Our starting point at Spofforth village hall
We
headed out of Spofforth on a farm track under a disused
railway at map ref. SE364507. We passed some playing fields
off to our right and the whole area looked waterlogged
after the heavy rain of the last few weeks.
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We
had a very leisurely start this morning. I met a group
of friends at the village hall in Spofforth (map ref.
SE361511). The weather was warm, humid and rather overcast
but the forecast had promised us no rain. We started walking
at about 11.00am.
Track under the disused railway at the edge of Spofforth
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Waterlogged fields after the recent heavy rain |
Bridleway along the track through the fields |
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Farm track through the fields |
Large clump of Ragwort at the field edge
At
the road, map ref. SE357483, we turned left to walk along
the road through the village.
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We
followed the farm tracks through the fields for just over
a kilometer to map ref. SE353500 where we turned left
to follow a bridleway for about 1.5 km to the edge of
Sicklinghall village.
Farm road through the fields
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Daisies at the edge of a field |
Wheat waiting for the harvest - the barley is almost all
in now. |
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Village pond in Sicklinghall |
There
are some seats by the village pond in Sicklinghall where
we stopped for our lunch break. It's a pleasant spot with
several young moorhens dabbling in the water. After our
break we continued along the village street and at the
end of the village we turned left along a lane to Stockeld
Park. The parkland surrounds a Palladian mansion built
in the mid 1700's
Track into Stockeld Park with the trees towering over
us
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Village pond in Sicklinghall
Track through Stockeld Park
The
path emerged from the park onto the A661 at map ref. SE375497.
Here we crossed the main road and followed the path through
the Stockeld Grange farm.
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Goats at Stockeld Grange |
Sheep at Stockeld Grange |
Path from Stockeld Grange to the disused railway path
We
turned left onto the disused railway and followed it for
about 1.3 km back into Spofforth where we walked along
the road back to our starting point at the village hall.
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A
few hundred metres beyond the farm we came to a disused
railway track that is now a footpath and cycle track running
from Wetherby to Spofforth.
Red berries on the Guilder Rose
The leaves turn to a spectacular red in the autumn
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Rosebay willow herb and cow parsley
We
arrived back at the village hall at about 1.30 pm after
a very pleasant walk which had been led by Geoff who lives
in Wetherby. We all returned to Geoff's house to sample
one of his legendary barbecues. We were not disappointed!
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The
walk of just over a kilometer along the disused railway
was through a lovely display of wild flowers. It's amazing
what appears when nature is left alone and free from sprays
and the like.
Scabious and knapweed
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Wild marjoram |
The disused railway path near Spofforth |
