Yorkshire Wolds Way #6 - Ganton to Filey Brigg 08/09/16

12.1 miles, via Staxton Wold, Cotton Dale Slack, Flixton Wold, Lang Dale, Raven Dale,
 Camp Dale, Folkton Wold, Stocking Dale, Muston Wold, Muston & Filey.

National Trail means Selfies!
#6 at Ganton

Second Intermediate rest day is spent on a trip down memory lane, visiting the North York Moors Railway to ride the rails from Pickering to Whitby and back behind 61264, which is four hours worth of excursion in itself, but still leaving enough time to return to base for an evening stroll around The Bay, on the site of Filey Butlin's, which is really crystallising as 'The Village' in my mind, and to wander all the way down to the beach too. I'm not on a coast to coast trail so my arrival by the sea doesn't feel like a cheat, especially as Filey bay must be one of the best beaches in the county, and certainly one of the least populated too, and it's not just good for paddling and sandcastles at it has history too, World War II era pillboxes rest on the sand to provide transportation to another age. Back in September though, and it's completion time, as my second National Trail is due to go down, and the distances needed to be travelled get ever shorter as we ride the Parental Taxi back to Ganton, one time home of Harry Vardon, pioneering late 19th century golfer and 6 time Open Champion, for a 9.40am start by St Nicholas's church, and for the first time in all my walking days, it looks like I might risk company on the trail as another quartet of walkers are arriving as I start out onto the field boundaries that rise through the recently harvested fields that sit above a haze covered Ryedale. The uphill drift on the early going is to be expected, but the hard work in my lungs isn't, and the first hard rise on the appropriately named Wold Lane demands an early watering break, letting the other walkers take the day's lead, before heading up a tree-lined and cattle observed track to meet the 65 mile marker, and my doubts about the Wolds Way's actual length start to surface as I note the miles to go to Filey count has decreased by 6 miles since East Heslerton Brow.

Yorkshire Wolds Way #5 - Wintringham to Ganton 06/09/16

10.6 miles, via Deep Dale Plantation, Knapton Plantation, West Heslerton Brow,

 East Heslerton Brow, Sherburn (sort of) & Potter Brompton.

National Trail means Selfies!
#5 near Wintringham.

After the longest day on the Wolds Way, the first intermediate rest day of this break doesn't have to be too busy, taking a modest jaunt out to Bempton Cliffs RSPB site, and to Flamborough Head to give us our fill of chalk cliffs, birdlife and lighthouses, not a bad way to spend a day that forgets how to be sunny shortly after lunchtime. Back to the trail on Tuesday, we think, the more modest distance on the Way not requiring the earliest of starts, and the odd tradition of Long Trail walking comes around once again, as regardless of how you divide your days, one day always seems to come out unusually short, but that's not a bad thing when it might come on the most straightforward of the whole  bunch. So the Parental Taxi drops me off at 9.50am on the western corner of Wintringham, and having barely seen any of the village last time, we might be seeing even less of it today, as the path skirts the fields to the north, focusing attention on the tree clad hillside to come, and less on the houses, hidden away behind a thick curtain of hawthorn hedges. I do wonder if the Way's presence offended the village when it was laid out, and hope that it wasn't the other way around, but a visit to St Peter's church is necessary before we move on, not least because its slender spire has been a sentinel since coming off the hills, and a view up close will show that it has an impressive collection of gargoyles and carvings when viewed up close. Back to the path, and the 55 mile marker is met at the field corner before the ascent is started up to Deep Dale plantation, and once the wood is met initial going is on a broad track with only the gentlest of rises, which gets you all relaxed before the dread sets in when the fingerpost that indicates straight up is met. The ascent out is 50m up at what seems like 40 degrees, as harsh an angle as we've ever met on any trip, one which needs low gear and lady steps to get up, thankful that it's dry underfoot and not showing up any slick stones, a proper lung-burster for the early going on a day I'd thought might be easy.

Yorkshire Wolds Way #4 - Fridaythorpe to Wintringham 04/09/16

17.4 Miles, via Brubber Dale, Thixen Dale, Cow Wold, Vessey Pasture Dale, Deep Dale,
 Wharram Percy, Wharram le Street, Cowcliff Hill, Whitestone Dale, Settrington Beacon
  & Milburn Fields.

National Trail means Selfies!
#4 at Fridaythorpe

To late Summer holidays with My Parents then, to walk the remainder of the Yorkshire Wolds Way and hopeful for a largely relaxed week, away from the stresses of work, abandoned to its own devices as I dash out at lunchtime on Friday so we can all take a leisurely ride out to Filey to take up a week's residence at Perran Court in The Bay development, south of the town. Unfortunately, an easy start is not what we get as even before we've even gotten in through the front door, My Dad takes a fall in the hallway, cutting his forehead, and we have to get the ambulance responder called out to tend to him before spending a large chunk of the evening at A&E in Scarborough hospital as he gets assessed and glued back together. Fortunately, indications suggest that he hasn't done any lasting damage to himself and the worst knock has gone on his confidence, so we can all return to base for a very late tea and be thankful that we hadn't planned anything for Saturday, as we sleep off most of the morning and do little more than shopping and seeing a few sights through the teeming rain in the afternoon. Thus, Sunday morning means walking time, and rising for an early start as we have chosen to holiday close to our destination on the Yorkshire Wolds Way, and therefore about as far as we could get from our start point for the week, but we've ridden the A166 on our ride out so heading back out there offers no difficulties for my Parental taxi, and it's only a 45 minute burn away. An early start to proceedings then, as this will be the longest day on the Way, and I know that it could get challenging after many miles on the flatter lands of Yorkshire, so away from Fridaythorpe at 9.15am, with its village green and duck pond looking exactly the same as I did the last time I came this way (aside from all the cones set out for Wedding parking at St Mary's church) and head out to meet the farm track off the Thixendale Road, past the animal feed mill and out onto the high fields.

Yorkshire Wolds Way #3 - Londesborough to Fridaythorpe 26/05/16

14.2 miles, via Nunburnholme, Warren Dale, Sylvan Dale, Nettle Dale, Pasture Dale, Huggate, Horse Dale & Holm Dale.


National Trail means Selfies!
#3 at Londesborough

Wednesday brings the rain, as is predictable for May, and a rest day is spent with limited activity, like hitting the Woodmansey garden centre for many, many cups of tea, and taking a ride into Beverley to check out the new Flemingate shopping centre and to get in a cut price meal in Prezzo. Rest is good when faced with the glum day that follows, with no chance of the sunshine enjoyed on the first two days, and so the will is stiffened and a determined attitude is donned for a 9.30am start in Londesborough, picking up the path outside All Saints church once again, and determining this estate village as notably desirable in a brick built and Arts & Crafts sort of way, before pressing off north-ish along a lane which seems to lack a name and carries us to the very lowest edge of the Wolds Terrain. Naturally, with limited elevation and grey skies, it's here we find an interpretative board, to point out the sights of Vale of York which are largely hidden by the low-hanging cloud, only Church Hill at Holme on Spalding Moor is identifiable. It's an altogether inauspicious start to the days trail, with only Cleaving Coombe illustrating the scenery you'd expect of the Wolds, and once the next lane has been met and the yard of Partridge Hall has been traversed, we hit a field walk around the low edge of Burnby Wold and the long grass gives the trews a heavy soaking, meaning that spirits start to dip as we meet the rough growth and sketchy path down towards Nunburnholme. It's a village with a stream, and nuns, if the name is to be believed, but we won't be seeing much more of it than a few houses and the quaint church of St James (complete with organ rehearsal!) before landing on another field walk, with more long grass getting me we right up to my thighs, and spirits aren't good as we note that we have dropped well below the expected altitudes of the Wolds and the coming paths are going to feature a lot more uphill trekking.

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.

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.