---

Just before 9.30 am we parked off the road beside some woodland on the narrow lane into Bransdale from Helmsley. We walked a few hundred yards down the lane to a footpath down the steep muddy slope to Colt House Farm. The weather was bright with broken cloud and a few darker shower clouds racing by in the strong wind. The forcasters predicted it would stay like that all day. From the farm we took the path across the fields (the path no longer goes through the farm yard, but goes straight down the field to the north of the farm) to Bransdale Mill. Just before the mill is a large ornate sundial out in a field. The mill buildings have been carefully restored and the place seems to be used as a hostel of some kind. On one wall there is an inscription in several exotic languages. From the mill we took the path up the hill to the road at Cow Sike. Here we turned left onto the road for a hundred yards to a bridle way on the right. The bridle way took us up the valley side, round the corner of a wood and onto the moor. The bridle way goes straight up to Rudland Rigg but we took a track to the left to cut the corner off and join Rudland Rigg about a quarter of a mile further north. We continued along Rudland Rigg passing a large standing stone called the Common Stone after about half a mile and finally coming to Bloworth Crossing after just over 2 miles. Bloworth Crossing is on the disused ironstone railway and we stopped here in the shelter of a large heap of crushed stone to have a drink and a sandwich. After our break we followed the route of the Cleveland Way along the railway for about 300 yards and then up the moor to the trig point on the Round Hill above Botton Head. This is the highest point on the North york moors at 454m. (1488 ft.) A.O.D. From here we left the Clevland Way and took the track down the moor to Medd Crag overlooking Bilsdale and followed the track round the edge of the moor for almost a mile and a half to the point where it meets the path coming up from William Beck Farm. Here we took the continuation of this path across the moor to join the bridleway to Tripsdale (the path on the ground follows the black dotted paths on the map i.e. not rights of way but this is the most well defined route) At the ford in Tripsdale we stopped for another break. (Well actually it's not a ford anymore as a stone crossing has been constructed for grouse shooters' access) Anyway it was very pretty beside the stream in the sunshine and quite sheltered. After our break we climbed the long hill following the bridle way on the track for over two miles back to Bransdale to the point on the road opposite the path to Colt House Farm, then up the road back to the car. The whole route was about 10 miles and took us a little over 5 hours including our stops.

 

Highest point on the North York Moors at the 'Round Hill' above Botton Head - 454m

The stream in Tripsdale - Bonfield Gill

© 2008 Frank M Firth
Original design by Andreas Viklund