Ascent: 700m
Weather: Warm and sunny. Simpsons clouds.
We left the yha at Helmsley at just after 8:30; walked through the market place and up the hill (the distant views of castle because that's all we ever seem to get) and through woodland to road to Rievaulx Abbey. Odd signage along the way here, after almost an hour's walking one signpost said we were 1 mile from Helmsley and then just round next corner another said it was two and a quarter miles there.
We had distant view of Rievaulx as we walked over pretty bridge at end of the lane to the abbey but we didn't visit today as it's a bit of a detour from the route and today was a long day - plus we doubted the cafe would be open yet, the cafe would have definitely made an excursion worthwhile. So we carried on walking, along the narrow road and turned off up a track passing a series of fishing ponds with tufted ducks enjoying the morning sun.
The path led up through woods and out onto sheep pasture, dusty track. The air above was full of gliders being towed off Sutton Bank. Arrived in village of Cold Kirby around back of the pretty church and walked through the village.
We bought some flapjack being sold at one of the houses and had a visit from the honesty box officer, who then escorted us out of the village, despite many pointings and tellings to go home. Eventually the dog got bored, or tired, and after a quarter of a mile turned back. There were two hares being frisky in a field.
Walked on along edge of a wood and through some stables out on to lane, Above there were more gliders, not gliding. I didn't know they had engines.
We crossed a busy road and into moorland, where I had a sit on a rock for five minutes because flapjack had given me indigestion. Walked around the edge of Sutton Bank where the gliders and tiny planes were taking off in quick succession, to the white horse and had a look at the map. It wasn't clear exactly how far we should walk on, the map indicating we should contour around a bit further but the gravel path began to descend steeply, so went out along faint grassy path a bit and back, guilting another walker into doing the same. Turning back and retracing our steps, we carried on to the visitor center where we stopped for a pot of tea, biscuits and a spot of birdwatching. We spotted a marsh tit which turned into a willlow tit, a coal tit and siskins.
We joined up with the Cleveland Way by way of a bendy path through heather. Saw some more birds, most probably chaffinches. The path goes around the escarpment edge, with extensive views over the Vale of York and pretty trees and moorland. We identified a yellowhammer (a robust bunting, apparently) and a kestrel (looks like a kestrel.) Also saw an unusual-looking small green butterfly/moth. (ed-Green Hairstreak butterfly.)
After stopping for lunch sitting on bank ovelooking valley, we then crossed road into Boltby Forest. Track comes out through farmyard with sheep, little lambs and a goat onto the Hambleton Drove Road (very popular with cyclists) with lush green fields and conifer forest to the left and open moorland to the right with Swaledale sheep dotted about.
Leaving Boltby forest through a gate, we were out onto the moors, passing a fingerpost with a 'beware adders' sign. Ooh. Didn't see any adders but did see some dusty looking sheep, one having a good scratch up against a boundary stone, a kestrel and a funny looking big red flying insect thing. The path continued over Black Hambleton which, to be honest, looked much the same except fewer sheep.
Still no adders.
After a mile or so, we passed a tree. A bit further on there were some small scrubby trees. Then there were some tall pine trees and then the path wound down off the moors to a car park and left down towards the valley on a stone paved path. We had a sit on a handy rock and had some parkin, and I discovered I had a hitchhiker. A distinctly ugly looking one at that.
Down the path there were a couple of small reservoirs and a house, the path turning to a driveway where a man in a tractor was taking his bin out. Passing some houses there was some up (up is hard going at this time of day and this end bit seemed longer than it ought) and then walking through cow pastures, sheep fields and bunny extravaganza towards Osmotherley.
No comments:
Post a Comment