Yorkshire Walks

Track from Cowhouse Bank round the edge of the escarpment

We started walking a little after 9.30am, heading roughly Northwest following a broad track through the woods around the edge of the escarpment.

Today Jim, my neighbour, and I drove to a Forestry Commission car park at the top of Cowhouse Bank about 5km North of Helmsley off the road through Carlton to Bransdale at map ref. SE612886.

Track from Cowhouse Bank round the edge of the escarpment

Track from Cowhouse Bank round the edge of the escarpment

Looking towards the head of Bilsdale from the site of the aluminium sculpture

Site of the aluminium sculpture apparently taken for scrap

First one hoop and then some years later the other hoop disappeared. There is a small model of the sculpture in the York art gallery. All that's left now is a bench seat to sit and enjoy the view. We continued along the track around the top of the escarpment to the trig point at map ref. SE588906.

After about 2km we came to a road at map ref. SE593903. There used to be a large aluminium sculpture here consisting of two roughly circular hoops that you could look through to frame the view up Bilsdale. Alas the scrap value of the aluminium was too much to resist.

Trig point at map ref. SE588906

Track from the trig point towards Newgate Bank

Track across Rievaulx Moor

Wood Ants' nest by the path

Public footpath following this track through the plantation

The nests are large mounds of pieces of needles from the conifer trees. The nests can be up to around 1.5m across and are covered with a seething mass of wood ants. The ants are about a centimeter long and as a defence they squirt a tiny jet of formic acid which feels like a bite. We walked along the track into the bottom of a little valley where the track turned right to follow the valley. After about 200m there is a footpath marker post with a yellow arrow symbol where the footpath turned left off the track.

We carried on beyond the trig point towards Newgate Bank. About 100m before the track reached the plantation at Newgate Bank (map ref. SE568893) we turned left to follow another track across Rievaulx Moor. After about 1.3km we came to the edge of a plantation at map ref. SE579887. From here we followed a well defined track through the wood for about 700m to a public footpath at map ref. SE582880. The footpath is along a forest access track and there were numerous wood ants' nests by the track.

Our turning off the track near Newgate Bank

Track from Rievaulx Moor through the plantation

Top of their nest seething with wood ants

Marker post where the footpath leaves the track

Bilberry flowers by the path

One of a series of deer tracks on the path

Debris left by squirrels after stripping seeds from cones

Steep path down to cross a dry beck bed

The beck was dry but is subject to flash floods. It drains Helmsley Moor and flows down through Collier Hagg Wood to Helmsley and the River Rye. The path climbed up out of the valley to the edge of the wood at map ref. SE593877.

The path here is narrow and we had to take care to stay on it through the bilberry plants on the forest floor. The path crossed a couple of forest access tracks before it reached the steep sided valley of a beck.

Footpath through the plantation

Dry beck bed subject to flash floods

Path across the fields to High Baxtons Fm

The road past High Baxtons Farm

After our lunch we followed the path across the fields and out to the road at map ref. SE598875. At the road we turned left to walk along the road to High Baxton's Farm. Just past the farm we turned right off the road onto a track across the fields.

There was a convenient log here to sit on so we stopped for our lunch break under the trees which provided us with good shelter whilst a little squall of hail and rain passed over.

Path across the fields to High Baxtons Fm

Track from High Baxtons to Carlton Grange

Track from High Baxtons to Carlton Grange

We continued past the farm with its small caravan site along the farm access track to the road at map ref. SE612875.

The track led us to a small wooded valley which is the top end of Ash Dale. We followed the track across the valley and then out across the fields to Carlton Grange farm.

Approaching the road from Carlton Grange

Track round the edge of the woods back to the car park

Track round the edge of the woods back to the car park

Heading back to the car park round the edge of the woods

After about 2km we came back to our starting point in the car park at the top of Cowhouse Bank. The whole walk had been about 15km and it had taken us around five hours to walk including our lunch stop.

We crossed the road and continued along the track opposite. This track took us through the woods in a semicircle with Carlton Park farm at its centre.

Primroses by the path

Track round the edge of the woods back to the car park

Heading back to the car park round the edge of the woods