads at St Felix Church

The interior

Old slab, note spelling of Felixkirk

'Twenty years I was a maid, 1 year I was a wife. 18 hours a mother, and then departed life'

St Felix, another view

We were pleased to see that sheep were being used to keep the grass down in the churchyard.  A very sensible idea, we thought. 

We retraced our steps to the outskirts of Felixkirk and turned right at a road junction and passed the lodge to Mount St John, once a preceptory in the days of Henry I. We turned right down a lane towards Cinque Cliff House where the path has been diverted by the new owners through fields around the back of the house.  While on this diversion we sat on the sloping fields with a nice view to our left of Whitestone Cliff, to enjoy our coffee and scones in the warm sunshine.

Felixkirk

Looking across the fields towards Thirsk

Lodge at Mount St John

Ornate lodge

A nice view to enjoy with coffee and scones

Cinque Cliff House

We set off once more and our diversion rejoined the track below Cinque Cliff House and we followed a grassy lane to the road, where we turned left and walked into Thirlby.

A grassy lane to Thirlby

Fox weather-vane at Thirlby

Ploughman weather-vane at Thirlby

The Forge cottage, delicious jam for sale 

As we passed The Forge cottage we noticed a cupboard with a sign advertising 'Jam for Sale'.  I couldn't resist a jar of home made raspberry jam and stuck it in my rucksack pocket. Now tested and found to be delicious, it will be ideal for next week's scones!

Horse and cat weather-vane at Thirlby

Pear Tree House, home of the Wren Man

Thirlby is famous as the home of a woodcarver, Bob Hunter, who worked with 'Mouseman' Thomson of nearby Kilburn.  Bob used the trademark of a wren and his workshop is Pear Tree House down by the ford.  

 

We walked past the workshop and some attractive cottages before turning left into fields.

 

'No shop or inn is there here about, so why not sit down and enjoy summat for nowt'  - donated by 'two good sorts'

We leave the road at Thirlby

We have never seen another stile designed like this one

Just past the ford we left the village through a gateway into a field where we followed a barely discernible track to Tang Hall, crossing a couple of becks and an unusual stile on the way. 

 

A rickety stile into the woods near Tang Hall

Red campion

Boltby appears in the distance

Packhorse bridge at Boltby

Jockey weather-vane at Boltby

Walking through Boltby

We turned left at the packhorse bridge and walked through the pretty village of Boltby before turning right at a waymarked sign at the lane between Spring Garth and Gurtof House.  We then followed a series of field boundaries to reach the modern mansion of Ravensthorpe Manor.

 

Making friends near Ravensthorpe Manor

Is someone hoping to surprise us?

As we approached the manor house we walked through a couple of fields containing horses, who seemed largely indifferent to us and we climbed above the manor house into Westow Plantation.

 

Climbing into Westow Plantation

View towards Thirsk from Westow Plantation

 

A pleasant walk through the woods followed and we gradually dropped back to Kirby Knowle and our car.

We highly recommend this route.  We think it's one of TSB's best paths that is obviously rarely walked, yet it passes through some of the prettiest and most unspoiled areas of North Yorkshire.  

Pheasants near a feeder

Female pheasant

Young pheasants

Kirby Knowle's rooftops

... and back to St Wilfred's

Ladhill Gill and Bumper Castle from 

Fangdale Beck 

 

 7.5miles             Changeable weather

We turned off the B1257 Bilsdale Road and drove past an old green telephone kiosk to the village of Fangdale Beck where we parked at the roadside.  Tom Scott Burns tells us that Fangdale comes from the personal Scandinavian name Fangi or Fangulf, giving 'Fangi's Valley'.   Leaving the car we crossed the beck by the little bridge and walked past the old Wesleyan Chapel, now converted into a private house.

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

 

Fangdale Beck

Over the bridge....

... and past the old chapel

Looking back at Fangdale

A walk along a farm track brought us to a farm called Malkin Bower, which apparently means Matilda's or Maud's Dwelling.   We continued straight past the farm with the tarmac changing to a grassy track.

Malkin Bower

Weather-vane at Malkin Bower

Grassy track

Ringlet Butterfly seen on our track

We followed the path along the valley of Bilsdale, parallel to the road below us.  The track dropped down to the River Seph before gently climbing up to Helm House where, last year, we had admired an old tractor and a road roller, ripe for renovation.  Sadly no-one has rescued them and they appeared to be returning to nature.

Last year

Last Year

This year!

Leaving Helm House we crossed more sheep fields before arriving at Benhill Bank Plantation where our track climbed steadily up to reach the moor gate.

Crossing fields after Helm House

Bilsdale and the B1257 to our left

Climbing steadily up Benhill Bank

More fields lead up to the moor

A fine drizzle begins as we arrive at the moor gate

We crossed the moor to look down on the remains of Bumper Castle.  Tom Scott Burns reports that the monks of Rievaulx wrought iron on Bumper Moor and there are old spoil heaps still to be seen dotted about on the moor.    

Bumper Castle was owned by George Villiers, the notorious second Duke of Buckingham, who, when he died in 1687, had squandered £50,000 a year and was an outcast from society.  Only a few stones now remain of the castle and we walked above the ruins before gently dropping down to Ladhill Gill, with Sportsmans Hall above us.

We saw a large table shaped stone just before the Gill and decided to sit there for our coffee and scones, before crossing a bridge over Ladhill Gill.

Descending to Ladhill Gill, Sportsmans Hall beyond the trees

The remains of Bumper Castle

Sportsmans Hall

Our thoughts turn to coffee and scones

We crossed the bridge and climbed steeply up the opposite side of the valley, turning left to join a track that led us above Sportsmans Hall.  TSB suggests that this name probably has something to do with Bumper Castle and the Duke's sporting pastimes.

Over Ladhill Gill

Ladhill Gill

Looking back over Ladhill Gill to the moor

We pass above Sportsmans Hall

We walked towards the Hawnby road and turned right along a vehicle access track at the moor gate.   The track divides twice and on each occasion we took the right fork, heading towards Bilsdale mast.

Looking back towards Hawnby Hill

Following the vehicle track over the moor

Early heather

Easterside Hill to the left and Hawnby Hill

Take the right fork

Ruined smallholding

Eventually our path struck off faintly across the moor.  We lost sight of the track occasionally but it didn't matter, we knew we had to head east to cross the upper reaches of Ladhill Gill, where it joins with Wetherhouse Beck.  Here the route is indicated by a row of wooden stakes showing the location of some shooting butts. 

This part of the walk is a bit hit and miss, the moor track being either non-existent or overgrown, but eventually we reached the shooting butts and we turned left to follow their line.

Heading towards the shooting butts

At one point I got my camera out to take a shot and by good fortune some grouse flew up in front of me.  I was able to get a pleasing snap of them.

Red Grouse

.. and another

Crossing Wetherhouse Beck

We reach the shooting butts

We make our own path

Bilsdale Mast in the distance

Walking along the line of shooting butts

As we passed one butt Clive noticed that there appeared to be animal remains and jumping in found three tiny skulls and some bones and fur.  We examined the skulls, at first thinking they might be bird skulls before deciding that they were baby rabbits.  We wondered if a bird of prey brought them here to feed on them but noticed a rabbit hole at the side of the butt and decided it was more likely to be an accident.  The baby rabbits had fallen into the wood lined butt and been unable to get out.

We walked along checking the other butts but the tragedy appears to have been a one-off.

Clive examines some fur and bones

Rabbit skulls

This rabbit hole might explain the mystery

The track then followed a dry stone wall to the moor top.  We passed a rounded hillock and then bore right between two plantations. 

Leaving the moor

We went through the moor gate and by some old quarries and then descended via the usual hollow way to emerge at Malkin Bower where we turned left to return to Fangdale and our car.

Old hollow way

Disused quarries

A steep descent

Fangdale appears below