Alone Beneath The Sky: Yorkshire Wolds Way #2 - South Cave to Londesborough 24/05/16

14.4 miles, via Weedley Dale, High Hunsley, Swin Dale, Newbald Wold, Hessleskew, Arras
& Goodmanham.

National Trail means Selfies!
#2 at South Cave

I'm not going for consecutive days of walking, even when the weather is spectacularly warm and clear, I still need my rest days and Monday will be spent on Retail Therapy and Fish'n'Chips in Hornsea (both rather belatedly) and driving around Holderness to watch the continuing disappearance of the caravan park and WW2 era battery at Kilnsea. Back to the trail on Tuesday then, with the parental taxi taking me to the edge of South Cave for a 9.45 start, with the sun blazing down once again, and after the gentle start to day one, we are straight into the hard stuff today, hitting the pull and ascent away from Beverley Road and up to Little Wold Plantation, for some shady going and the rise to Comberdale Hill for what ought to be our last views back to the trail seen before and our long time companion the Humber Estuary. The descent down to Weedley Dale is made through is subsidiary branch Comber Dale, and the high sided valley below would be a fascinating feature in itself but becomes even more interesting with the presence of the former Hull & Barnsley main line running through it. I've mentioned that the H&BR was a late arrival and always doomed failure in competition with the NER, and had to build a heavily engineered route through the Wolds as their rival had already claimed the easiest path, and part of that line, operational from 1885 to 1959 can be found here. The Drewton Estate might not want us to walk the Wolds Way down their chalk cutting anymore, but I'll have a trespass when at this close proximity, westwards down to Weedley Tunnel, short and in good condition, though gated off, and eastwards to Sugar Loaf tunnel, also short but in much worse condition with deteriorating lining, but accessible right through to the cutting infilling at its eastern portal. Worth a look with no one around to chase you away, and that will satiate my need for railway relics for now, as the mile-plus beast of Drewton Tunnel is too remote and inaccessible for the casual visitor.

Back to the formal trail for the escape from Weedley Dale, on a broad track up through the rising East Dale, so called because it heads north, the track narrowing and woods getting denser on the rise to its top, another good test for the lungs, before emergence onto the fields up on High Hunsley. The wind blows in here, to offset the heat experienced in the shade and to make you glad that long sleeves were donned this morning, and a follow of the field boundary will take you up to the 15 mile marker, and a renewed view of the Vale of York, revealing all three power stations in the Aire Valley, and the distant shape of York Minster, visible from much further away than the last time I saw it remotely, and with the sense of awe and elevation renewed, the identity of the hills of the Yorkshire Dales and Northern Pennines is the thing that will vex me today. Meet the B1230, the North Cave - Beverley Road and follow the path by the Rapeseed fields up to High Hunsley Beacon, logging the nearby radio mast as a landscape feature and starting the next decline down to Whin Lane, followed east to wonder what those trellis towers with bird hides atop them might be, before starting to lose sense of the surrounding landscape again as the field walk is made down to the very top of Swin Dale. A sharp descent take us to the bottom of the completely dry valley, with sheep and rough grass for company in the upper quarter, and my mind knows that I must be in the vicinity of 2,000 miles Up Country as I pass through, but can't get myself an accurate fix whilst on the ground, my milestone is actually met in the second quarter of the dale, the one that is a riot of Buttercups. The lowest quarter of Swindale is wider than many, with enough valley floor to be cultivatable, but there's still rough grass and trees up along its fringes and it's an altogether pleasant place to be before you find your way to relative civilisation with the road down to North Newbald, a mile or so off route.

Ascent time comes at Wrangman Dale farm, the first substantial building seen up close since the start of the day, and the rough and steep ascent up to Newbald Wold takes us across Stoneknowle Hill and onto the long and level track over the Wold that is dominated by wind turbines, and again an ideal bench is found for lunch, south facing with the wind behind me, with surely our last view down to the Humber? On a track full of ups and downs it's good to get some level going for a while, even if it can seem monotonous at times, as the Wolds Way needs to be about more than the valleys, and the high hedges are good for keeping the wind off, though the lack of an eastward aspect is frustrating, even when the 144m trig point is met, the fields just continue to roll at elevation in the direction of Holderness. The 20 mile marker is met at Gare Gate, in the middle of nowhere and incorrectly located at 19.5 miles, but the passage beyond gets a bit more interesting, with views down to the dale in the direction of Sancton, and the arrival of a road surface near the hamlet of Hessleskew, where agricultural equipment is being put out on show, strangely. Views west come on at the top of Arras Wold, and on pushing up to the A1079, I feel pretty secure that I'm only two hours distant from the finish as My Mum calls for progress report. Crossing roads previously travelled has this virgin territory feeling nicely familiar, and the first steps towards Goodmanham Dale are made through the hamlet of Arras, with a name that predates the battle of 1917, right through the middle of the farmyard to meet the long angled walk to make the gradual decent over nearly 2 miles do the bottom of the valley. Sights to the east return, including the prominent spire of St Mary's South Dalton, but no angle at all to Beverley Minster, which really ought to have been visible from this trail, so instead, looks up the hill will show the Market Weighton Beacon, and views down will show up my previous path over the Wolds, though a lot of guessing has to be made to spot the former railway, not least because the weather provided sheets of rain on that particular day.

Eventually drop into the wrinkles of Goodmanham Dale, and a field of cows and calves has to be carefully negotiated before the road is met and the old railway becomes identifiably apparent (note the NER finding the easiest possible route over the Wolds), and we cease to walk on the Moon as the path crosses the Hudson Way and my trail to the coast, attaching the Wolds Way to my field of experience. We'll no be going to Market Weighton on the alternative route as the YWW avoids another Wolds town, instead rising up the other side of the dale, much more steeply than the way in, to pass up to the village of Goodmanham, the first actual village seen all day and providing the first pavement to walk along too. It's a pleasant cluster of farms and old houses around All Saints church, and a natural break spot, to consume the rest of my lunch and post an ETA time to my parental taxi. Depart via the track of Wateringdale Lane, down beneath the former NER Market Weighton - Driffield line (1890-1965), and then following a gentle rise up along the boundaries of fields of long grass and chalk farming to get a westwards view once more, but the weather has taken a turn and the warmth has gone from the air, dense cloud suggesting rain with only brief bursts of sunshine. So set course for the finish line, passing the picnic site by the A614 (perhaps the East Riding has more main roads than I'd thought), hitting the field boundary over towards Londesborough Park and getting some last looks at the Power Stations, the Minster and the crest of Lincolnshire as we hit the road that slips towards the estate and its farms. Hit the grassy track across the park, where the cows roam and the trees are impressive, passing over the ornamental lakes, a rare water feature in the Wolds, passing the 25 mile marker, and on up the other side only getting small views of the 19th century brick house (the original hall being demolished by the Devonshires in the 1820 in order to build Chatsworth). The track slips into the utterly charming estate village of Londesborough beyond the trees and I can delight my Parental taxi as I appear within a minute of their arrival, and I'll move on to my finish point at All Saints church, all done at 3.30pm, right on the nose of my prediction.

5,000 Miles Cumulative Total: 2205.6 miles
2016 Total: 191.2 miles
Up Country Total: 2008.9 miles
Solo Total: 1975.5 miles