Yorkshire Walks

The village church at Hawnby

We started walking at about 10.30 am along the road towards the northern bit of Hawnby village. Hawnby consists of two clusters of houses around two 'T'-junctions.

Today was a hot sunny June day. My wife and I drove to the church at Hawnby, map ref. SE 537896, about 500m west of Hawnby village.

Coome Hill from a farm track on the edge of Hawnby

Leaving Hawnby along a farm track

The church is about 500m west forming a triangle with the two bits of the village. We walked along the road for 300m to map ref. SE540897, where we came to a track on the left.

The northern bit of the village is about 400m north of the smaller southern bit. The pub is in the northern bit and the post office cum cafe is in the southern bit.

A group of noisy guinea fowl

Entering the woodland above the River Rye

We followed the path through the woodland for about 300m to map ref. SE533910 where another path entered the wood through a gate.

This track took us across the fields for just over a kilometer to some woodland at map ref. SE534907.

Woodland above the River Rye

Footbridge over the River Rye

But today we were basking in the summer sunshine. I love these summer days with the dappled sunlight playing on the woodland floor. From the wooden footbridge over the River Rye we continued along the west bank of the river through a pedestrian gate that led us out of the wood to the confluence with the River Rye, of the beck from Thorodale.

Here we turned left to continue through the wood down a steep bank to the River Rye. We followed the riverside path over a substantial wooden bridge across the river. This was one of many new bridges needed after a devastating flood of Sunday 19 June 2005 when more than 70mm of rain fell on the River Rye catchment in less than 3 hours. Two solid stone road bridges and many wooden footbridges were washed away and a great wave of debris, rocks gravel and trees, swept down the valley.

River Rye flowing gently through the woods
The dead trees are debris from the flood

Looking back across the River Rye to Hawnby Hill

Here we turned left to walk along the access road to Mount Pleasant Farm. About 10 years ago (maybe longer - the time just flies by) there was a great fire which completely destroyed all the farm buildings that were on the right of the path. Through the farm yard we turned left to follow an access road for about 200m to map ref. SE524909. Here we turned off the access road to go through the gate and follow a path along the edge of the field by a hedge.

The path led us by the beck from Thorodale across a field to a gate on to a track. At the track we turned right to cross the stream and follow the track uphill through a conifer plantation for about 300m to a gate into a field at map ref. SE529910. Through the gate there was a very nice view of Hawnby Hill across the valley to our right. At the edge of the field we came to a stile onto a farm access road.

Arden Hall below us in the woods

Track through the woods climbing up Thorodale

After about 2km we came to a gate out of the wood to the open moor at map ref. SE502915. It was a long hot climb up through the woods and just through the gate to the moor we stopped to sit in the shade of an ash tree for our lunch.

We continued across the fields for about 500m to the edge of the woodland at map ref. SE519908. Here we joined a track first across an open grassy area and then up through the woods.

At last the gate from the woods to the moor at the head of Thorodale

Lunch stop in the shade of an ash tree

They didn't seem to have a proper map, just the newspaper cutting mounted in a plastic map case. It was quite comfortable sitting in the shade of the ash tree with our backs against the trunk, but we had to move on.

It was very pleasant with a view to our right up to the head of Thorodale. After a few minutes another couple passed us. They were walking a route from a local newspaper.

Looking up to the head of Thorodale

We crossed the ends of a couple of its little side valleys, and after about 1.5km across the moor we came to the Hambleton Drove Road at map ref. SE490922.

We turned right to follow a wide grassy path climbing up to the moor top. Near the top the path turned through a hairpin bend and skirted round the head of Thorodale.

Male red tailed bumble bee feeding on wild thyme flowers - the female has no yellow band

Male red tailed bumble bee feeding on a daisy - the female has no yellow band

After about 700m on the drove road we came to a gate on the right at map ref. SE489914, where a narrow dead end road (open to cars etc) comes up from Kepwick.

At the drove road we turned left to walk along the drove road with a magnificent view across the Vale of Mowbray to the Yorkshire Dales. There was a really clear view of the mouth of Wensleydale and Pen Hill beyond.

The lane from Kepwick meets the Hambleton Drove Road

Track down to Arden Hall from the Drove Road

After about 3km descending from the moor we reached the entrance to Arden Hall at map ref. SE519904.

Opposite the gate we turned left to follow a track along the southern edge of Thorodale.

Track down to Arden Hall from the Drove Road

Water Aven by the road side

From the bridge we continued along the road back to the start of our walk. The whole route had been 14.5km and had taken us five hours to walk including our stops.

Here we joined the road which we followed around the northern side of Coome Hill to Church Bridge over the river Rye. This is one of the stone road bridges that was destroyed by the flood and had now been rebuilt.

The road from Arden Hall to Church Bridge

An artist at work on Church Bridge over the River Rye

Instead my wife was already thinking about the jobs to do when we got back and we had to stop at a garden centre to get a watering can rose so put some fertilizer on the lawn.

We consumed two and a half litres of water between the two of us on this scorching summer's day. We did not stop for a coffee and toasted tea cake on the way home.

The rebuilt Church Bridge over the River Rye