Londesborough

Distance: 3 ¼ miles / 5.2 km

Difficulty: Easy 
Walk Source: Walk 7 in the Jarrold Short Walks book: 'In and around the Vale of York'

After what seemed like weeks of rain, today was finally a sunny day, and I rushed home after work to get out for a walk before it got too late. I set off just before the worst of the traffic started, and after about 40 minutes I was nearing Londesborough. The walk started at the Towthorpe Corner Picnic Site, which, if you arrive from the direction of the A1079, is on the A614 just after roundabout by Karelia Cars. The picnic spot is easy to miss, as the sign for it is very small, but there are plenty of spaces where you can turn around if you need to, like I did.

The first thing to do is to cross the A614, then head along a field and onto a road. Soon the path heads downhill on a grassy track towards two small lakes. There is a little bridge to cross the path between the lakes, and then the path heads uphill again towards the village. The green was a deer park in the 18^th century, when the rich owners of the village used to arrange shooting parties for their friends. As you near the top of the hill you can see the deer shelters, where it is thought that the deer used to shelter and eat.

Next up is a detour to the village of Londesborough. This is an absolutely lovely charming village, with well kept gardens and pretty houses. Many of the houses have the Londesborough cipher on them, and are decorated with very pretty bargeboards. The village church rests between trees in the bottom corner of the village, and is surrounded by the graveyard where Thomas Knowlton, the gardener who designed the park, was buried after his death in 1781. It has a 10^th century Anglo-Danish sundial and cross, and a Norman doorway.

After the village the walk backtracks to where the path left the green fields, and carries on downhill on the grassy banks towards a little stream. It then goes uphill again, and crosses a large field, with scattered trees around. I lost track of the path for a little while, but found it again slightly further to the right than where I was. Eventually I made it to the small lake, and crossed by a bridge. There was a warning sign saying there were cows with calves in the field ahead, making me a little worried, but thankfully there were only sheep with their lambs.

Finally I found myself on the track where I had started off, and I doubled back towards the car. It was a lovely walk, surprisingly restful and unspoilt for such a farmed landscape. The park is relatively small, but as it turns out large enough to make a circular walk suitable for an evening stroll. It took me about an hour and a half to complete the walk, but as I only ambled I’m sure it can be done in a lot less. There is a bit of up and down, and after heavy rainfall some slippery grass and muddy patches, so good footwear would be recommended. However, the hills are sloping, so not too strenuous. 

Skipwith Common

Distance: 2 ¾ miles / 4.4 km

Difficulty: Easy 
Walk Source: Walk 3 in the Jarrold Short Walks book: 'In and around the Vale of York'

It had been chucking it down with rain all day, and it was still raining, but after a hectic week I really needed some fresh air, and this was my free afternoon. So off I went in spite of rain. Luckily I had the presence of mind to put waterproofs on, or it would have been a very wet experience indeed.

As often is the case with the Jarrold guide books, it was a little bit difficult to figure out where to start the walk. The map gave details of the only streets that were not marked with road signs, and the streets with their names marked round the village were not mentioned in the book. But after some attempts I finally found the parking space by Skipwith Common. If you come from York via Escrick you will drive past a pub called ‘The Drovers Arms’, and soon thereafter you will come upon a pond and green that form a triangular ‘roundabout’. At that point you want to keep along the top edge of the green, and carry on straight ahead, not choosing Common Road. After a while on the winding road you’ll find the parking space to the right. It is not marked, so if you’re not careful you might miss it.

After parking the car I headed down the track crossing the common. From the smell I assume a lot of people take their dogs for a walk just there. But in spite of the rain and the smell the area was beautiful. I can’t believe I’ve lived in York for so long and not discovered this jewel until now. I trogged on, avoiding puddles and stopping every few steps to take photos, and was yet again reminded that I could really do with a waterproof casing for my camera.

After crossing some fields and climbing some stiles I came to the village of Skipwith, a charming little place, with a surprising number of new houses – thankfully done in a style to fit in with the older ones. By this time the rain intensified, and I was wondering if maybe I need new waterproofs – there was water just about everywhere coming from all directions. But then I came to the green in the village, and found shelter under a large tree along with a couple of ducks.

The walk back was quite straightforward, after walking past another parking space for the Common I joined the track where I had started the walk, and was soon back by my car.

The walk took me about an hour and a half, but that was including a detour to have a look at the village church and repeatedly stopping for photos. I reckon that without the doodling the walk would take about an hour.  Parts of the walk would be suitable for buggies and wheelchairs, the paths between the two car parks were very broad and smooth, and also the road along the village was lovely. On a rainy day there were a few puddles, but at sunnier times it would be lovely and easy to traverse. 

Sheriff Hutton and Mowthorpe Hill

Distance: 7 miles / 11.3 km
Difficulty: Medium
Walk Source: Walk 19 in the Jarrold Pathfinder Guide book: 'Vale of York and the Yorkshire Wolds'

I had decided to go for a walk yesterday, so was pleasantly surprised to find that it wasn't raining (had woken up during the night to find rain thundering on the window). So after preparing a packed lunch and a flask of tea I set off to pick my friend up before heading out of town. There was quite a bit of traffic, but it wasn't moving too slowly, so after about 45 minutes we arrived at Sheriff Hutton. The book said to park in the village centre, and there were lots of places to park a car, so after some dithering we left it in a residential street.

Following the directions in the guide book, we set off in the direction of the church, and were soon in a field, surrounded by yellow rape flowers. We carried on for a while from one field to another, across a few streams, until the path bore uphill. The book was a little confusing at this point; I think some stiles and fences must have been moved since the book was published, so not all the directions made sense. But after ditching the written directions and trusting the map alone it all went better, and we were soon on the right track again.

I have to admit I found the hill by Primrose Farm quite steep, and my friend and I were both soon out of breath. It seemed to go on forever, but once at the top we looked back, and decided the climb was well worth the effort; there was a fantastic view of the vale of York. There was, however, also a bitter wind at the top of the hill, so we were soon on our way again.

After walking into a small valley we found a sheltered spot and sat down for lunch near Mowthorpe Bridge. This was our longest (and steepest) walk yet this season, so a break was very welcome at this point. We gout out our sitting-mats and refreshments, and suddenly - bliss. There was a sign warning of a bull in the field, but we didn't see it, so felt quite safe after all.

The rest of the walk was very pleasant, not too steep, and mostly sheltered from the wind. The path was rather muddy though, and we were happy to be wearing our walking boots rather than just trainers.

The last bit took us back to the village of Sheriff Hutton, a very idyllic place, with ruins of a castle dating back to the late 14th century.

The Pocklington Canal from Bielby

Distance: 2.25 miles / 3.6 km
Difficulty: Easy
Walk Source: Walk 2 in the Jarrold Short Walks book 'In and around the Vale of York'

 Today was a wet and miserable day, and I was feeling a bit poorly in the morning. But by the afternoon I decided that I might feel a bit better after some fresh air, even though it was raining. So I put on my waterproofs and grabbed my walking boots, and off I went. The start of the walk is only about a 20 minutes or so drive out of York on the A1079, so I was soon there.

I parked the car on the side of the road, next to the church, in Bielby, walked down Mill Lane towards the canal. Following the instructions in the book I walked to the end of Mill Lane, and at the Old Mill (now a private house) I crossed the bridge and turned right at the fork in the road along the banks of the canal.

It having rained the whole day, the grass was wet, but the path was still not too bad. The pylons crossing the path were not very pretty, and a bit noisy, but the path was still peaceful and calm. The canal was quite overgrown, and along the bank was a hawthorn hedge, just starting to sprout. And every now and again I spotted a white swan or two, floating and grazing in the canal. Some of them were also nesting on some absolutely huge nests in the middle of the water.

When I came to the Coat's Bridge I stopped and had a look at the lock in the canal before crossing the bridge and joining the path along the other side of the canal, in the opposite direction, walking back towards the village. The lock that used to raise the canal from the river has been restored, and looks quite pretty - it makes an interesting little stop.

The walk back was quite uneventful, until I came to another pretty bridge, a metal swing bridge.I crossed it and again turned back on myself, as the bridge is farther along than the village, and one has to turn back a bit. This side was, for me, the best bit. There was a charming small war memorial stone, erected in the memory of two 2nd world war soldiers who died after their plane crashed at the site. Following on from this was a mud path sneaking through some trees; it was like walking in a tree tunnel. The path wasn't too bad today, but I can see it being slippery after several days of rain.

Finally I was back where I started at Mill Lane, the walk had taken me about an hour, and I felt refreshed and calm.