Wass to Cockerdale and Byland Abbey

7 miles                   Fine and sunny

We approached Wass from the A19 Thirsk turn off and parked in the village hall car park near to the tiny Church of St Thomas.

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

The Church of St Thomas

The church was unlocked so we entered and found it to be clean and tidy with a capacity of about 40.  Tom Scott Burns doesn't mention the building but it once served as the village school and appears to have been built using stone from nearby Byland Abbey.

Inside St Thomas' Church

Easter diorama

TSB does tell us, however, that Wass comes from the Middle English wathes, or fords, the village having two such crossings.

We walked back down to the crossroads and turned right at the  Stapylton Arms.  


We walked away from the pub along a road that soon lost its tarmac and became little more than a track.

Weather vane in Wass

Walking through Wass

Climbing up Abbey Bank Noddle

We passed a sign to Cam Farm and Observatory, the only sign for the observatory that we noticed, then passed through woods with Blind Side Gill to the right and Abbey Bank Noddle to the left. This was a steady climb which suddenly became steeper as we followed our path off the track to the ridge of Snever Scar.

TSB praises the surprise view of the Vale of York from Snever Scar but that has long since been spoiled by quick growing saplings. The path leads along the ridge and then descends until it reaches a track that makes its way left uphill, just before reaching a gate. There is no sign here but we remembered that we needed to take the track to the left in order to see the observatory.

Walking along Snever Scar

Abbey Bank Noddle

Sign down!

Heavy going through the trees

The Observatory

We would love to climb the folly to take in the view but as the door was firmly locked this was not to be.  To make sure Clive climbed onto the stone platform in front of the door.  Entry was impossible  so we retraced our steps through the wood to the gate where we turned left into fields.

"Here hills and waving groves a scene display, And part admit and part exclude the day, See rich industry smiling on the plains, And peace and plenty yell VICTORIA reigns!, Happy the MAN who to these shades retires, Whom nature charms and whom the muse inspires, Who wandering thoughtful in this silent wood, Attends the duties of the wise and good, To observe a mean, be to himself a friend, To follow NATURE and regard his end"

View from the Observatory through saplings

Clive gets up to check

No way in!

We retraced our steps through the wood to the gate where we turned left into fields.

According to TSB these fields were the scene of the Battle of Bylands in 1322, when King Edward II was defeated by Sir Robert de Brus of Scotland.  The King only escaped by 'the very pity of Christ' leaving behind in his flight the royal treasure and the crown jewels.

Battle field

Our path led us to Cam Farm where we had to keep a lookout for way markers, before reaching Cockerdale Wood.  As we passed through the wood we went left from the forest track on to a small path that descends steeply through the wood perimeter, where we saw Cockerdale Farm standing in the centre of a large meadow. Our path was very muddy and slippery.  Days of heavy rain meant that the water table of the meadow, like all the other fields we crossed today, appears to have reached maximum and we sank inches deep into the grass as we walked.

Cam House

Cam House

At last there's some sunshine for the lambs

Looking across from Cam House we see the Chapel at Scotch Corner

Cam House

After Cam House we passed through a gate into Cockerdale wood where we had a tricky and slippery descent through the trees, eventually emerging on a field before Cockerdale Farm.  We had to negotiate two farm gates here where the mud was very deep, then climbed up a hill where we paused to look back towards Byland Moor.  There was no wind here and the sun was warm, too good a spot to pass when there was coffee and scones to be had for lunch.

Turn left into Cockerdale Wood

Tricky descent

Approaching Cockerdale Farm

No easy way to get past

Looking back towards Byland Moor

A good spot for coffee and scones

Passing the farm we reached a track at Mode Hill and here we turned right to climb sharply to the little chapel at Scotch Corner. TSB tells how this was built by the sculptor John Bunting,with stone from an old farmhouse and that it is dedicated to three pupils killed in WWII.

Chapel at Scotch Corner

John Joseph Bunting sculptor and artist of Ryedale built this chapel 1957 + died 19 November 2002 aged 75

The chapel was padlocked so we retraced our steps, finding the going much easier downhill and we carried on to join a tarmac road for a hundred yards before turning left past the impressive building of Oldstead Hall, built by John Wormald who also constructed The Observatory.  Here we paused to say hello to a friendly donkey.

Oldstead Hall

Sorry, we have no sweets left!

What, no Jakeman's?!

We passed the hall and walked through wet fields before turning right onto the tarmac of the Oldstead to Byland Road then left to walk through fields once more and passing by Oldstead Grange Farm and then Cam Heads Farm.

Bench with cattle protector

Left off the Byland Road

The farm has put signs up to keep walkers on the straight and narrow

Clive chats to a Texel ram

We now crossed a series of linking field tracks to reach the ruins of Byland Abbey.  It is still apparent what an imposing building this must have been in its day.

TSB tells us that the church, in itself 330 feet long, was fringed by chapels and columns, only traces of which remain. When the Abbey was dismantled in 1540 after the suppression of the monasteries by Henry VIII it housed 25 monks as well as the Abbot.  An interesting webpage about the monastery, showing a reconstruction of how it looked in its heyday,  click here.

Weather vane at Byland Abbey

Approaching Byland Abbey

Passing by the ruined abbey we should have turned into the drive of Abbey House and then right across fields to take us back to Wass.  Abbey House, however, was an island set in flooded fields that were too deep to cross.  There was nothing for it but to return to Wass along the road.

Our path is over the stile!

Abbey House!

Weather vane at Wass

We make the sad discovery that the pub is closed

Nether and Over Silton to Hanging Stone and Oakdale Reservoir

                             7.8 miles                                 Fine and dry



This is one of our favourite walks as it has a bit of everything; moors, villages, forests and even a reservoir.  We parked once again at Square Corner, the moors car park which is two miles from Osmotherley on the Hawnby road.  

Leaving the car we walked southwards along the forest path up the shoulder of Black Hambleton.

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

Climbing Black Hambleton

We turned right through a gate giving access to the remains of the conifer plantation and our path, known as Moor Lane, took us steadily downhill for about 2.5 miles.

The path re-entered trees and after pausing to examine some frogspawn we realised we were being watched by a deer. It remained motionless long enough for me to zoom my camera in on it and take a shot before she was off, high- tailing it through the trees.

Turn right off Black Hambleton

Walking down Moor Lane

Plenty of frogspawn in ponds and ditches

Who's that in the trees?

Watching us watching her

After that happy meeting we walked down through conifers until we came upon the ruins of a lime kiln. Passing imposing Moor House we saw a couple of Southdown sheep in a field.  Obviously pet sheep, they ran across to be fussed and Clive bit a Jakeman's Throat and Chest lozenge in half, giving a piece to each sheep which they appeared to relish.

Old lime kiln

Moor House

Trotting to see us

The strange looking Southdown Sheep

Pet lambs

It was hard to say goodbye!

A little further along Moor Lane we came to Rose Cottage and then on the right an ancient drinking trough, before joining the lane leading into Nether Silton.  

Our path from the village was almost hidden where it leaves the road alongside the old post office, through a white gate at a point opposite the chapel of All Saints. 

Ancient drinking trough

Entering Nether Silton

We need to be through the white gate, note the faint yellow arrow

After crossing several fields we came to the ancient and isolated church of St Mary, Over Silton, standing alone in the middle of fields without any path leading to it.  The graveyard was full of daffodils but unfortunately we appeared to be a week or so too early to see them at their best.

St Mary's appears in the distance

St Mary's Church

'Just in the darling of my youth, then death to me was sent, and you who have a longer stay, be certain to repent'

We sat in the peaceful graveyard on the Jubilee Bench and enjoyed our coffee and scones before spending some time exploring the church.

Looking towards the altar, no electricity of course!

Altar window

Clive checks out the organ

Looking back from the altar

We returned to the graveyard and spent a few minutes looking at the maudlin Victorian epitaphs which were obviously very fashionable hereabouts. 

'Happy soul thy days are ended, All thy mourning days below, Go by Angel guards attended, To the sight of Jesus go'

'In vain the tears that fall from you, And here supply the place of due, How vain to weep the happy's dead, And now to heavenly realms are fled, Repine no more your 'plaints forbear, And strive at last to meet me there' 

Mary, wife of Charles who died April 16th 1788 aged 44. 'Sweet children and husband dear, live still by faith and nothing fear, But sin which is the root of strife, The seed of death the bane of life, What am I now, dust and shade, Yourselves the same, your life doth fade, This I suggest from silent urn, that whilst I speak your heart may burn, and be in flame with heavenly love, Aspiring still to things above,'

On the back!  'Can love you hate, can life you kill, Can evil spring from God's good will.  This is his will that widowers chaste, Should trust in God and not make haste, Accept those words. Not else I crave.  Do not despise a spouses grave. And let me whisper one thing more, you and the children have in store, Treasure of sighs, tears, groans and prayers,  Of which you are the rightful heirs.  She that in silent dust doth sleep For you to God did often weep.  Struggling with God that he might give,  you grace in Christ to make you live. Hoping for this she did expire, God will you save, you shall Admire, Our pledges to thy care are given, the choicest gift of kindest heaven,  Their father, mother both in thee, United now they nearly see,  The soul that hindering wishes to be free,  Would yet a train of thoughts impart to thee,  But strives in vain the chilling hand of death.'

The epitaphs on the graves from the eighteenth century usually seem to leave a cautionary message for the living but we were baffled by the above. Exactly what was the long message about?  It must have been very expensive to have a gravestone engraved with such a long epitaph.

We walked across the fields away from the isolated church and towards the village of Over Silton where we passed by the old manor house.  TSB tells us that this was once owned by the gallant gentleman Sir George Orby Wombwell, baronet, who served with the 17th Lancers and took part in the charge of the Light Brigade at Balaclava on 25th October 1854.  His horse was shot from under him and he was taken prisoner but escaped on a Russian horse to rejoin his brigade and charge again, without sword or pistol!  He managed to continue to cheat death until 1913 when he died aged 81.   

Looking back at isolated St Mary's Church, which has no footpath or lane to service it

The Manor House, Over Silton

Clive approaches the sign where we turn left, steeply uphill to Crabtree Bank Plantation

We turned right and walked beyond the houses to a signpost where our path left the road and climbed steeply into Crabtree Bank Plantation. 

The next 2.5 miles were to be through conifers, sometimes on wide forestry tracks and sometimes on narrow footpaths but always very muddy and difficult to negotiate.  

We climbed steeply for the first mile then our path levelled out for a mile.  As we picked our way through the muddy tracks of Crabtree Plantation we saw the Hanging Stone above us.

Hanging Stone

Horse and bikes have made our paths very muddy

We came to a fork in the path where we turned right through a very muddy entrance and headed immediately upwards.  A steep climb took us through the Thimbleby Bank Plantation to emerge at a conifer wood below Thimbleby Moor.

At the fork, Clive figures the best way across. We need to be up to the right

We walk above the path for a while

Descending through Big Wood

We followed a distinct path into the dense trees of Big Wood and  crossed a clearing where felling had taken place, to re-enter dense conifers and follow a way-marked path until we came to a slippery descent into Oak Dale.

Reaching the bottom we exited the trees and crossed a bridge over Jenny Brewster's Gill and emerged from the wood.

Tom Scott Burns explains that Jenny Brewster's Gill was named after a famous witch and was once the haunt of smugglers who peddled liquor to the surrounding villages.  Several secret stills were dotted around the moors, one being at Solomon's Temple, another Wildgoose Nest, near what is now Cod Beck Reservoir and another at Swainsty Crag on Nether Silton Moor.

We now walked alongside Oakdale Reservoir which was built in the 19th century to provide water to the local area but which has now been decommissioned. The reservoir has been downgraded to a small lake that it is hoped will attract wildfowl.  Nothing to be seen today however!

Approaching Jenny Brewster's Gill

Approaching the run-off for Oakdale Upper Reservoir

Oakdale

  

Leaving Oak Dale we climbed steeply back to Hambleton Road where a brief walk took us to our car.  A short drive from Square Corner took us once again to Osmotherley and the Queen Catherine Hotel, where we discussed today's walk over a pint of Thwaites Wainwright.

Looking back at Oakdale from our climb...

.. to Square Corner

Burning heather at Black Hambleton, must be the last burning before nesting begins