19th
- 22nd March 2012
Introduction
I went down to London in mid-March to visit the David
Hockney exhibition at the Royal Academy and was most taken by the paintings of
the Yorkshire Wolds. I had been considering a training walk to stretch my legs
after the long winter. The weather was improving, the forecast was brilliant,
so I made the spontaneous decision to go for the Wolds Way and explore a corner
of the country I knew little about. I
had only a few hours to prepare. I had no maps, no guide book; only an
accommodation list downloaded from the website. Throwing some kit into my KIMM
sac, I snatched a few hours fitful sleep.
Monday 19th
March 2012 Hessle – South
Cave
I had not slept well so was up before the alarm for an early
breakfast. Jill was just stirring as I called out my goodbyes and set off to
walk to the station. The 08.02 train was running late so I had little time to
change at Piccadilly on to the 08.42 to Hull. But the weather improved as we
shot across the Pennines and it was bright sunshine as I left Hull station and
sought a bookshop and some coffee and cake. The ever-present Waterstones
provided both a guide book and carrot cake. Within half an hour I was back at
the station to retrace my rail journey but this time on a train that stopped at
Hessle. It was 11.30 as I was left standing alone on Hessle station wondering
how to find the start of the Wolds Way.
The newly acquired guidebook earned its purchase price in
getting me over the footbridge and up to the Italian restaurant at Hessle Have
and the official start. Then, under a bright sky, I set off trying to get my
rhythm going under the Humber Bridge and the path along the estuary. I had to
take to a shingle beach to get round a hotel but was soon onto a dry track
beside the railway. In North Ferriby I followed the guidebook description of
the way through the village centre, but in retrospect I should have resorted to
the map I had printed off from the internet. It was only when I made a mistake
coming off Melton Hill that I put the guidebook away and swore never to take
the map out of my hand again. I am sure the diversion cost me an extra
half-mile and an irritating road walk.
With map in hand I made no further errors in route finding
and I found the signposting was of a generally high standard (outside towns and
villages). It clouded over as I marched up Welton Dale and over my first big
climb to the long westerly dog-leg to Brantingham. There is a beautiful moment
as you drop down a grassy field path to the church, isolated from its village
and in fabulous location. It looked a picture in a moment of sunshine. There
was a mountain biker at the church, pausing to regain his composure after being
brought off his bike by some Jack Russell dogs. Hoping is cuts would soon heal,
we parted and I continued up the road and then left up another climb to a great
viewpoint over my night’s destination. It was 4pm as I descended towards South
Cave and turned into the village to find bed & breakfast. The address of
the private house was not easy to find and then it looked as though the
residents were away so I returned to the pub in the town centre and got myself
fixed up for the evening I was on my way.
13.51 miles in 4hrs 17mins 02sec.
I stayed at the Fox and Coney, South Cave. Black Sheep
bitter was on a hand pump and I enjoyed steak & ale pie. The room was over
the bar and a bit noisy and, although I was very tired, I took an age to get to
sleep.
Tuesday 20th
March 2012 South Cave -
Huggate
I set the alarm for a 7.30am breakfast. I needed to start
covering greater distances now to compensate for my ‘easy’ first day. Today was
the vernal equinox, and it certainly felt as though it was spring as I left the
hotel (08.27) and retraced my steps up the road I had come in on the previous
afternoon. My fleece was stored in my sack and I took off my pullover on the
first climb. I got the wind, and a mobile phone signal, as I pulled out of the
plantations and onto the bare tops. My bank rang me to sort out some problems
with my credit card. Then I was able to ring various members of the family to
catch up with the latest news. The views back over the Humber and westwards to
Drax were spectacular.
I really motored early on and clocked 10 miles in the first
three hours. By 11.50 I was outside the Goodmanham Arms and to my delight it
was open and serving food and real ale. A cheese sandwich and a pint of
Yorkshire Gold and then a Wold Top bitter were enough to revive me and at 12.25
I was off again on a fast easy section to Millington. I rang ahead to book some
accommodation and then relaxed into the long afternoon journey. The traverse of
the Londesborough estate was memorable, with the most magnificent brick
retaining wall dominating the valley. A lovely old church was all there was at
Nunburnholme and then it was just a plod until I pulled onto the edge
overlooking Millington and its dale.
I was going really well until I had to drop onto a Roman
Road running through a steep sided dale and climb out again up a very steep set
of steps. Whether it was the heat or the beer I had consumed at lunchtime, I do
not know. But I totally bonked on this climb and felt tired, dizzy and old by
the time I gained the flat ground again. I was quite glad to coast home with no
heroics and so eventually I could see Huggate away to my right and was very
glad to be turning right off the route and into the village. My fitness had
been sorely tested. Even though, when I had rung at lunchtime, I had been told
that someone would be in the kitchens if I went round the back of the pub at
5pm, the place looked deserted. I had to ring from outside the front door to
rouse a response. And a very nowty landlord unlocked the front door to give me
access to my room. However the rest of my stay was brilliant and I was
wonderfully well fed and watered.
25miles in 7hrs 58 mins + 35 mins for lunch.
I stayed at the Wolds Inn in Huggate. I had the biggest
portion of duck in orange gravy washed down with pints of Landlords and
Landlords Gold. I still found room for Treacle Pudding and a cappuccino.
Wednesday 21st
March 2012 Huggate - Ganton
The owners of the Wolds Inn got up early to provide me with
a cooked breakfast and a packed lunch in readiness for my mega-day. I had
everything packed before the meal so, as soon as I was finished, I set off up
the road I had come down the previous night (at 8.32am). It was grey and
overcast but quite warm for the time of day and year. I was soon dropping into
a big flat-bottomed dale which I followed for almost an hour up to
Fridaythorpe. Here was the half-way point of the walk, the place where the
national trail had been officially opened. The route out of the village took me
passed the ABN mill but I had no time to call in to see if old friends were
on-site. After a high level section, the path dropped very steeply into another
set of grassy dales, full of sheep and little else. This eventually took me out
onto the road to Thixendale. In the quiet village was a shop sign taking me
round the back of a house into a glass conservatory that acted as the village
store. Buying the cakes and drinks was easy; getting away from the chatty owner
was more problematic. But I finally made my excuses and dashed for the door, into
the main street and up a steep chalky leading on to the tops.
One more dale crossing took me onto a high ridge where a
right turn enables to route to stay level along to edge of a deepening dale
that leads to Wharram Percy. Eventually the path descends to the deserted
medieval village and here I sat momentarily on a seat overlooking the old
fishpond to eat my newly purchased cakes. Then it was passed the old church and
up to a road and left onto a section that was not nearly as interesting as the
early morning had been. But at least it took me over high ground, provided me
with a mobile phone signal and enabled me to book accommodation for the night
ahead.
I was getting rather hungry by the time I got to Settrington
Beacon, so I was really pleased to find a bench overlooking the steep descent
to Rowgate. Here I sat for a 15 minute lunch break (1.50-2.05pm) looking out
over Wintringham and the wolds behind. It was warming up now as I plodded along
the farm track and then turned right over the fields into Wintringham. The
route then turns away from the village centre and goes round the back to reach
the church without seeing anything of the village itself. A left turn at the
church took me up through some woods and plantations on a steep-sided ridge.
The final scramble onto the top of Knapton Wold was the steepest part of the
whole route. Thank goodness I went up better that yesterday’s crux climb. A
lady dog walker warned me to look out for some ‘odd goings on at the top, red
and things’. These turned out to be a new work of art called ‘Enclosure Rites’
consisting of line of ten figures (3ft high), processing like a medieval family
across a field next to a circular pond surrounded by a red painted stockade
fence.
Returning to more important things like getting to the pub,
I turned right on the northern edge of the wolds, a significant moment as this
turn pointed me towards the sea and my ultimate destination. This level traverse took me the rest of the
afternoon, with features such as woods, daffodils, sheep-filled fields and farms
all blending into one long period of concentration to finish off this long day.
The climb out of Sherburn was a pain as it seemed a gratuitous diversion to
keep the route away from the direct line, but eventually I finally came into
Ganton, and continued down to the main road to arrive at the pub just four
minutes earlier than expected (5.56pm). That was a very long day!
28 miles in 9hrs 10
mins + 15 minutes lunch stop.
Stayed in the Ganton Greyhound, took a quiet room at the
rear (away from the traffic noise) and had a meal of belly pork and stick
toffee pudding. The beer was Headland Red (4/3%) from Wold Top.
Thursday 22nd
March 2012 Ganton - Filey
I was down early for the 8am breakfast, was served quickly
and had my bags packed and was out into the cold clear morning before 8.30am.
There was a gentle start across some fields before a right turn led up to the
top of the wolds. Once this was gained, the route kept its height passed the
RAF station and then started to roller-coaster across a series of steep sided
dales.
Then came the only part of the whole route that was hard to
follow. Starting down the side of a ploughed field, a fingerpost was reached
that pointed at 90 degrees across the crops.
The farmer had not left any edge to walk on and the next half mile was
in soft ploughed soil with crops growing up fast on either side. I abandoned
the last leg of this section (across a sloping crop field) and went down a
fence boundary and across the crops in the base of Camp Dale. It was quite a
relief to get out of this interminable field and into a series of delightful
dales full of scrub and old trees.
Coming up for air, I found myself in sunshine once more
traversing the last ‘wold’ of the entire walk. The descent to Muston was easy
and I paused only briefly to replace my tracksters by walking trousers for the
return to civilisation. Soon I was in the outskirts of Filey. I called into the
railway station to check the train times and then followed the instructions in
the guide book to zigzag through the narrow streets and onto Filey Brigg. In
the mid-day sun it was a picture. In fact I stopped a couple and asked them to
take my picture with my phone to commemorate the end of a magnificent 80 mile
expedition.
13 miles in 4hrs 20min 23sec.
I turned my back on the sea and retraced my steps to the
station to catch the 13.42 train to Sheffield and onwards home. I felt strong
enough to walk home from the station but had to make a pit stop in the Treacle
Tap to see me on my way. A most invigorating few days!
