Yorkshire Walks

Another lovely spring day as we drove to the village of Fangdale Beck in Bilsdale, about 12 miles north of Helmsley. We parked next to a footbridge over the stream, and set off on a path that heads north out of the village for about a quarter of a mile to Stone House - a recently renovated range of farm buildings and two cottages. At Stone House we took the path up the wall side to climb up the valley side towards the Bilsdale mast (TV transmitter) that dominates the view for miles around. The path is not well used and much of the way we simply kept to the direction shown on the map until we came to a bridleway that also climbs up the moor from Fangdale Beck (this is a much easier path to follow and is the one that we would normally use, but we fancied a change to-day). About a mile and a half from Fangdale Beck the bridleway meets the track that runs along the moor top from Moor Gate at the end of Hawnby Hill all the way passed the mast and passed Cock Howe above Chop Gate to Barkers Ridge. It's a very useful track that features in many of our walks in Bilsdale. This time we turned south following the dry stone walls around some rough pasture land and passed the ruined farm at Low Thwaites. We stayed on the track for another mile and a half to Moor Gate. A couple had just pulled off the road as we reached the corner and asked our advice on picnic spots. We suggested that here was not at all bad. At Moor Gate we turned east to cross the valley on a wooden footbridge and join a rough track that slowly climbs the moor heading northeast back towards Fangdale Beck. After about a mile and a half the track begins to turn round towards the north and just at this point beside a dry stone wall separating the moor from some rough fields we took a track continuing northeast for a quarter of a mile to go through a gate into the sheep pasture that has grown over the site of a disused quarry - it all looks very pretty with the rounded spoil heaps covered in cropped grass. We followed the path down thw hill to the lane and back into Fangdale Beck. The whole route was about 7 miles and took us under 4 hours including a couple of stops for a break in the sunshine.