The Yorkshire Wolds Way

19^th - 22^nd 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 19^th 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 20^th 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 21^st 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 22^nd 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!