Yorkshire Walks

Bransdale

This morning my neighbour, Jim, and I drove to Bransdale in the North York Moors. Our usual route from Helmsley was closed due to the damage caused by the severe flooding on 20 June, so we had to go via Fadmoor and Rudland Rigg. In Fadmoor we stopped at the organic farm shop for some vegetables before heading into Bransdale.

St Nicholas Church Cockayne

Looking back to Cockayne & the church from the track

The walk then goes East along the road which bends right after 300 metres and in a further 100 metres bends left. At this second corner the route carries on through a farm gate onto a gravel track. From the track there is a good view of Cockayne and the church. The track leads in less than 500m to the old Bransdale Mill.

The roads around the head of Bransdale are narrow and parking safely off the road is not easy. There's a good place to park on the grass verge just before the cattle grid by the T-junction (map ref. SE621984) about 100 metres East of St Nicholas Church at Cockayne. The church itself is well worth a visit.

Leaving the road at map ref. SE623983

The track leading to Brandsdale Mill

Bransdale Mill

Sundial in the field above Bransdale Mill

His son Emmanuel was the vicar at Ingleby Greenhow and he was responsible for the inscription on the mill wall and the inscription on the Cammon Stone on Rudland Rigg. From the mill we followed the path climbing up to Colt House Farm.

Bransdale Mill is a National Trust property on Hodge Beck in the valley bottom, and it is now used as a bunk house for youth groups. In the mid 1800's the mill was owned and run by William Strickland.

Bransdale Mill

Sundial in the field above Bransdale Mill

Bransdale Mill

Stump Cross

Just beyond the cross we kept straight on instead of taking the public footpath on the track to the left into Tripsdale. The new "Right to Roam" under the CRoW Act has given us the opportunity to explore some grouse shooters tracks that were not previously open to the public.

Opposite Colt House Farm at map ref. SE 615976 we followed the path heading roughly west from the farm up the valley side. As we reached the moor top we came to Stump Cross at map ref. SE 606982.

Path from Bransdale up to Stump Cross

Grouse shooters track from Stump Cross

Looking to Cringle Moor from the track near Stump Cross

Here we turned right and followed the Cleveland Way to Bloworth Crossing on the old ironstone railway that carried the ore from Rosedale and Farndale to Middlesbrough.

We continued on the track for about 2km to the Badger Stone at map ref. NZ 604004 above Hodge Beck. We crossed the beck and followed the track to the Cleveland Way at map ref. NZ 602015.

Jim on the Badger Stone

The Badger Stone

The Cammon Stone

Looking over Bransdale on our way down from Rudland Rigg

Here the route turns right to follow the road back to the starting point by the cattle grid in Cockayne. The whole route is 13km and it took us about 4 hours to walk including our lunch stop.

At Bloworth Crossing we turned right again onto the Rudland Rigg track and after about 2km we came to the Cammon Stone at map ref, SE 626999. We continued along the rigg for another kilometre to map ref. SE 631991 where we turned right on to a path down the valley side to the road at map ref. SE 625982.

The Cammon Stone

Inscription on the Cammon Stone

The track down from Rudland Rigg to the road near Cockayne