Whorlton Castle and Church from Swainby
7 miles Fine and dry
Carole and I are dog-sitting Bramble today so we wanted a walk where our guest would not cause a nuisance to farm animals. This route should be ideal.
We parked in the road at Swainby near the Blacksmith's Arms and before crossing the river we looked at the restored pinfold just opposite the pub. A pinfold is where stray animals were kept secure until they were reclaimed by their owners after payment of a fine.
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| Today's walk from The Walker's Guide to the Cleveland Hills |
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| Pinfold |
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| Walking along Swainby High Street |
We then walked up the high street and turned left past the Blacksmith's Arms and into a footpath just before the church.
This footpath passes along the back of houses with a park to the left and a small stream to the right of the path.
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| Walking behind houses |
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| Follow the path to meet the road |
The path quickly leaves Swainby, which Tom Scott Burns informs us means 'Swain's Farm', from the old Norse name Sveinn, and joins a lane which takes one very quickly to the site of Whorlton Castle. In recent years we have found the castle to be closed to visitors but today found its doors unlocked so we popped in for a look around.
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| Whorlton Castle Gatehouse |
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| "I'm walking round a castle at the moment...." |
TSB tells us that there has been a number of castles on this site, even before the Domesday Book which records it as Wirueltun in 1086. William the Conqueror gave the manor to Robert Count de Mortain, and then it passed into the hands of the de Meynell family. The castle was surrounded by a deep moat over which was a drawbridge. In 1323 Edward II was known to have stayed at Whorlton Castle while hunting deer in North Yorkshire and during the Cromwellian period Royalists held the castle and were bombarded by Roundheads from Whorl Hill to the East and Toft Hill to the West.
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| Remains of the Keep |
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| There would have been a fortified tower on the Keep |
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| Back in the gatehouse and looking around |
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| The gatehouse from the first floor |
We had a good look round and then walked a few yards further along the tarmac lane to the old Saxon church of Holy Cross. There is a tale that an underground passage links the castle to this nearby church and we decided to stop off and take a closer look. The church was locked and we peered through the grille in the chancel door. We could just see the bog oak effigy of the second Lord Nicholas de Meynell who died in 1322, as described by TSB. Bog oak has a significantly higher density and hardness than ordinary oak and was created when prehistoric forests were submerged under water and silt in anaerobic conditions, thousands of years ago. Hence the statue still looks as good as the day it was made.
There are some very interesting tombstones dating from the early 1700s.
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| Holy Cross Church |
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| All we could see of the bog-oak statue of Lord DeMeynell |
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| The 3 hands shield is Bate of Easby, the others are illegible |
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'In perfect hilth he went from home, and little thought his glass was run, but dying in so short a space, I hope his soul in a good place'
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| 'He was an affectionate husband who lived beloved and died lamented. Oh how uncertain are the days of men. Certain to die but yet uncertain when. In perfect health I went from home, but little thought my glass so near was run. In health at night, the same at morn But before noon my glass was run.' |
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| Mass Dial |
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| Nearly time for mass! |
On the rear of the church is a medieval 'Mass Dial'. In days when the majority of people were illiterate these would be sited on the south wall of a church and a wooden peg (called a gnomon) would have been placed in the top hole. The Mass Dial worked as a sun dial, the shadow reaching a peg in one of the bottom holes would indicate the approximate times for mass.
Returning to the front of the church we noticed a WW2 headstone and were saddened by the obvious implication of the dates on the adjoining memorial stone.
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| A tragic headstone |
We returned to the lane and followed it to the junction with Whorlton Lane, where we climbed a stile into fields and headed straight towards Whorl Hill, which dominates the skyline.
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| Leave the lane at the gate |
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| .. and follow the path towards Whorl Hill |
A steady climb took us into the trees of Whorl Hill (old Norse 'hvirfill' - 'high hill with a rounded top') and we continued to climb until our track levelled out and we circumnavigated the hill, just inside the tree line.
TSB informs us that in 1810 one of Britain's largest hoards of Roman silver coins (weighing 2 stones) was dug up on Whorl Hill by a local farmer whilst ploughing his field.
We followed the path with a fine view down to Swainby through the trees, until we dropped away from the main path to exit the woods at Bank Lane via the garden of a bungalow.
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| Climbing.. |
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| .. and then circumnavigating |
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| .. then descending Whorl Hill |
We now walked up Bank Lane towards Live Moor and Round Hill.
Reaching the trees of Faceby Plantation we turned right and a short sharp climb brought us to a path which we followed below Round Hill. Eventually we came to a fallen tree and here, sheltered from the wind, we sat to enjoy our coffee and scones.
Our lunch over, we climbed once more, to reach the moor top and the stone path of the Cleveland Way. We turned right and walked into a head wind, soon passing a large cairn standing on a Bronze Age burial mound.
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| Climbing Live Moor |
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| Looking back we see Whorl Hill and Faceby below |
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| On the Cleveland Way |
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| A scheduled monument! |
We followed the Cleveland Way footpath westwards with good views down to Whorl Hill and Swainby to our right, eventually reaching the steep descent to Huthwaite Green.
This steep descent is always slippery and requires care. At the bottom where the path reaches Scugdale Lane is an old railway goods truck, a remnant of the mineral railway that once ran up this valley into Scugdale. Someone has used the truck to store firewood.
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| Bilsdale over to our left |
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| ... and Whorl Hill and Teesside to our right |
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| We start the descent |
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| Which becomes very steep through the trees |
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| Known as the Devil's Staircase to Coast to Coasters |
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| The old railway carriage is a reminder of the mineral railway that once passed this point |
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| Follow the Cleveland Way signs |
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| Over Scugdale Beck |
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| Climbing to Clain Wood |
We crossed the lane and passed Hollin Hill Farm and then crossed two bridges over meandering Scugdale Beck to enter fields where a faint track took us to what remains of the trees of Clain Wood, where there has been vigorous felling in the last couple of years.
We followed the Cleveland Way through the woods, at times walking parallel with the dismantled railway, until we reached the tarmac of the Sheepwash to Swainby road.
Here we turned right to follow the tarmac downhill to Swainby, following the road through the village.
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| The view from Clain Wood |
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| Walking through Clain Wood |
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| We reach the first houses of Swainby |
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| About to rejoin Coalmire Lane, the Swainby to Sheepwash road |
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| A Swainby resident watches us go by |
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| Swainby |
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| Carole seems to speed up as we approach the Black Horse |
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| Cheers! |
This is a nice walk. It's not very long but has a couple of good climbs to stretch the legs and good paths that make it suitable for any time of year.
