Yorkshire Wolds Way #1 - Hessle to South Cave 22/05/16

12.9 miles, via North Ferriby, Welton, Wauldby & Brantingham.

National Trail means Selfies!
 Leg #1 at Hessle.

Spring Jollies are here already, as 2016 continues apace, and the feeling of not having achieved anything of substance so far this year has to be put aside as my path returns me to East Yorkshire and my next tilt a National Trail, as its been two years since my last one, and the nearest available one (aside from the Pennines's Way and Bridleway) is the Yorkshire Wolds Way, established in 1982 and a 79 mile coast to coast trek entirely within one county. It's a pretty sedate sort of trail too, not regularly topping 200m, and yet pleasingly remote without ever getting into moorland and feeling far from rural civilisation, but there will be ascents and descents, of remarkable steepness, along the way, so a bit of neat planning is in order to not get yourself too many long days over the long band of chalk that rises between the flatlands of the Vale of York and Holderness. My Parents have come along too, to share another residence at Barmston Farm, Woodmansey, and the relaxed days between the trail, and it's sort of fortunate that they are not of a mood to get too ambitious in their holidaying these days as I'm again in need of a taxi service to get me from point to point over the first three legs, and I'll be fancying just as much of a sit down and relax on my days off as they would as this is proving to be a generally tiring year in nearly all aspects. Anyway, enough rambling, after sitting Saturday out after a pleasingly long sleep and relax, the parental taxi is needed for a Sunday morning start on the Humber Estuary, amongst a landscape that couldn't be much further removed from that you would anticipate in the Yorkshire Wolds.

So we begin, by the Wolds Way seat on the shore of the Humber Estuary, by the car park on Cliffe Road on the edge of Hessle, on the outer suburban edge of Kingston upon Hull, already a busy wandering spot for the local dog walkers and joggers at 9.40am on a Sunday, and you can be pretty certain that the YWW starts here so the walker can wander beneath the majestically huge, and brand new at the time of the route's establishment, Humber Bridge. One time longest suspension bridge in the world and still a beast with a span of 1410m and a length of over a mile, linking East Yorkshire to Lincolnshire and casting heavy shadows in the morning sun, it's a place I've visited many times and it's still a feat of engineering to adore, a dynamic bit of architecture to enjoy before we head off into the chalk hills. However, the route inland doesn't start for over three miles, so we are going to have the Humber keeping us company for a while, as we take the beach walk around the Country Park Inn, and then join the Trans Pennine Trail route, and its cyclists, on the strip of land between the retaining walls of the riverbank and the railway line from Selby to Hull, all too quiet on a Sunday, but the dog walkers out here do need to be noted for their ambition as this is a long stretch with no escape routes. Good for getting the legs going, but not ideal for getting an evolving landscape as a couple of miles go down with only the Humber Bridge receding behind you, and interest focussed towards the rising north end of the Lincolnshire Wolds and the cements works at South Ferriby on the opposite bank. We only hit a change of landscape as the path drifts into the North Ferriby riverside park, where the locals are out to enjoy the morning sunshine and sights are finally gained of hills to the north, but we won't be getting there soon, as we pass the site of a Bronze Age boat excavation and the path drops down to the beach again, thankfully with the tide out as belief that this path would be passable at high water soon passes as it gets rather too muddy and slippery.

Eventually meet the secluded beach at the bottom of Long Plantation, and after picking up souvenir stones, it's time to head inland, into a delightfully sheltered woodland walk on the rise up to pass over the railway, and to get only the faintest of sights into suburban North Ferriby before passing out to meet the A63 slicing its route from west to east. Sight of this road suggests we are not too far from home in West Yorkshire, and the name of the local road, Melton Road, suggests we might be close to Leicestershire too, but after the long, long circuit to the far side of the main road, we can head back into the woods as Terrace plantation continues the inland trajectory, rising through the shade and among many rough chalk pits before cresting by the North Hull Scout Camp. It's predictably busy on a weekend like this, and we descend on the access track, noting the 5 mile marker along the way before arriving on Melton Bottom, and following Bow Lane uphill along the perimeter of Melton Quarry, before drifting to the eastern edge of Bow Plantation, offering us shady or exposed walks on a gradually north eastern drift, where I'll favour tree cover and an occasional estuary view rather than getting a full dose of sunlight on a day that is proving way hotter than I'd expected. Top out at Crossall Hill Lane and finally get some Wolds scenery looking over Welton Dale, but our next point of call is to be made at the bottom of Chapel Hill, and wander down into Welton village, well worthy of a circuit, despite being off piste, to see the church of St Helen, seemingly isolated by the canalised stream through the village, and the Green Dragon Inn, where infamous Highwayman Dick Turpin was finally arrested in 1798. Altogether a place of great charm and antiquity, and the route planners have been wise enough to provide a bench on the secondary village green, as this is as far as the amateur walker can get before needing lunch, and that's where I'll pause, to nosh my pizza and observe one of the famous Hull & District beige telephone boxes.

Depart Welton northwards on Dale Road, up past the impressively scaled multi storey mill, and on past the many mill ponds, starting to expect a lot of wooded seclusion before the dale opens out with plantation only covering the wesern half and the steep grassy slopes so distinctive to the Wolds rise to the east. It's typical of naming conventions that it is the dales that give the Wolds their notable features, whilst the hill tops, the actual wolds, that are much less distinctive, (like the Peak District is famous for its dales) but this is a good first taste of a Wolds dale, and I'll surely lose count of them before I'm done with this trail. This seems to be another popular route for the casual walker, rising to woodlands at the top and emerging across the farm track into a landscape that seems far removed from the Humber Estuary and just about anywhere else for that matter, rolling fields of arable land, and sight of the predictable fields of rapeseed are gained on the track over to Wauldby Manor farm. This was once a much larger village, but is now a gentrified mini-hamlet of estate building around the very upscale Wauldby Manor, complete with its own church and extensive duckpond within its grounds, and there's no indication at all of where you are in the greater landscape as the path drifts by Fox Covert and Turtle Hill, attention drawn to various wind turbines before taking an eastward shift on the track to Bottom Plantation. A gentle rise starts along Elloughton Dale Road, heading us up to the top of Brantingham Wold, and a look back will pick out much of the view over Holderness, with Kingston upon Hull spread forth across it, with the Humber bridge and the sails of Skidby windmill standing out prominently before the track roughens and plantations obscure the view eastwards and the view interests shifts westward, finally gaining a panorama by the 10 mile marker. Finally good to see Drax and Eggborough power stations, though Ferrybridge hides from view, the distant cranes of Goole, and the remoter hills  of the northern Peak district too, nothing over 50 miles away can easily be identified, but to my eyes the grey lump must be Holme Moss - Black Hill, and the dark strip before it is surely Woolley Edge!

Spout Hill provides a pretty sharp descent, challenging for cyclists, and the surreal view of the Humber estuary makes it appear to be higher up than we are, but before we've gone all the way down to Brantingham, the path swings north at the edge of Wandhills plantation and down a grassy track into Ellerker North Dale. Heavily wooded and seemingly remote, it's still a pleasing location for All Saints Brantingham, and the local sheepwash, constructed in the stream, and Dale Road is nicely peaceful as it winds its way up the valley floor, and the way continues out of the dale on a tightly packed gravel path, emerging to another viewpoint and a good place to call in the parental taxi before descending to Woodale farm and sliding around its thick evergreen hedge and descending on the rough track to the bottom of Woodale. Relatively small in scale and another that's covered in wild forestry, but the first to have a challenging ascent up the other side, heading up across tightly packed contours before levelling out and giving a pleasantly wooded walk to Mount Airy farm, one which has the East Riding vernacular style and an excellent aspect at over 120m elevation. Follow the farm driveway down to pass through the woods and to swing north to a fresh prospect, with South Cave laid below and a long look up the Vale of York face of the Wolds, picking out some familiar shapes seen up close and at distance over the last year or so. The Vale offers far less to identify, but the Dales - North Pennines massif shows up on the far horizon, and it's certainly nice to gain a fresh perspective over Yorkshire in my fifth walking season, one to log for later reference, as I put on the moves to achieve the finish time I'd promised. Steep Lane earns its name as it drops down to Beverley Road, just outside the edge of South Cave, and whilst the YWW heads north, we'll continue down into the town, carting its suburban growth as we go as meeting the folks in the centre has got to be the easiest plan of all. The A1034 Market Place has all the charm you'd expect of an 18th Century market town, and the Jubilee Clock Tower is enough of a landmark to be easily locatable by both parties, and we are done with Leg #1 at 2.55pm, so what if I've wandered off piste again, this is one of those places that deserves, and needs, its closer examination.

5,000 Miles Cumulative Total: 2191.2 miles
2016 Total: 176.8 miles
Up Country Total: 1994.5 miles
Solo Total: 1961.1 miles

The Humber Bridge, and you know the path came here deliberately to see it,
and why not? Its one of the engineering triumphs of the 1980s!

Trans Pennine Trail path, betwixt Hessle and North Ferriby, ideal for views
of the Lincolnshire Wolds, but no sign of the Yorkshire ones yet.

The site of the North Ferriby Bronze Age boat excavation,
also the Millennium Beacon and the first suggestions of distant hills.

North Ferriby beach and the bottom of Long Plantation,
goodbye to more than 3 miles of the Humber Estuary.

The A63, cutting its broad swathe across the southern East Riding, and it's the last major road
we'll be seeing on this trail, as the rest of the county is not loaded with trunk routes.

Terrace Plantation, and the access road to the Scouts' campsite tells us
we are 5 miles out already, and it's only 74 miles to go to Filey Brigg!

At the top of Bow Plantation, we finally get us some proper
Wolds landscape to absorb, looking down into Welton Dale.

Welton, where my Parents once stayed, and I didn't make the
association until much later, a village just loaded with charm.

Welton Dale, and every Wolds dale shares a similar profile, with the steeply
sloping sides and level bottom, with grass cover that looks a lot like ruggled carpet.

Wauldby Manor farm, surely one of the most upscale farmhouses
in the land, surely it's actually the manor house itself?

On Brantingham Wold, heading for bottom plantation.

The first good view as far as West Yorkshire comes on the western edge of
Brantingham Wold, with 10 miles done and it's good to feel close to home!

Ellerker North Dale, and All Saints, Brantingham. Have we
found one of the best views of the Wolds Way already?

Descending into Woodale, and the Humber Estuary still keeps us
company, stretching inland to Goole, if you can see the cranes.

The Western profile of the Wolds from Steep Lane, above South Cave, and
the eagle eyed might identify the Church Hill of Holme on Spalding Moor.

Jubilee Block Tower, South Cave, and a town to visit along the way provides
a nice change of scenery, because we won't be seeing many more on this trail.

Next Up: The Way leads further inland, and 2,000 miles Up Country goes down!