Yorkshire Walks

The ruins of Sheriff Hutton Castle

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Route No. 350 - Wednesday 14 July 2010
Strensall, Centenary Way,
River Foss, Sheriff Hutton - 8km
Howardian Hills, York . . .

Route map from Ordnance Survey Open Space service.

Map: OS Explorer 300 Howardian Hills & Malton at 1:25000

All routes follow the River Foss

Path by the River Foss at Strensall

I think the route designers must have run out of options here because the finger post on the path beside the River Foss indicates that this is the route of the Centenary Way, the Ebor Way and the Foss walk. We planned to follow the Centenary Way route to Sheriff Hutton. We set off along the path on the Western side of the River Foss heading North. It was a pleasantly rural walk with only glimpses of the housing developments in Strensall.

Once again my health is interfering with our walks. My knees are playing up and I have an appointment to see a specialist next week - could be heading into knee replacement territory! So today we decided on a short flat walk of about 8km. My mate Jim and I both drove to a little gravel parking area next to a mini-roundabout on the northern edge of Sheriff Hutton at map ref. SE 650666. We left my car there and drove together in Jim's car to Strensall and parked on a small gravel parking area next to the River Foss on Towthorpe Lane at map ref. SE 621591.

Starting off from Towthorpe Lane

A ringlet butterfly, lots of them about but hard to photograph

Path by the River Foss at Strensall

York/Scarborough railway crossing the River Foss

Strensall church seen across the River Foss

A comma butterfly

The butterflies were very quick and hardly settled at all so were very difficult to photograph. We continued past a derelict tannery and leather works on the northern edge of Strensall and across the Sheriff Hutton road.

We passed under the York to Scarborough railway line and across a minor road at Strensall New Bridge. The riverside was full of small butterflies, ringlets, meadow browns and a few tortoise shells.

Strensall New Bridge

The derilict tannery/leather works at Strensall
The derelict tannery/leather works at Strensall

Sheriff Hutton Road crossing the Foss at Strensall

The barley harvest halted by the weather

Path by the River Foss

Outdoor piggery near Lilling Green farm

Track to Lilling Green farm

The Centenary Way leaves the river here and follows a track to Lilling Green Farm. From there the track leads into the village of West Lilling.

We followed the riverside path to Walbutts where there is a footbridge over the River Foss. The local sewage works it sited here and the effluent discharges into the River Foss downstream of the footbridge.

Footbridge over the Foss at Walbutts

A small tortoise shell butterfly

A large field of carrotts
A large field of carrots

Following the track to West Lilling
Following the track to Lilling Green Farm

Following the track to West Lilling

Our path leaves the road in West Lilling

The path then head out across the fields towards Sheriff Hutton.

At the main road through the village the route turns left and then right to cross the road.

The road through West Lilling

Path across the fields from West Lilling

Crossing the fields to Sheriff Hutton

The ruins of Sheriff Hutton castle

The walk had been about 8km and it had taken us about three and a half hours to walk. We drove together to a farmshop on the southern edge of Strensall for some lunch before collecting Jim's car and returning home.

We followed the path across the fields to the edge of Sheriff Hutton with views across the fields to Sheriff Hutton Castle. The path led us onto the road through Sheriff Hutton. We turned left at the road to follow it up through the village to a mini-roundabout at the northern edge of the village and back to my car.

Crossing the fields to Sheriff Hutton