Alone Beneath The Sky: Wetherby to Tadcaster via The Ainsty 24/09/16

18.2 miles, via Bickerton, Bilston in Ainsty, Healaugh, Catterton, Bilborough, Colton,
Steeton Hall & Oxton.

A weekend at the End of Summer drops from the schedule so that a 20 years since University graduation reunion can go ahead in Leeds, reuniting six of the ten guys who shared a block in the Henry Price flats back in 1993-94, along with two long term associates, to re-establish some old acquaintances and catch up on what's been going on in the last two decades, going from lunchtime drinks and dinner at Whitelock's all the way to the Union and student land in the late quarter. A good way to burn a weekend, and to use Sunday to sleep off the hangover, and after that comes Autumn and the last few stretches of the walking season, as the weather demands long sleeves be worn again, and the low sun reminds you that shorter days are on the horizon, and thus the long trails left on the 2016 schedule need to be approached as soon as possible. Thus to Wetherby, on an overlong bus ride to not get going until past 9.50am, setting course for a long tour around the Ainsty of York, one of those fascinating and baffling divisions of ancient local government that put a large wedge of territory between the Wharfe, Ouse and Nidd in the administration of the City of York, taking in a route that isn't the shortest possible path between my two destinations. It's rare to wander, but sometimes it's necessary to see villages that wouldn't otherwise drop into the schedule easily, and so first steps are taken up Wetherby's High Street and North Street, confirming my belief that this is a town of many boutiques, and also looking pretty ripe for a pub crawl, enjoying the various terraces up to the junction with York Road, where retirement flats have replaced the car dealership and progressing out of town past the old Goods station site and out towards the motorway. Over the A1(M), and gain another fresh view of Wetherby racecourse, viewed from its northern edge this time, and that will be our companion for a while as we pace east past HMYOI Wetherby, keeping to the northern side of the road as it offers a better footway and the best method of keeping away from the hedge-cutting machinery.

Step into the unknown beyond the Racecourse entrance and the town's relief road, walking against the traffic on the B1224, finding that this would be a good spot to buy a country house, as Swinnow Hill Hall is up for sale, as is the development at Ingmanthorpe Grange for those with more modest means, and this old turnpike seems to be good for old road signs too, as one identifies it as the Collingham & York road, and another identifies the Walton - Bickerton parish boundaries. Pass into North Yorkshire and the novelty of road walking has worn off by the time the bridleway alternative is met, and so a rough track is joined on the field boundaries to wander over to the driveway to the farm at Willowgarth and on among the fields of sheep to meet the track leading to Lingcroft Grange, and from there Bickerton isn't too far away to be our first village visit, some three miles into the day. Altogether a modest place, lacking any real facilities but loaded with great Ainsty house, brick built with white window and high-pitched roofs, with the commuter growth mostly hidden from view, and walking through it being clearly the best way to visit as it lacks any through roads, and a nice place to see in the early going before returning to York Road to press on east. Harrogate District has been good enough to install a footway alongside the road in these parts, so the going is secure, despite the road being much narrower than the gap between it perimeter hedges, suggesting that this is one of those roads that has diminished significantly in importance over the years, and it's nice to see Rudgate again on our travels, crossed for the fourth time this year. The interesting feature along this stretch must surely be Bilton Hall, if it could be seen through the banks of trees that surround it, and all we can see is the lodge and gateway as the house hides from view and doesn't offer the passer-by even the smallest of views into their estate. Soon enough though, we can leave the York Road as a cluster of roadside house announces Bilton in Ainsty's arrival, and its best feature is found slightly removed from the main village, as St Helen's church sits by the main road, and claims the title of best Norman church in the Ainsty, in the chapel style but much wider than usual, almost certainly aisled, and probably too large even when serving both Bilton and Bickerton.

This is another village that sits in a cul de sac, with a farm and the best buildings occupying the frontages down Church Street, with the Chequers Inn to be found at the village's bottom, at least ensuring some traffic comes this way, in search of well-regarded pub lunches, if the advertising is to be believed. The southwards tack comes on as we start to pace the bridleway that leads towards Healaugh, snaking its way onward, largely enclosed and feeling like a forgotten country lane until it peters out at Nova Scotia wood and turns into a rough field boundary walk for a while, feeling vaguely driveable again once it hits a rise and offers a panorama towards Thorpe Arch and Tadcaster, indicating our immediate proximity to our destination. We won't be following the familiar power lines towards Wighill though, instead carrying on to the south east on the hard track past Healaugh Grange farm and its slurry pit and on to the roads once again at Wighill Lane, altogether too busy for my liking, instead joining the footpath that rides the slightly higher ground from Church Farm to the top edge of the village. This is the best place to view the church of St John the Baptist, Norman again with a slightly incongruous turret, as well as the late 17th century Old Hall which really deserves as close a look as you can get without walking on the lawn, and thence it's on down through the village, perhaps my favourite place in this quarter, but I'd prefer a bit more sunshine as we pass along the street of attractive brick house and a number of garden orchards, and even the new arrivals on the Main Street have been blended in very well. Pause at the same bench as last time to take lunch before starting on down Catterton Lane, past council houses, the only ugly buildings in the village, before finding that this single track road has way more traffic than it deserves, and that the high hedges enclosing it make personal security that bit more difficult when you can't see what's coming. A good lane for finding interestingly shaped trees and getting the odd view towards Tadcaster, but we're got some way to go eastwards before we get there, first passing through Catterton itself, barely even qualifying as a hamlet as it arranges a collection of farms around two kinks in the road with minimal growth in the 20th century, all still looking good in the Ainsty style, despite the largest house having many carrier bags hung under its eaves to prevent Swallows from nesting.

Press on along Moor Lane, enclosed by dense hedges once again as far as Moor Farm, before vistas open up to look south to what must be some familiar woodlands and forward as the lane rises to show Bilbrough Manor enjoying its own view to the west, one which can be taken in once the modest ascent has been made to look back as far as the Pennines from only 40m up, which compensate for the house vanishing from view. Up through the shade of trees to meet Bibrough, moving onto Main Street to get the full effect of another proud Ainsty village, with a couple of large scale beauties up by the church, dedicated to St James and oddly Victorian in this heartland of Norman establishments, and aside from the whitewashed pub, The Three Hares, most everything on the street front looks good in the style that I seem to be so enthusiastic about. I couldn't say much nice about the suburbia that has grown around the village though, but it's a lot more Healaugh than Copmanthorpe overall, so it's all good to be honest, but moving on to the east along Cat Lane we get our great views from the highlands of the Ainsty in three different directions, clocking the Kilburn White Horse, York Minster and the Wolds Profile in short order. Soon descend down to below 15m and actually reach York District by the Buckles Inn, next to the A64 but instead of pressing on east, we turn south to the roadside and achieve a surprisingly easy crossing of the dual carriageway and enter the shaded walk through Bilbrough plantation, a long wander through a narrow woodland to meet the Old Street path, and a field walk over to Hagg Lane. Onwards past Colton Haggs farm and B'n'B, and south to Lady Flat farm, with the sound of rail traffic around Colton junction making this quiet corner seem busier than it really is, before the lane swings back to the west to start the inbound section of the day, pausing at the first convenient bench to have a late lunch session before entering Colton village. Of all the villages seen today, this is the only one that seems disappointing, not feeling particularly substantial with Ye Old Sun Inn and the Victorian brick (and single cell) church of St Paul as it best features, maybe I'm all Ainsty-ed out and not seeing the good side, or maybe I'm starting to tire and not looking forward to the homeward leg into the teeth of an Autumnal breeze and the late afternoon gloom that unfortunately comes with the season.

Out to Colton Lane, oddly busy for this location, and find a quieter lane to make for safer going in the direction of Steeton Hall farm, and after a lot of road walking it feels good to be aiming cross country again, making our choice our paths at the farm, clearly ancient and claiming an establishment date of 1487 by the Fairfax family, though the surrounding village has been lost for a long time, and route picking is rendered complicated by being on the map fold that has been worn through as E290 has had a lot of action this year. Field walk to the south west, accompanied by a local dog, making sure that I am not up to no good, meeting a hedge and a ditch to follow for quite a distance, trying to get sense of my location by identifying the local plantations, but it seems that there are a lot more trees on the ground than there are on the map, indeed one forest of sticks has grown up right next to the path. Pass back to the fields and roll up to Lowmoor Farm, boarded up and securely padlocked, an honest to goodness abandoned farm, something you do not see often in these days of executive makeovers, then crossing the footbridge over the wide drain to field walk along the side of another developing plantation and into the fields behind Pallathorpe Farm. This one clearly thoroughly in business and a local focal point as it has other houses associated to it, as well as more suggestions of ancient origin in a few of it buildings, but we won't be lingering on its driveway for long as a footpath walk across its fields of cattle is the shortest route to our end point via Oxton Road. So face the traffic again, and ponder if Oxton is even worthy of being called a hamlet, as it is has only two large houses and three smaller ones, with its farm standing slightly detached from it, I'll conclude porbably no, and ponder if it had a greater prominence in the distant past, but attention now focuses towards the end of the day as we meet the shady perimeter of Oxton Hall, family seat of the brewing Smiths of Tadcaster. Over the A64 and we meet North Tadcaster's suburbia and council houses, as well as a convenient footpath down behind The Grange to roll us out behind the bus station, where young girls are practising their gymnastic moves, oddly, but we still need to make for the south bank, over the temporary footbridge that is taking on an air of permanence these days. Another look at Tadcaster bridge is necessary to see just what a huge task this repair job must be before the last footsteps are made along High Street as it shuts up shop for the day, finished at 4.45pm, with the evening rapidly closing in, a long day for Autumn and a reminder that personal steel will be needed in the late weeks of the season.

5,000 Miles Cumulative Total: 2485.5 miles
2016 Total: 471.1 miles
Up Country Total: 2270 miles
Solo Total: 2254.6 miles