We left the church and walked out of the village towards Upsall (up-salir, Old Norse 'high dwellings') along the tarmac road. Over to our right, high on the hill, we saw the imposing 'Newbuilding.' Originally called Kirby Knowle Castle, 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.
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| Newbuilding |
Just before Upsall we turned off the road into fields and followed a little walked and very water-logged path to Turton Beckstead.
TSB informs us of a strange story that happened at this spot. In the 1860s some mourners were carrying a body to Kirby Knowle for burial. The bearers set down the coffin to rest briefly 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.
We reached the stream (Beckstead means farm by the river) and found it in flood. There was no way for us to cross here, a point where the water is normally one or two feet wide, so we headed upstream looking for a crossing point.
Eventually we found a fallen tree making a rudimentary bridge and over we went.
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| Leave the Upsall road ar the footpath sign |
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| .... and splodge through the fields |
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| Approaching Turton Beckstead we realise the path is unwalked |
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| Oh 'eck! |
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| No way over |
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| Carefully does it.... |
Climbing out of the wood we entered fields and followed their margins, relying on fence way-marks. There was no sign of a path and the grass appeared untrodden, which is a shame as this is nice walking.
Soon we reached another beck, just past Carr Hill, and found the same problem - the usual crossing point wasn't negotiable. We again followed the beck upstream until we came to a narrow part that we could jump, then came back downstream to return to our path.
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| Passing a field of sweetcorn |
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| Another hazard.... |
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| ... and walk upstream |
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| ...to find a narrow bit |
A short walk brought us to Felixkirk where we found the road to the village under 6 inches of water. They must have had a good downpour here last night.
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| Entering Felixkirk |
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| Keep to the edges.. |
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| St Felix Church |
The church was unlocked so we went inside. The most striking feature 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 and 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.
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| Graffitti or mason's name? Thomas Carlton 1629 on door arch |
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| Showing the unusual apse |
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| 'Mouseman' Thomson from Kilburn has made the church gate |
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| A sheltered spot for coffee and scones |
Leaving the church we decided to make use of the bench in the village green for a coffee stop while watching the comings and goings in the small village.
Retracing our steps to the road junction we turned right and climbed the lane to pass the lodge to Mount St John, famous for its equestrian centre and gardens. Here there were signs telling us that the road was closed, oh no, not another obstruction? Yes, but the burst water main was only obstructing cars and we walked past to turn right into a lane.
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| Following the lane towards Mount St John |
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| Pedestrians can pass |
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| Gatehouse to Mount St John |
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| Turn right and go through the gate |
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| Horse country |
This lane led us past Cinque Cliff House via a diverted path around the rear of the house.
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| Whitestone Cliff in the distance |
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| Cinque Cliff House |
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| Grassy lane to Thirlby |
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| Pet sheep come running... |
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| .. for a bit of fuss |
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| I'm a rare breed! |
Thirlby is the pretty village where James Herriot lived, although he practised in Thirsk, and the road is bordered with neat rural cottages.
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| Some nice weather vanes in Thirlby |
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| Pear Tree House |
It is also the home of the 'Wren Man', Bob Hunter, who used to work with 'Mouseman' Thomson and whose symbol is the wren. His workshops are at Pear Tree House where we paused and peered in to the workshop.
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| Thirlby Beck, normally a trickle |
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'No shop or inn is there here about, so why not sit down and enjoy summat for nowt' - donated by 'two good sorts'
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Leaving Pear Tree House we continued along the lane through the village, crossed the ford and left the tarmac at Thirlby Farm, turning left to follow a track through a grassy meadow.
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| A brief diversion through trees |
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| A ram and his lady near Tang Hall |
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| White Stone Cliff |
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| A glider is towed away from nearby Sutton Bank |
We followed our path, sometimes across fields and sometimes through woods, steadily approaching Boltby.
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| Boltby in the distance |
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| Mosiac tiles at Gurtof Beck in Boltby |
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| 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.
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| Turn right off the road at this gate |
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| We attract a crowd |
We followed a series of field boundaries to reach the modern mansion of Ravensthorpe Manor, which can't really be seen from our line of approach.
We climbed above the manor house into Westow Plantation and followed a muddy track behind Ravensthorpe Manor, which was now invisible to us because of the plantation's trees.
The path became easier and we walked gently down Birk Bank, eventually emerging in Kirby Knowle near the old school house, where we turned left and walked back to the car.
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| Leaving Westow Plantation |
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| Kirby Knowle |
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| Weather vane at Kirby Knowle |
There is no pub in Kirby Knowle so a short drive to Osmotherley followed where we discussed this nice walk. We have walked this route several times, winter and summer, and have never had trouble with stream crossings before, nor does Tom Scott Burns mention this. Today's problems would appear to be a 'one off'.
GPS track available on request.
