Shire horses looking into the car park, hoping for a treat?

We started walking at about 10.45 am. It was bright and sunny with a cold wind and a few black shower clouds about.

This morning I met a group of six friends at the large grassy car park at the southern end of Ripley village, map ref. SE284603.

Cowslips on the bank by the road

Seats at the view point at map ref. SE 285623

Primroses on the bank by the road

We crossed the B6165 (the modern road to Pateley Bridge) and continued on the Nidderdale Way route along the lane until it became a track across the fields. The track led us to two seats at a view point (map ref. SE 285623). There was a large group of walkers already there having a drink and they did not show any signs of moving on even when we suggested that they would be getting cold in the biting wind if they stood around for too long.

We walked through the village and about 100m before the roundabout at the northern end of the village we took the left hand fork along the old road to Pateley Bridge (now a dead end with only pedestrian access through). This is the route taken by the Nidderdale Way which is marked on the OS Explorer and Landranger maps.

The path down into Cayton Gill

Gnarled oak tree as we approached Cayton Gill

So we carried on down the wooded slope and across a little valley. Across the valley we followed the path to the left to walk along the valley bottom and soon found a sheltered bank to sit in the sunshine for a break.

The path along Cayton Gill

Lovely old ash tree in Cayton Gill

The path along Cayton Gill

After our break we followed the path to the edge of a wood at map ref. SE 284631. Here we turned left on to a track along the edge of the wood and down through the trees to a ford at map ref. SE 281630. From there we walked along a track out to a road at map ref. SE 275625.

As we sat there was a buzzard wheeling over the trees opposite then as I got my eye in there were more and more of them until I counted seven buzzards circling, coming together and chasing off only to return a few moments later. Maybe they were sorting out partners for the coming breeding season.

Intriguing design on an old stone gate post

We continued along the Nidderdale Way for another 1.5 km to map ref. SE 261626. We stopped here on a bank on the field boundary sheltered from the wind and facing into the sun which was quite warm at this stage.

Still following the Nidderdale Way we turned left down the road which was quite busy with fast moving traffic. We walked along the grass verge for about 500m and turned right off the main road on to a farm access road.

Ford across Cayton Beck

Looking across Thornton Beck from the lane to Bedlam

Footbridge over Thornton Beck

At the lane we turned left to walk along the lane to Bedlam on the B6165. We had just set off along the lane when a large dense black cloud blotted out the warm sunshine we had had at lunch time and a squally wind blew up with a furious hail shower that lasted about ten minutes and covered the road white over with hailstones.

It was a very pleasant spot for our lunch sitting in the sun looking across the valley. After our lunch we left the Nidderdale Way and walked down the slope to a foot bridge over Thornton Beck at map ref. SE 261624. We crossed the beck and climbed up to the lane from Bedlam to Shaw Mills.

The road was white over with hailstones in a couple of minutes

Fallow deer in Ripley Castle Park

Then we followed the path out across the fields to meet the boundary wall of the Ripley Castle Park at map ref. SE 269609. We followed the boundary wall along the path to a track near High Rails Farm.

Then the sun came out again before we reached Bedlam. We crossed over the main road (B6165) and followed the public footpath through a wrought iron gate, down the edge of a private garden.

A heron easily overtook us as we walked round the edge of the Park