Hawnby Hill and Hazel Head from Hawnby
7 miles Showers
We like this walk. It combines the best of moorland, woods, pasture and villages. It's not too difficult but as there are a couple of good climbs it isn't too easy either. It's also quite good underfoot even after rain.
We arrived at Hawnby from the B1257 Stokesley to Helmsley road via the Laskill turn off and parked at the roadside shown by the P in the map below, just up the road from the Owl at Hawnby.
Today's walk from The Walker's Guide to the Cleveland Hills
The start of the walk
The Owl at Hawnby looks nearly ready for opening
Our route lies uphill, between the cottages
We walked back through the village and saw that the Owl at Hawnby, newly refurbished, is almost ready for opening but sadly not today.
Opposite the pub are some cottages and the route is steeply uphill between the cottages to a field where we disturbed two deer. We suspect they were a mother and fawn as on seeing us they ran across the field and the larger deer jumped the fence but the younger one stopped dead, unable to make the leap. We stood still not wanting to cause panic and the mother came back to encourage the fawn. After a minute or so it ran down the field to a gate where it was able to rejoin its mother and off they went.
We cross the field but who are they, over to the left?
We are appraised
... and found wanting
"I can't jump that!"
Downhill to a gate
This was a nice start to the walk and we cheerfully set about the first climb of the day, straight up Hawnby Hill.
Hawnby's upper village sits right under Hawnby Hill (298m) whose twin, Easterside Hill, can be seen over towards the B1257. These two hills, known as Corallian Outliers, once formed part of the Tabular Hills and have a very distinctive shape.
Hawnby village below and behind as we climb
Over to the left is Arden Hall and the valley of Thorodale
... and to our right is Easterside Hill
After catching our breath we set off along the ridge of Hawnby Hill enjoying fine views to either side.
Arden Hall
A fine ridge walk
We reached the highest point, marked by the neatest cairn we have seen, making us suspect it is the work of one person. Near to the cairn a memorial bench has been erected and we stopped to read the inscription.
The tidy cairn at 978'
Clive reads the dedication
We continued to the end of Hawnby Hill, enjoying picking out familiar sights and walks that we could see from this vantage point, and then descended steeply to Hawnby Moor and the moor gate at Sunley Slack.
Autumn colours from Hawnby ridge
Reaching the end of the ridge
Descent to Sunley Slack
We passed the moor gate and walked along the sandy path of Sunley Slack coming to a fork in the road after about a mile. We took the left fork and followed the path, seemingly walking straight towards Bilsdale Mast. To our right was Round Hill, which is simply a collection of rocks and a bump in the heather.
At Sunley Slack
Bilsdale mast appears in the distance
Looking back at Easterside Hill and Hawnby Hill
The weather turns again
Eventually we came to a series of direction posts on our right. We ignored the first two and about 20 feet past the third we turned sharply left on a small track to cross the moor.
There is very little sign of the path indicated by Tom Scott Burns on the map above, and we made our way initially by following a series of shooting butts and the rough access track that has been laid for them. As always with these new shooting butts, which have no escape for small animals, we checked for victims and at the third butt found a toad sitting forlornly by the steep side. Clive lifted him out and placed him under a clump of heather.
Toad rescue!
Leaving the shooting butts we made our way through heather using sheep tracks, all the time heading towards Hazel Head Wood which we could see to our left in the distance.
Reaching the wood we walked alongside it, gradually dropping downhill until the ruined Wesleyan Chapel suddenly came into view.
Here, the rain having stopped temporarily, we decided to halt and enjoy our coffee and scones while looking across Hawnby Moor to Scotland Farm.
Hazel Head Wood to our left
The ruined Wesleyan Chapel comes into view
Raindrops on my lens almost obscure Scotland Farm on the opposite hill
We walked back uphill to the gate into Hazel Head Wood. We now walked through the trees for about a mile but first, shortly after entering the wood we came to the ruined buildings of Hazel Head Farm, which TSB says was last inhabited in 1946 although its derelict state would indicate occupancy at a much earlier time.
Entering Hazel Head Wood
Moss covered ruins
We spot Easterside Hill through a gap in the trees
The ruins of Hazel Head Farm
We followed a grassy track through the dark wood until, bearing left, we exited the wood above Hazel Head Car Park and the Osmotherley to Hawnby road. We followed the road for a couple of hundred yards before turning into Ellers Wood at a footpath sign.
Out of the woods at last..
.. and onto the road
Back into the trees at the footpath sign
We walked through Ellers Wood on a narrow path through saplings, gradually dropping down to reach a bridge over the River Rye.
A narrow path through saplings
... to a bridge over the River Rye
Keep going to the telegraph poles...
... and then slog uphill
Following the path uphill alongside the telegraph poles we finally reached a stile which we crossed to follow a path into conifers. These are the trees of Blueberry Wood and we found this whole area to be full of young pheasants which ran along the path in front of us.
Eventually we emerged from the conifers above St Agnes House Farm and to a surprise view of Hawnby Hill.
Surprise view
St Agnes House Farm below
Leaving the wood to descend past St Agnes House Farm
St Agnes House Farm
Spoiled for choice
We crossed a stile and dropped down to a ford where we crossed a footbridge into Low Wood. Soon we came to the attractive arched bridge over the Rye, not mentioned by TSB as it post dates his book, having being built to replace a bridge washed away by flooding in 2005.
Crossing into Low Wood
The arched bridge
From the bridge there is a short scramble up to a track leading right, coming out of the woods at the lonely Carr House. From here we followed way marks (but no path) through several fields of sheep before eventually reaching the road just outside Hawnby.
The River Rye from the arched bridge
Lonely Carr House, and bull who fortunately didn't notice us
Accompanied all the way by pheasants
We arrive in Hawnby
The Owl at Hawnby still not being open for business we made the short drive to the Buck at Chop Gate, where, as they were sold out of regular ale, we enjoyed German draught beer and discussed today's walk and sights.
Prost !
