Hawnby, Easterside Hill
and Shaken Bridge
7.5 miles Warm and breezy
A busy week for me as I spent the first half walking in the Lakes. (See here!)
Back home, I realised that until today we have only walked this particular route in winter and thought it would be interesting to see how different it might look in summer.
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| Today's route from The Walker's Guide to the Cleveland Hills |
We approached Hawnby from the B1257 Stokesley to Helmsley Road and drove to the lower houses of Hawnby Bridge. Tom Scott Burns explains that the village of Hawnby is divided into an upper and lower part because in the 1750s a zealous landlord turned out all the Methodists from their houses. They had lived in what we now think of as the top village. They moved a short distance away where they built some small houses and a Wesleyan Chapel, completed in 1770, now the lower village.
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| Lower Hawnby at the bottom and Upper Hawnby at top right |
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| Lower Hawnby |
We parked behind the Chapel on the newly re-surfaced car park where parking is freely available for about a dozen cars.
Turning right out of the car park we walked past the few houses to a gate in the field opposite. We went through the gate into a sheep field with a faint path to follow across this and the next meadow to cross Ladhill Beck at a bridge.
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| Leaving Hawnby |
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| Crossing Ladhill Beck |
We walked alongside Ellers Wood and reached the Hawnby road next to Easterside Farm, where we turned left on to the tarmac.
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| At Ellers Wood |
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| A short stretch on tarmac |
At a sign we turned right off the road and followed the trail under the shadow of Easterside Hill until dropping down to follow the farm track for High Banniscue Farm.
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| Looking back to Hawnby |
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| Following a farm track |
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| A panoramic view of Hawnby Hill to our left |
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| We are observed as we pass by.. |
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| More loose cattle below Pepper Hill, they weren't interested in us |
When we reached the farm we turned left to walk along a faint track to reach an old ruined building shown as Crows Nest on the OS map. We turned right at these ruins to pass through the moor gate and followed a path through heather to skirt Pepper Hill and Easterside Hill.
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| Walking towards High Banniscue Farm |
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| No sign of a track; we walk from way-point to way-point |
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| Abandoned Crows Nest Farm |
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| We enter the moor at a gate next to Crows Nest Farm |
Smaller Pepper Hill sticks out from Easterside Hill and in the last war a German Dornier crashed here on 17th December 1942, killing all the crew. There is a memorial window in Hawnby Church.
Passing Pepper Hill we walked along the east side of Easterside Hill looking down at the valley of Bilsdale to our left before dropping down to join the Hawnby road. After a hundred yards or so we turned right off the Hawnby road at the new gate and old footpath sign.
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| A faint path through the bracken |
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| Damaged wall and crater suggests the Dornier came down here |
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| A modern jet swoops alongside us |
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| Dropping down.. |
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| .. to a stile in the bracken |
We descended across some meadows and arrived at the ruins of Grimes Holme, where we sat on slabs of rock in the lee of the building to enjoy our scones.
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| New gate and old sign |
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| Grimes Holme |
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| Ripe for renovation! |
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| Disused Larsen trap (to control magpies) |
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| Outbuildings at Grimes Holme |
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| Let's stop for coffee! |
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| Scone with a view |
Refreshed, we left the old farmstead and walked down to cross a wooden gated bridge over the River Seph at a point which TSB says is often frequented by herons. Not today, unfortunately, and we crossed a couple of fields to join a farm track that leads past Fair Hill Farm and recently renovated Broadway Foot farm, once a fire damaged thatched building now transformed into a very smart looking modern building.
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| Crossing the River Seph |
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| Sign down! |
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| Leaving the fields next to Fair Hill Farm |
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| Fair Hill farm |
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| Broadway Foot Farm today |
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| Broadway Foot Farm when we passed by in 2015 |
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| Broadway Foot Farm |
We continued along the lane and saw a quiet group of rams relaxing in the warmth. All was not as pleasantly bucolic as it seemed as we noticed a couple of them had open sores that were being attacked by flies. Probably the rams butt each other causing head wounds and flies get in. We chased the flies off as best we could but it was a hopeless task. There was nothing we could do to improve things but I'm sure the farmer will be along to sort things out.
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| Rams |
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| Fly strike |
After this disturbing sight we continued down to the road and reached Shaken Bridge. TSB tells us that its name derives from the Old English 'sceacre' or robber. ie Robber's Bridge.
We crossed and after walking on the road for a hundred yards we turned sharp left followed a farm road uphill until we came to East Ley Wood. Bearing right up the track an old barn comes into view, a building we recognised as one we have approached from other directions on various walks.
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| Continue down to reach the road... |
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| ... and Shaken Bridge |
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| View down stream from Shaken Bridge |
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| View up-stream |
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| Turn left off the road at Shaken Bridge Farm |
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| Looking back at new Broadway Foot Farm |
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| These little signs have been here for years, we would love to know their provenance |
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| Climbing towards East Ley Woods |
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| Old barn |
The path meanders along the side of the wood for 1.5 miles, eventually emerging at Murton Bank top. We turned right onto the road and walked downhill coming to a 'surprise view' at Peak Scar Top, a short distance down the road.
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| Walking alongside East Ley Woods |
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| East Ley Woods.... |
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| ... becomes Cliff Wood |
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| ... before dropping to Murton Bank and a surprise view |
We now had a steep descent down Murton Bank and enjoyed a fine view down to Hawnby and the houses at Hawnby Bridge below us.
Sadly, The Inn at Hawnby is still under offer so it was neccessary to drive on to discuss today's walk over a pint, so we headed to the Bay Horse at Great Broughton where we relaxed in their beer garden.
