Yorkshire Walks

Stacks of timber at the top of Nutwith Common wood

We turned into the wood to follow the track climbing up the hillside, around the northern edge of the wood for about 1.5km to the top of the wood by the road at map ref. SE210778. Just before the road there were two large stacks of felled trees and opposite the stack nearest the road we turned left onto a footpath following the southern edge of the wood.

This morning my friend Jim and I drove out to an area of unfenced land next to Nutwith Common, 2km south from Masham. We parked off the road at a little parking area at map ref. SE225787 just before 10.00 am. We walked about 500m along the grassy path by the road to the entrance to the Nutwith Common wood at map ref. SE223782.

Public footpath on the southern edge of Nutwith Common wood

Footpath leaving the southern edge of Nutwith Common wood

We followed the well walked path to join a track at map ref. SE221777 and then after about 100m we followed a good path on the ground off the right of the track. After another 200m we turned right to take a path down a slope to the edge of the wood at map ref. SE225775. I've made it all sound much more difficult than it is. We just followed the well worn paths on the ground.

It's mainly a beech wood and the woodland floor is covered with a carpet of crisp brown beech leaves which I like (nostalgia for a similar wood I played in as a boy) but there are very few woodland flowers in this type of wood. Navigation of the next part of the route is a bit awkward because the path on the ground does not follow the legal right of way shown on the map.

Heading for Grewelthorpe across the fields

The village of Grewelthorpe

We took the direction from the map to spot the next stile or gate across the field. We walked along the road into Grewelthorpe. In the village at the top of a slope there was a new bench under a sycamore tree where we stopped in the shade for a drink.

From the edge of the wood we walked along a path across the fields for about 1km to a road at map ref. SE226768. Where the fields had been cultivated the path had not been reinstated.

This chinouk was one of many military helicopters around today

The church at Grewelthorpe

Here we turned off the right hand side of the farm road to follow a path across the fields and along a track between hedgerows to map ref. SE234761.

We continued throught the village to the farm access road to Mowbray Hall at the side of the church at map ref. SE230762. We walked along the farm road for about 350m to a bend at map ref. SE233764.

Overgrown stile near Grewelthorpe

Pond by the path near Grewelthorpe

There are overgrown, unusable stiles, rickety gates tied up with baler-twine and cultivated fields where the path has been ploughed out and not reinstated. Fortunately the weather was fine and dry and the cultivated land was dusty. If it had been wet the conditions underfoot would have been quite bad across these fields.

At this 'T'-junction in the track we turned left to follow a track for 200m to its end at map ref. SE236762. From here we followed a path across the fields for just over a kilometer past Bush Farm to the edge of Hackfall wood at map ref. SE247764. The whole path from Grewelthorpe is not maintained.

An overgrown stile near Bush Farm

We joined the path into the woods and after a few hundred metres we joined the Ripon Rowel route at map ref. SE245767. We continued through the woods on the Ripon Rowel route by the River Ure for over 3km.

Just gazing around in Hackfall wood

Wood anemones in Hackfall wood

The Ripon Rowel path in Hackfall wood

A deer track on the path in Hackfall wood

There are huge drifts of wild garlic, wood anemonies, bluebells, wood sorrell, dogs mercury and many other wild flowers. We found a very pleasant spot to sit on a little wooden bridge for our lunch. After our break we continued to the edge of the wood at map ref. SE232786.

Hackfall Wood is owned by the Woodland Trust and there is open public access to the site. There are many paths to explore around the steep valley side with numerous large follies from the nineteenth century. Thia area has been woodland for centuries and all the indicator plants for ancient woodland are there.

Steps up to one of the follies in Hackfall wood

Path across the fields to Nutwith Cote farm

Approaching Nutwith Cote farm

From there we followed a path off the road over the grass back to the car to complete our walk.

We walked across the fields above the river Ure to Nutwith Cote farm. We followed the farm access road out to the road at map ref. SE228790.

Farm buildings at Nutwith Cote

Farm buildings at Nutwith Cote

On the way home we stopped in the market square in Masham for our usual coffee and toasted teacake to round off a lovely day.

The whole route had been 12km and it had taken us about four and a half hours to walk including our stops. You do need to leave time to sit and just gaze at everything in Hackfall Wood.

Open land at Nutwith Common at the end of our walk