Yorkshire Walks

St. Peter's Church Wintringham

Entering Deep Dale Plantation

The track through Deep Dale Plantation

About 50m from the lay-by there is a track off the road to the left from the bend, and just a few metres along the track the Wolds Way comes in to join the track from the right. Here we turned right to follow the Wolds Way along the hedgerow by a field of broad beans to Deep Dale Plantation. We crossed the stile into the plantation and turned left to follow a wide stone access track through the woodland. Initially the track was lined with wild roses and we continued along it for about 500m to a tight bend in the track at map ref. SE890739.

The gloomy wet June continues with a weather forecast today for heavy showers and prolonged rain everywhere. There seemed to be a chance of a few bright intervals and lighter showers in the Yorkshire Wolds so my mate, Jim, and I drove out to the village of Wintringham. It's about 7km east of Malton and about 2km south of the A64. Just through the village at a pair of right angle bends is the now redundant church of St. Peter on the left hand side of the road at the second bend. Opposite the church is a small lay-by with a sign inviting Wolds Way walkers to park here, so we did, at map ref. SE887731.

Joining the Wolds Way next to the church

Wild roses by the track

One of many white lipped snails along the way
(We also saw several brown lipped snails)

Start of the climb out of Deep Dale

Wild flower mix including scarlet pimpernel

The path goes straight up the hillside, climbing 50m in a distance of 200m (that's 1 in 4 all the way). After much puffing and blowing we reached the top of the climb and there was a light shower to greet us.

Here we turned right off the track onto a footpath from a rather alarming signpost with the finger along our path raised up at an angle of about 45 degrees. The sign was not wrong!

The path up out of Deep Dale

Top of the climb out of Deep Dale

Approaching to the sculpture, 'Enclosure Rites'

Cornflowers in the meadow at the sculpture

This is one of a series of sculptures along the Wolds Way. It's called 'Enclosure Rites' and is by Jony Easterby. We walked round the various elements of the sculpture. The view over the Vale of Pickering was hidden in the showery mists, but it was a place where we just wanted to linger and look.

We joined a track leading out of the plantation and the way out was painted red, the fence, the gate and the substantial timber gate posts. This marked the access to a large landscape sculpture on the left of the path at map ref. SE890742.

Group of figures, part of the sculpture

The focal point of Enclosure Rites

Looking West through Enclosure Rites

Looking East through Enclosure Rites from the dew pond

Looking southwest from the Wolds Way to Enclosure Rites

The Wolds Way leaving the sculpture

We crossed the road and followed the sign along the Wolds Way to the edge of Knapton Wood.

After our encounter with this intriguing site we continued northwards along the Wolds Way which follows a prehistoric earthwork for about 250m to a tarmac farm access road.

Pale blue speedwells by the path

Gate into Knapton Wood

Path along the edge of Knapton Wood

It was a very pleasant path through the woodland.

The path turned right to follow the edge of the wood along the top of a steep bank.

Path along the edge of Knapton Wood

Gate out of Knapton wood

Path along the edge of Knapton Wood

Searching for the view over the Vale of Pickering - lost in the mist

Jokey sign by the path

Gate on to the road at West Heslerton Brow

Sadly the view was still shrouded in the showery mist. We continued along the Wolds Way to the road at the top of West Heslerton Brow at map ref. SE910747.

At the end of the wood we emerged on to a path along the edge of the fields at the top of the bank with a view over the Vale of Pickering.

Path along the field edge to West Heslerton Brow

Heading south along Lutton Lane

Striding out along Lutton Lane

Along the way we saw a field access track where a truck load of white asbestos sheeting as been dumped, presumably to avoid the charges for safe disposal of this stuff.

Here we turned right leaving the Wolds Way to walk along the road for about 2.5km passing Wold Farm and continuing to the access road to Ling Farm at map ref. SE917726.

Fly tipping - asbestos sheeting

Start of the path from Lutton Lane

Path down the hillside from Lutton Lane

Young beef cattle galloping towards us

At the bottom there is a gate into a large pasture where a group of half a dozen young beef cattle were standing in the rain at the far side of the field. As soon as we appeared they all set off at a gallop towards us and after a run of around 150m stopped just short of the gate.

Opposite the access road to Ling Farm we turned right off the road on to a footpath down the side of a field of oilseed rape. We followed this path down the hillside for about 600m to the road at the bottom.

Path down the hillside from Lutton Lane

Common garden snail on the path

On the safe side of the gate

The road back to Wintringham

Bank of ox-eye daisies by the road

The road to Wintringham

The whole walk had been 10km and it had taken us four and a half hours to walk including a long stop at the sculpture.

At the road we turned right and walked along the road. There was very little traffic and the rain got heavier and we plodded our soggy way back to Wintringham for about 2.5km along the road.

Power line supported by a wonky pole

A pyramid orchid and yellow bird's foot trefoil

Wolds Way walkers park here - so we did

Background Notes:
This walk is a 10km circuit, about 6 miles, and we start out along the Wolds Way route that passes the church in Wintringham. We head out across the fields to Deep Dale plantation, and here we already encounter one of this walk's lovely features, the array of so may kinds of wild flowers. There are a series of wild roses by the track through the woodland with all manner of flowers on the woodland floor including pale blue speedwells, scarlet pimpernel and herb robert, a little pink flower also known as stinking bob because of the horrible smell of the sap. After about a kilometer we come to a very steep climb out of Deep Dale. It's a gradient of about 1 in 4 (I suppose these days we're meant to say 25% but that never seems to mean anything to me), anyway this gradient goes on for about 200m, that's a climb of about 50m. There are finger posts both at the top and at the bottom of the climb with the finger of the sign angled to match the slope. At the top we reach the edge of Deep Dale Plantation marked by a rather striking red fence and gate. This is the entrance to a large landscape sculpture on the left called "Enclosure Rites". The sculpture is by Jony Easterby and Pippa Taylor and is one of a series of art works along the Wolds Way called the WANDER Project. This one is based on bronze age imagery, there was a bronze age barrow next to this site. The focus of the sculpture is a series of poles set in a round dais with a long funnel of large cleft oak palings painted red and leading from a dew pond past a wild flower meadow to the poles on their dais. The whole scene is viewed by a group of life size chalk figures. From the sculpture there is a view across the Vale of Pickering towards the North York Moors. The wild flower meadow looks lovely at present particularly the striking blue of the cornflowers near the dew pond. It's the kind of place where I just wanted to look and linger and there's a seat provided if you're of the same mind. From the sculpture the Wolds Way follows the remnant of a bronze age earthwork out to a farm access road which we cross to Knapton Wood. We follow the edge of the wood along the top of a steep bank. It's a pretty path and we emerge from the wood to a fine view over the Vale of Pickering again before we reach a road at the top of West Heslerton Brow. The road is called Lutton Lane and we follow this to a path down the hillside to join another lane back into Wintringham. There are some lovely wild flower banks beside the road and one in particular has a fine array of ox-eye daisies and if you look carefully there are beautiful dark pink pyramid orchids scattered amongst them. The latter half of June is probably the best time for these chalkland flowers but I walked this route just a few days ago and they were well worth seeing, and that brings us back to Wintringham and the end of our walk for this week.

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