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So far we have come from Nottingham, via D.H. Lawrence country, the highest point in Nottinghamshire, a couple of country parks and Hardwick Hall to Bolsover and its castle, Creswell Crags, The Chesterfield Canal, Roche Abbey, Conisbrough Castle, Bramham Park, Boston Spa and Wetherby.
Goldsborough to Ripon.
Having reached the edge of Goldsborough the aim is to take the left turn and head south-westwards along Mill Lane, but it might be interesting to have a walk through the village. There is a pub called The Bay Horse Inn (built of limestone) that also does bed and breakfast and dinners.
The Bay Horse © Chris Heaton
A little further along Church Street there is Goldsborough Hall. This goes back to c.1620. In 1756 it was purchased by David Lascelles of Harewood and it remained in their family for 200 years. It is of brick construction with stone decoration around the doors and windows. There is also a fine range of cottages on the roadside in the same style.
The Hall became the family home of Princess Mary, the Princess Royal, our Queen’s aunt, on her marriage to Henry Lascelles, the 7th Earl of Harewood in 1922. It is now a high class hotel and wedding venue. If you were to spend the night there or even have afternoon tea then the gardens would be open to you to have a look around.
Sitting at the eastern end of the village you will find The Church of St. Mary the Virgin and although not particularly exciting it does have a Norman door on the south porch. Most of it was built between 1250 and 1300 in the Early English and Decorated styles but the top part of the tower is probably 14th century. It is built of limestone and gritstone and the gritstone shows more signs of weathering.
Just outside the north wall of the churchyard a silver Viking hoard was discovered during drainage work in 1859. It was made up of fragments of brooches and arm rings and 39 coins dating from 800-1000 A.D. Three of these were Anglo-Saxon and the rest were of Islamic origin from the Middle East.
Going back to Mill Lane the first thing of note is the pond on the left where you can see milkmaids and willow trees. This farm track is separated from a huge arable field by a hawthorn and elder hedge. And in the grass verge there are the usual suspects - umbellifers, speedwell, cleavers plus sun spurge. To the southwest Tickhill Farm stands in front of Tickhill Wood and ahead Knaresborough comes more clearly into view.
You will reach a farm gate just before a pylon line passes overhead. After another gate Goldsborough Mill Farm appears. There is yet another gate to pass through before entering the farmyard. The house is built of brick but most of the older buildings are of brown Permian sandstone. The old mill itself is now ruinous. The bridge over the River Nidd reveals the latest addition to this place. That is the water turbine in the form of an Archimedean screw placed at the side of the weir to generate hydro electricity. Whether it was actually functioning at the time of writing I’m not sure but the river level was quite low at the time. It is one of about 670 similar projects in the UK. Most of these are in Scotland.
Hydro Plant, Goldsborough Mill © Mike Cooper
We then go up a shady track where in Summer you will see ivy-leaved toadflax growing on the wall on the left. There were ramsons, periwinkle and ferns on the bank. Ignore the track going off to the left and continue ahead passing a rock exposure on the left and a garden on the right, up to the B6164. Cross over to the roadside path on the other side and carry on to the right up to the roundabout. Cross the A658 here, keeping the roundabout to your right. You will see a sign for the Lido holiday park in front of you. There are spaces here for touring caravans. You are now entering Knaresborough and you may need to allow a fair bit of time to give it your attention.
Knaresborough.
The known history of Knaresborough really begins with the foundation of the Norman Castle in about 1100. It was built on top of the cliff 25m above the river. In 1170 Hugh de Moreville and his followers took refuge here after their assassination of Thomas Becket. King John regarded it as an important northern fortress and made improvements, as did Edward 1st and Edward 2nd. During the Civil War it fell to the Parliamentary forces after the Battle of Marston Moor and later was largely destroyed. What remains now is from 1310-1340.
St. John the Baptist’s parish church also goes back to the 12th century but was altered during the 14th and 15th centuries.
There has been a market here at for at least 800 years and it’s held every Wednesday.
Then of course there is Mother Shipton. Ursula Southeil lived from 1488-1561 and is renowned for making many prophesies, although some of these have been tampered with or added to over the years.
In 1848 the railway came to town and upset some people by carving its way right through, close to the church. Pevsner calls it “one of the most notable railway crimes of England”. It does though go through a tunnel beneath the High Street, and the viaduct above the River Nidd creates a classic view.
For the first time on the walk we are really in “tourist land”. There aren’t many quiet spots here but that means that there is a lot to see. The riverside walk can take in the sculpture trail, ice cream, a boat on the water and Mother Shipton’s cave. Up the hill you can find the castle, shops and market place and a café or two, and don’t forget the pubs.
There is also a swimming pool and a theatre. For overnight or longer stays there are hotels, guest houses and holiday cottages.
There are no large supermarkets but plenty of small independent shops. In the Market Place is the oldest chemist’s shop in England and a statue to Blind Jack of Knaresborough – John Metcalf (1717 -1810) who built about 290 km of turnpike roads between 1765 -1792, mainly in the North of England.
As you come away from the roundabout, St. James’ Retail Park is away over to the right. There, should you need it, is a burger restaurant, a coffee shop, a food store and a “midnight pharmacy”. However, our route bypasses that by following the public bridleway sign close by the exit for the B6164. This will lead you through to the old Wetherby Road. There are houses along here on the right. Pass the entrance to the “leisure park” and stay on left-hand side of road. Pass the sign for Watermill café (unless you want to visit) and cross Grimbald Bridge over the River Nidd and go left into Abbey Road.
At first this seems like a quiet country lane but it will get busier. There are so many things to see along here that there isn’t space for much detail. The first point to note is St. Robert’s Cave. This is on the left and down some steps, with an information board to tell you all about it. The rock is interesting too.
St. Robert's Cave © Beth Peart
Of the many buildings, old and new there are points to be made. Quite a lot are named after the Abbey or the Priory. The building stones vary from Permian limestone to Coal Measures sandstones in colours from grey to orange. There are a number of plaques explaining the history of some of them. A couple of the wooden sculptures recently added to the scene can take you by surprise. On the right is a strange beast (a dragon?) and later on the left is a kingfisher catching a fish.
Here be Dragons © Beth Peart
Most of all are the magnificent cliffs (up to 20m high) where the very bottom of the Magnesian Limestone series sits directly on the Carboniferous rock. Geologists call this an unconformity, but more on that later.
At the far end of Abbey Road look out for the Chapel of Our Lady of the Crag, and Fort Montague otherwise known as The House in the Rock.
You will meet Briggate (the B6163) at the bottom of Bunkers Hill near Low Bridge and continue across the road to go along Waterside. This is probably best left on sunny weekends, Bank Holidays when the weather is good or one weekend in June when the annual bed race is held. It can be very busy indeed..
After passing the car park you will come to Mill Steps on the right that would take you up to the town centre. A little further, some more steps go up to the castle. Then the rocks really dominate. Castle Crag is right at the roadside and towers above and this is where the unconformity is best seen. The bottom 2m or so is the Carboniferous sandstone. This was laid down soon after the coal was deposited about 300 million years ago. Above that are the Permian beds that came in after a break of 50 million years, during which the higher Carboniferous rocks were eroded away. For health and safety reasons the upper beds have been caged in leaving the Carboniferous rocks free and so drawing a line just where the unconformity is.
The Unconformity © Mike Cooper
Along the next stretch are some public toilets, numerous ice cream shops and cafes plus opportunities to take a boat out on the river. You will pass under the viaduct that carries the railway from Harrogate to York. This is featured in most pictures of Knaresborough, usually photographed from the castle grounds with the church beyond. There are steps up to the castle and to Kirkgate and from the bottom of Water Bag Bank there are further steps up to St. John’s Church. This church has a central tower with a tiny spire. On the lower part of the tower you can see, from an earlier roof line, where the transepts used to be. They were pulled down when the nave and the aisles were rebuilt in the 15th century.
On the left between the viaduct and Water Bag Bank is The Old Manor House, the oldest building in Knaresborough. It is said to have been built as a hunting lodge for King John in about 1208. It has a 400 year old mulberry tree in the garden. It can’t be overlooked because of its “chessboard” decorated walls. It is said that King Charles I signed the Treaty of Capitulation here after the Royalists defeat at the battle of Marston Moor in 1644.
You will reach the A59 at the World’s End (but hopefully it won’t be). Go over the road at the pelican crossing and turn left to cross over the entrance to Conygham Park.
River Nidd © Beth Peart
Here is a very large car park extending back beyond Conygham Hall. The Hall was built in the late 18th century as a gentleman’s residence, eventually becoming the home of Sir Harold Macintosh, the Halifax toffee magnate. It was sold to Knaresborough Council in 1946. Between 1965-1985 a zoo was here. It is now a business centre with a pitch and putt golf course, putting green and crazy golf course as well as tennis courts in the grounds.
Just up the hill from the World’s End is Henshaw’s Arts and Craft Centre, shop and café.
On the other side of the High Bridge immediately on the right is the start of the Beryl Burton Cycleway. We are going to take this towards Bilton.
If you did want to visit Old Mother Shipton’s Cave and Dropping Well the entrance is almost opposite.
Also nearby: Harrogate. Only a couple of miles away westwards along the A59, where there are stacks of places to eat, drink or find a bed. Harlow Carr Gardens, Betty’s Tea Rooms and the Valley Gardens always bring in the visitors. It’s easy to get distracted from our walk.
The Nidd Gorge.
Before the last ice age (the Devensian), the River Nidd flowed from what is now Nidderdale as far east as Ripley to where the villages of Nidd, Brearton and Farnham are today. The ice sheet came down from the north as far as this line and deposited sand and gravel, filling up the river valley before continuing southwards and blocking it all together. Looking for a way round, the river water found a weakness in the underlying rocks and cut its way through on a more southerly route and eroded a course through the Magnesian Limestone down to the Carboniferous beds below.
The steep slopes are now covered by ancient broadleaf woodland that is home to 80 species of bird and 30 different kinds of animals, reptiles and amphibians (to quote the Woodland Trust). Woodpeckers, roe deer, tawny owls, tree creepers, nuthatches and herons are around. Dog’s mercury, ramsons and bluebells are common in springtime, and 91 species of fungi have been identified. There is a range of butterflies and some rare ladybirds.
At Gates Hill there is an earthwork, probably an Iron Age promontory hill fort, where it is said Colonel Fairfax mounted cannon for the siege of Knaresborough during the Civil War.
The Beryl Burton cycleway is named after the Leeds-born cyclist who was world champion seven times between 1959 and 1966. She continued to break records until the 1980s and she was probably the greatest woman cyclist ever.
The cycleway is numbered 636 in the Sustrans network.
Beryl Burton Way © Chris Heaton
Our walk continues along the smooth tarmac path heading westwards following the River Nidd. On the banks are alder trees with some sycamore and ash. For a while the Ringway Path leaves the cycle track and runs parallel to it through the trees, but it is easier to stick to the tarmac. There are occasional benches along here. A pedestrian gate and small cattle grid lead you along to a buttercup meadow with red and white clover, but in summer it is the grasses left to grow that are the most interesting for those who can tell them apart. In fact many of the fields around here are similar, so in June it is very colourful. In the hedge bottom on the right you could see vetch, herb robert, goosegrass, hop trefoil, nipplewort and jack-by-the-hedge.
The path becomes fenced and the meadow on the left is more weedy with thistles and docks. The next section is lined with oak trees whose branches hang over you giving shade. One of these looks very old indeed. We pass the entrance to Bilton Hall where we carry straight on along the road, where there are more oaks and sycamores. After Bilton Wells there are a lot of brambles, nettles and bracken but also cow parsley, hogweed, honeysuckle, vetch, woundwort and yellow vetchling. You can’t miss Farfield House with its hounds’ heads crowning the gate posts. After another 100m or so take the track on the right. A sign post opposite tells you that this is part of the Knaresborough Round and there are subtle hints on the gate to suggest that it is just a footpath - no cycles!
Just a bit further along Route 636 you would come to a caravan and camping site.
As you leave the road there is another buttercup meadow on the left and in the hedge on the right some field maples, blackthorn as well as oak and ash. Himalayan balsam is starting to come in.
You come to a stile at the entrance to Spring Wood, which is part of the Woodland Trust’s Nidd Gorge estate. For about 300m the track continues along the edge of the wood to a gate where our path goes off to the right and into the wood. On the right is an ancient semi-natural woodland of mixed deciduous trees - ash, sycamore, beech, some oak and birch and an odd maple, with an understorey of hazel and holly. On the left there is a dark conifer plantation. The sound of the wind through the trees is quite different between the two kinds of trees. Blackbirds, chaffinches, chiffchaffs and wrens are about and you will probably see a squirrel or two. The path winds through the trees and begins to drop down into the gorge. There are hints of other paths leading off but if in doubt it is best to take the one to the right. You will come to some steps and a bench and then the river appears on the right.
The River Nidd is about 25m wide here and its peat-stained water rushes from quiet pools through rocky rapids ideal for dippers, kingfishers and herons. There are trout, grayling, dace gudgeon and barbel to be caught. On the far bank there is an exposure of Carboniferous sandstone almost hidden by the trees. The path follows the river bank until coming to a board- walk that leads to a footbridge called the Burgess Bridge. Take this and look out for grey wagtails, and in a shingle bank mid- stream you will see Himalayan balsam taking hold. The footbridge was opened in 1988 so “you should share in the enjoyment and tranquillity of a beautiful place”.
Burgess Bridge © David Rogers
Once across the water turn left onto a forestry road and go up the hill to where it cuts back to the right and there are a couple of benches. On the left is a patch of figwort about 1m high that flowers in June and July. On the right is another mix of deciduous trees and on the left are conifers with herb robert and buttercups at the side of the road. You will pass a bench with an interesting carved back featuring different tools and equipment and then there is another small exposure of sandstone.
At the top of the hill is a car park provided for visitors to the gorge and at the nearest corner is a giant hogweed more than 2m tall. Do not touch!
We have had to leave behind the Permian rocks for a while as these have been eroded away to reveal the Carboniferous rocks beneath, and for the next five or six kilometres the Permian has been faulted all over the place, so the outcrops are difficult to follow. What’s more the bedrock is covered by glacial deposits. However, we will be back.
You have now reached the B6165. Turn right here – a footpath sign confirms that you are still on the Knaresborough Round. Following the roadside path go past the Knaresborough signs and in about 200m take the path on the left. This is Red Hill Lane and although quite narrow it is bounded on each side by hedges. There is a lot of bracken and Himalayan balsam with some red campion, woundwort and nettles. At the top of the hill there is a distant view of the Hambleton Hills to the northeast.
At a t-junction turn left along the track called High Moor Land. It can be muddy in places along here after any rain. The hedges on either side contain sycamores, hawthorn trees, elder, oak and ash. On the left a large caravan park is well hidden behind the shrubs. This site is suitable for touring caravans and camping. Then, at the end where you come out onto New Road a majestic solitary oak tree sits across the road.
Turn right here into Scotton where there is a roadside path into the village. Ignore St. John’s Road and Manor Farm Way and turn right at the Guy Fawkes Arms. This describes itself as a “country pub and eating house”.
The Guy Fawkes Arms © Ian S
The small village church (St. Thomas’s) is a simple Victorian one with little to comment on, although it does have an Ordnance Survey bench mark at the southeast corner. The Old Hall is back off the road just a bit further on. This goes back to the 17th century and is where the infamous Guy Fawkes lived as a child.
Continue northwards along Main Street and where the road starts to bend to the right, just opposite Barn Cottage and Ashwood, there is a stile and a footpath sign leading you into a paddock at the side of Lawrence House Farm. On the left here, there are a lot of humps and hollows hinting at something archaeological underneath. At the end of this you are met with a pair of farm gates but with no stiles. Go through these and join a farm track that takes you out into the open across a prairie-like bit of land with big skies. There were rooks and wood pigeons enjoying the wide-open space and you might just catch a glimpse of the not too far distant Howardian Hills to the east. To the northeast you can see the wooded hill beyond Brearton.
The track ends at a pile of brown stones – not Magnesian Limestone – and at the time of writing a large pile of manure. The route then continues as a path across arable land between two different crops curving right towards a dead tree in the hedge beyond. About 20m to the left of this is a pair of stiles that take you across a narrow grassy track. Cross this pasture field diagonally. The tussocky grass is a hint of cows. At the far side is a stile beneath a large sycamore tree. This leads to another cow field and the PRW strictly follows the hedge round to the right and up to a gated footbridge under a large oak tree. This takes you over little Jum Well Beck which has the ever encroaching Himalayan balsam on its banks. You are then in your last field before reaching Brearton. Once again there are signs of cows but also there are the ups and downs of the rig and furrow of the old medieval field system.
Ahead is a stone wall marking the edge of the village street. But, what has happened to the limestone? This is made up of brown cobbles. Many of the Dales rivers have delivered large amounts of cobbles like this and they have been used as building stone in places. The buildings opposite do have walls that appear to be Magnesian Limestone. Go over the stile and turn right and head eastwards. You will find a succession of houses old and new with a complete range of building materials. Soon you will reach the Malt Shovel. This is described as a 15th or 16th century restaurant and bar with a reputation as a “gastro pub”. Unusually, their web page has a couple of walking routes to take in the area. Our route has used part of one of these.
The Malt Shovel © Ian S
Ahead, Brearton village green appears with its three copper beeches.
Village Green © David Rogers
On the right is the parish church of St. John the Baptist, almost hidden behind two great conifers – a Scots pine and possibly a Douglas Fir. The church was built in 1836 just before Queen Victoria came to the throne and is just a basic rectangle with the nave and chancel as one. It has three bays of straight-headed windows in the Perpendicular style, a simple bellcote and a small graveyard no bigger than most of the gardens round here. Growing there were fox & cubs. There is a very well carved Ordnance Survey bench mark at the northwest corner of the church building.
On the left hand side of the green, hiding behind a veil of Virginia creeper is Fagus House, aptly named as it too has a copper beech close by (Fagus being the Latin name for the beech).
Bed and breakfast and a holiday cottage are available in the village.
Leaving the village behind, pass The Yews farm buildings (built partly of sandstone and partly of limestone) onto Warren Lane. There is a footpath indicated cutting a corner but this is quite short and risks you getting tangled up with farm animals, so it is best to stick to the road, which is very quiet. There might be some aircraft noise round here though, as it’s not too far from R.A.F. Linton-on-Ouse, the home of the Tocano trainer.
The road turns sharply to the right and heads eastwards. The hedgerows either side have all the usual suspects – hawthorn, elder, hazel, wild rose and blackthorn to suggest that they have been here a long time. At regular intervals there are ash, oak and sycamore trees that don’t look very old at all. Although we are still on the Carboniferous sandstone, Warren Hill running parallel to the north is the Magnesian Limestone and before we reach Warren Farm our old friend will be beneath our feet again.
You might hear yellowhammers, goldfinches, crows, wood pigeons and pheasants along here and in Summer swallows are about. You might see a kestrel hovering above.
After about 300m a track goes off to Hill Top Farm on the left and it is about 1300m before you get to Warren Cottage on the right. But it is a nice walk, with the woods up on the hill to the left. There is Simon Slack Wood, Jackson Plantation and Rigg Moor Plantation, and then Walkingham Wood runs along from the back of Warren Farm. They are mainly made up of conifers.
Warren Farm © DS Pugh
On reaching the entrance to Warren Farm we come to the end of the public road but a welcoming sign by a big sycamore tree tells you that you are again on the Knaresborough Round. Another sign tells you to “please keep off the grass”. There is a beautiful row of rowan trees on the left which are covered in red berries from mid-Summer. The bridleway continues straight forward to the end of a farm track up to a pedestrian gate. You then enter a large pasture field that may have sheep. The path converges with the wood on the left and passes between two big solitary ash trees. Both red kites and buzzards live round here.
From here northward the Permian rocks aren’t so badly faulted so a more normal succession settles down.
At the end of the field you will find a stile that takes you onto Green Lane. Time to say a final farewell to the Knaresborough Round and head northward along what was once the road from Knaresborough to Ripon. This could be really ancient and go back to before the Saxon settlement or at least to the days of medieval pack horses.
Also in the area: At Farnham there is St. Oswald’s Church with a Norman chancel.
The Kingfisher caravan park has facilities for tourers and tents. (SE335 601) from March to October.
Green Lane © Chris Heaton
Going up the hill you are soon at Warren Covert. The trees here are mainly very tall ashes with some Scots pine and a few oak, sycamore and hawthorn. On the left are the remains of a stone wall that looks like an estate boundary. Behind this is the east end of Walkingham Wood with its conifers. Along the side of the path there are quite a few wild flowers including dog’s mercury, woundwort, red campion, agrimony, St. John’s wort, vetch, silverweed, various umbellifers and self-heal but the noxious ragwort is starting to appear. At the top of the hill a spot height on the map says that the elevation is 66m.
Over the top of the hill at the end of the wood, at the time of writing, tree felling had begun and there was the wonderful scent of cut pine trees. A new forestry road surface of limestone cobbles had been laid. The road continues north-westwards, contained by high hedges that unfortunately cut out any view. The verges up here do have quite a lot of wild flowers including meadow cranesbill, bird’s-foot trefoil and even a scarlet pimpernel, but unfortunately Himalyan balsam is spreading and before long may wipe everything else out.
After a while, a farm road with a good tarmac surface comes in from the left and with no hedge on that side the view opens out to reveal rolling hills to the west and towards Burton Leonard. The high hedge continues on the right but don’t be alarmed if you hear a snuffling noise from behind it. Cows have been known to be in that field.
We don’t take the bridleway that goes off to the right where another wood begins. This wood is again mainly ash with some Scots pine and there is bladder campion and scabious in the verge. At the bottom of the hill just before a bridge over Robert Beck a bridleway goes off to the left. This is Rigg Moor Lane. A sign tells you that this is taking you onto the Mountgarret Estates and that you should “enjoy your walk”.
Also in the area: Staveley nature reserve. About 4km east at SE 365 634. This is a Yorkshire Wildlife Trust wetland site. Common spotted orchids and bee orchids can be found here. Reed buntings, reed warbler, sedge warbler and grasshopper warbler visit and there are sand martin nests. You can see waterfowl, ducks and geese on the lakes. It’s also a good place for dragonflies. Otters have been reported.
The Staveley Arms in the village has food and drink on offer.
For much of the way this track has a cobbly surface and has the feel of an old road about it. There are pineapple weed and plantain in the centre strip and cow parsley and hogweed on the margins. Stitchwort appears in Spring and by Summer, scabious, vetch, rosebay willowherb and knapweed have appeared and Himalayan balsam is starting to come in.
As we slowly climb uphill we are following Robert Beck upstream, and it is marked by a line of willow and alder trees as it meanders along. When I was there a gang of long-tailed tits flitted along the hedgerow. As well as any bird sounds, when the wind blows the overhead electricity cables hum in the breeze.
Eventually you come to a gate next to a large sycamore tree and a couple of small pine trees. This takes you into a sheep pasture field. The air photographs show some humps and hollows here that may be evidence of a deserted small village or farmstead.
Beyond this field the road firms up to a hard surface, leading up to a junction where we turn right at a cattle grid and gate. The road does continue forward and is part of the Ripon Rowel. This is another circuitous path similar to the Knaresborough Round. It would take you directly to South Stainley, and although pleasant it doesn’t have as much variety as the way we are going. It does allow a distant view of Harrogate though.
Turning northward you are greeted by a nice scene below. Ahead are Low Rakes House, Lime Kilns Farm, Lime Kilns Cottage and Lime Kilns Barn set out in a perfect arrangement by a ford and a footbridge over where Stainley Beck becomes Robert Beck. A wood beyond completes the picture.
Ford by Lime Trees Farm © John Walton
Lime Kilns Cottage is bounded by a cypress hedge and immediately beyond this there is the entrance to Burton Leonard Lime Quarries nature reserve. The quarry took limestone from the Cadeby formation but was abandoned in the 1940s. There arethe remains of a number of lime kilns on the site. There is a permissive path through here and it is well worth following it. Although it belongs to the Mountgarret Estates it is leased to the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust, having some perfect limestone grassland. Within the woods are a couple of steep grassy banks full of wild flowers, especially in the Summer.
According to the Trust there are restharrow, rock-rose, milkwort, burnet rose and squinancywort (yes!) here and in addition I found scabious, harebells, bird’s-foot trefoil, greater knapweed, ladies bedstraw, yellow-wort, hawkweeds and catsear. There were a number of smaller umbellifers such as wild carrot and hedge parsley. From the top of the grassy banks there is a good view westwards towards South Stainley. Be careful if you leave the path though as there are some sharp drops off the quarry faces.
Near the northern exit in the wooded area are a lot of dog’s mercury, docks, nettles and larger umbellifers, rosebay willowherb, woundwort and a tall white bellflower.
Continue northwards along Limekilns Lane, passing Sainfoil Wood until you reach a road junction with a grass triangle which has a bench to sit on. Turn left here onto Scarah Lane. There is a long view eastward along here across the Vale of York. It is 75m above sea level here and well up in the sequence of Permian rocks. You are now on the Brotherton Formation that is nearly at the top.
The first building of Burton Leonard you reach is Flats House, which has a stone barn. Immediately after this is a nice new development called Meadow Court. This is followed by a row of Scots pines in the garden of Prospect House and a fine copper beech. Opposite this a footpath sign leads you off to the left. You are now going back onto Mountgarret land so continue enjoying your walk.
Burton Leonard village has a village store and post office as well as two pubs, the Hare and Hounds and the Royal Oak, both of which have food available. The church was built in 1878.
Also in the area is Church Farm at Bishop Monkton where there are facilities for touring caravans and tents (SE328658). during the summer half of the year.
A grass track takes you alongside an arable field bounded by a relatively young hedge with regularly spaced young trees. There is a mixture of ash, horse chestnut, beech and, I think, cherry. Ahead is a bit more of Sainfoil Wood that here is made up almost entirely of spruce trees. The path crosses through this and there are a surprising number of wild flowers on the side of the path. There were centaury, cinquefoil, catsear, harebells, with oxeye daisies, betony, hawkbeard and scabious, silverweed and St. John’s wort. I learned later that this had been a meadow before the trees were planted.
At the edge of the wood a gate appears ahead of you. Turn right here along a narrow path out into the field. You have now dropped off the Permian Limestone onto the Carboniferous rocks below.
The PRW is shown going diagonally across the arable field but this has been ploughed out and a permissive path provided following the hedge. At the bottom of the field join a farm road that takes you off to the right, and follow it westwards along the edges of a number of arable fields until it turns off southwards. A grassy track continues up to the northeast corner of a wood where a stile leads you into what was at the time of writing a hay field. The wood to the south has a mixture of ash, larch and Scots pine. Another stile at the northwest corner of the wood takes you into a pasture field. Yet another follows and the view from here northwards is classic English countryside with rolling hills, old hedgerows and scattered trees.
By now you are almost at South Stainley, and the first building you come to is St. Wilfred’s Church. It is a Victorian construction built in 1845 but probably on the foundations of an earlier building. Have a look in the porch and you will find what is left of the old village stocks that were used to punish the local ne’er-do-wells.
St. Wilfred's Church © Roger Nightingale
The path emerges at the southwest corner of the churchyard at a stile. There is a bit of a car park opposite with an honesty box for fees. Turn right here onto Church Lane, where we rejoin the Ripon Rowel. Passing Bridge Cottage and The Old Farmstead you come to the bridge with an old pump at its side next to a weeping willow. Himalayan balsam is invading the stream side. Manor Farm ahead appears to be built from limestone as is the bridge itself, but there are some things that are made of brown stone. Although the village sits on Coal Measures sandstones it is almost surrounded by Magnesian Limestone. Much of the housing in the village doesn’t have any local stone at all, being relatively modern red brick. At the end of Church Lane you come to The Inn and the A61. There you can cross the busy road where there is a refuge in the middle of the road.
Also in the area: Ripley Castle and village with its “world famous” ice cream.
Having crossed the A61 at The Inn, head northwards using the grass verge. There is about 200m without a footpath.
We now turn left onto the old bridleway from South Stainley to Markington. Almost immediately you will cross the old railway line that ran from Leeds to Thirsk and Northallerton via Harrogate and Ripon. It began as the Leeds and Thirsk Railway in 1848 and was later operated by the North Eastern Railway. It was finally closed to passengers in 1967, although goods trains carried on until 1969. There is still a level crossing gate there that has obviously seen better days.
As you begin a steady climb along a farm track you are at last back on Permian rocks. The track becomes more grassy after a while with hedges either side. To the south you can see Aden Wood about 800m away. There is a strip of mainly beech trees on the right with some oak and some sycamore that are sticking their heads up into the wind. Here you are almost 90m above sea level and you may just make out the Hambleton Hills to the northeast.
It’s all arable land around here but the soft grass track (with clover and plantain) has a scattering of wild flowers along the way. In July there was bindweed, vetch, knapweed, scabious, yarrow, nipplewort and bracken.
A slight descent takes you back onto the Carboniferous rocks to a hedgerow where a culvert carries a small stream. It is a bit muddy down here after rain, however buttercups like the damper conditions. There is another slight rise as you pass along the side of an arable field back onto the limestone where it dries out a bit. The hedgerow on the left shelters a lot of docks and thistles with great willow herb, knapweed, nettles and bracken.
We now emerge onto a farm track that will take us up to Markington. This is bounded by old hedges with a lot of shrubby plants. As well as hawthorn there is holly, goat willow, sycamore, maple, hazel and elder with some mature trees – mainly oak and ash. On the sides of the track there was great willow herb, meadow sweet, knapweed, hemp-nettle, yarrow and speedwell. You can walk along the centre of the track on pineapple weed and plantain. All this together with what looks like an old cobbly surface gives the impression that this is probably another ancient road.
Along this stretch you are walking along the junction of the Permian and the Carboniferous rocks and there are some muddy patches to hint that it’s not a limey rock under your feet. At one point you pass by a large pond on the right which seems to have a resident heron.
Two footpaths go off to the right but stick to the track and you will emerge into Markington village. You join Back Lane at the junction with Kingwood and carry straight on the few metres to reach the High Street.
Now, most of the names of the villages and towns we have been through on this walk have been Anglo-Saxon in origin - those with names typically ending in “ham” or “ton”. Markington has within its boundaries the site of the old village of Wallerthwaite (Old Norse) and the hamlet of Ingerthorpe (Danish). This suggests that the Viking settlements – Danes from the east and Norse from the northwest came after the Saxons and “squeezed in” at the side. Another clue to Danish settlements are those with names ending in “by”. We found this in Maltby and Wetherby.
If you turn right here you will get the benefit of two pubs, the general store and post office, plus a view of Markington Hall. .
Markington High Street © David Rogers
The pubs are The Yorkshire Hussar (at the time of writing, open from 1pm on Saturdays and Sundays and from 7pm on other days and The Cross Keys (which is open all day on Saturdays and Sundays and from 5 pm on other days).
Behind the Yorkshire Hussar is a caravan site which can take tourers and tents from March to October). There is also a holiday cottage in the village.
If you go this way you will see that most of the houses are of brown stone. There is a nice strip of woodland on the left - mainly conifers but also what appears to be a red oak. Markington Hall on the left, was built in the 17th century and belongs to the Wilberforce family, whose ancestor was largely responsible for the abolition of slavery in this country. In the “copper beech glade” behind the hall there are gipsy caravans and a log cabin for hire as well as birch, sycamore and oak trees. You would need to take Twaite’s Lane to the left just before the post office to join up with the Ripon Rowel after about 500m at Ingerthorpe. The problem for this route is that there is no path and although not very busy the traffic does not seem to be aware of possible walkers. It is though quite pleasant with alder trees bordering a stream that runs parallel some of the way.
However, for safety reasons I’m in favour of sticking to the Ripon Rowel in which case you need to cross over the High Street and continue along Westerns Lane to the bridge over Markington Beck. You might like a short diversion to have a look at the church of St. Michael the Archangel just up the road. This is another Victorian foundation and was consecrated in 1844. It is built of fine-grained sandstone with cross bedding. A notice says that it is open all day. There is a car park just beyond with an honesty box.
Just back downhill from the church a lane turns off northwards opposite Little Croft. There is a public footpath sign here almost hidden in the hedge. A lot of herb robert grows on the verge along with nipplewort, hog weed, great willowherb and red campion. After about 100m you reach Brook House and immediately beyond is a kissing gate leading you out into the cricket ground. It is best to keep to the left and to avoid crossing the boundary, head for the adjacent football ground. The path continues behind the left-hand goal posts up some steps and through a gap in the hedge. The next section continues northwards along the east side of a hawthorn, elder and blackthorn hedge with an arable field on the right. It can be a bit nettley along here but you soon reach a small plantation with young rowan and silver birch trees, after which you go through another kissing gate and into a pasture field. A track then takes you out through a couple of gates onto Thwaite’s Lane by Waterloo Farm.
As soon as you reach the road though, you need to leave it. The route goes northward between Waterloo Farm and Waterloo House as indicated by a footpath sign. It begins as a nice grassy path but soon settles down to a shady path between overgrown old hedges forming a tunnel. It has the feel of being another old road. It reaches a mixed wood before coming to a proper tarmac road that leads to Ingerthorpe Hall. Turn right here. There are sycamore trees along the roadside including a copper one. On the right is a cow field with a view to the east beyond. After a few twists and turns you will come to Thwaite’s Lane where it meets Horse Mill Lane but we won’t take either of these.
Also in the area: At Wormald Green, The George has food and accommodation.
Bishop Monkton Railway Cutting. SE314 663. This is a Yorkshire Wildlife Trust nature reserve. Over 170 species of plant have been recorded here on the Magnesian Limestone soil. Bird’s-foot trefoil, kidney vetch, milkwort, marjoram and common spotted orchid grow on the track. Whitethroat and willow warbler nest there.
At the road junction another track goes off to the northwest indicated by a bridleway sign. This is called Strait Lane and that is the way to go. It is bounded again by old hedges and although seeming to have been here a long time doesn’t go anywhere in particular. For some way it has a cobbly surface and there is a scattering of meadowsweet, hog weed, balsam, nettles and thistles on the verges. In a gap in the hedge to the right you may be able to see the Kilburn White Horse. Then as the track become more grassy there are meadow cranesbill and lesser knapweed. Look out for a stile and a way-mark on the right just after a small wood. This leads to an arable field and Markenfield Hall appears ahead. At the time of writing this was a wheat field and there was a lot of knotweed underfoot. The path goes diagonally across this to reach a patch of uncultivated land where there is yarrow, clover, bindweed and great willow herb. There is a stile at the end of this before a pasture field. In this field there are a lot of rounded boulders that are probably from the glacially deposited boulder clay. It does look as though there has been a stream in this field that sorted these from the finer sediments.
Next there is another cow field and you are advised to walk round the perimeter if cows are present, especially if they have calves. A rough track goes through the centre and there is an extensive view from the highest point. To the northeast you can see much of the west face of the North York Moors, from the Hambleton Hills to the Cleveland Hills. On a good day you can even see as far as the Wolds. To the west the tower on How Hill is visible. That is the highest point of the Permian Limestone belt in Yorkshire at 175m. The western side of this track is marked by a low bank looking as though there was once a wall there.
Then suddenly you are at Markenfield Hall.
Markenfield Hall © John Sparshatt
This is a fortified manor house that can trace its origin back to the year 1280. During the early 14th century a whole range of buildings were developed round a courtyard with a broad moat enveloping the site. In 1310 Canon John de Markenfield was given a licence to crenulate by King Edward 2nd. A bridge crosses the moat to a Tudor gatehouse. For many generations the Markenfields were a power in the land. They fought for the king at Agincourt, Bosworth and Flodden but things came to a sticky end when Sir Thomas Markenfield was one of leaders of the “Rising in the North”, when Catholics rebelled against Queen Elizabeth 1st in 1569. Sir Thomas was lucky to escape to Holland but later died there in poverty. The house was seized by the crown and for the next 200 years was a tenanted farm with an absentee landlord. This is probably why the structure survived.
In 1761 the Hall was bought by lawyer and MP Fletcher Norton, who went on to become Solicitor General, and after being knighted became the Speaker of the House of Commons, although he never lived at Markenfield. He did not buy it simply as an investment but out of family loyalty, for he was a direct descendent of Sir Richard Norton, standard bearer of the Rising of the North and uncle to Sir Thomas Markenfield. By then the
house was in a poor condition, with the Great Hall being partly open to the elements. He re-roofed it, making it water-tight again and in doing so saved the Hall from ruin. He was later elevated to the peerage and became Lord Grantley. It remained a tenanted farmhouse until the 1980s when the 7th Lord Grantley, together with Lady Grantley, began a programme of restoration that would see the house returned to some of its former glory and a family home again. Lord Grantley died in 1995 and six years later Lady Grantley married the writer Ian Curteis. Together they are continuing the restoration.
On passing through a gate at the end of the track a way-mark points you right. As you walk past the limestone barns a glance to the left will let you see the Tudor Gatehouse. Nowadays, the Hall is open to the public for about four weeks a year so the chances of it being open on any particular day are not high.
In the field on the right there are earthworks that show up on air photographs, looking as though there were some lanes and a possible settlement here.
If you continue to the far end of the barns you will see a way-mark pointing to the left into a pasture field. Go through the gate, cattle permitting, and head northwards, passing the east side of the Hall which you will get a good view of across the moat. The path is then way-marked out into an arable field. At the far end of this at the southeast corner of Spring Wood there is a stile, a footbridge and some steps that take you through the Park Wall. If the season is right you might find a big clump of betony just here.
A path comes in from the right that has followed the Park Wall from the southeast. We continue northwards along the east side of Spring Wood until just before it reaches the end it cuts across to a hedge at the side of an arable field. Stay to the right of this on a grassy field-side path up to a pasture field. To the east is a farm called Bland Close. It seems to be built from a mixture of stones. You will join its access road and carry on northwards to where a bridleway comes in from the left and where a picnic table and attached benches have been thoughtfully provided. The bridleway is Whitcliffe Lane and it would take you westwards to How Hill.
We continue straight on (it is still Whitcliffe Lane, part of the Ripon Rowel) down the hill along the oaktree-lined road with the occasional view eastward to Sutton Bank.
Turn westwards off Whitcliffe Lane almost opposite Whitcliffe Hall (SE297 688). The Hall is partially hidden from the road but is described as medieval and the mullioned windows certainly do look old. At some point in the past they were partially blocked off to avoid paying the window tax. All appears to be limestone.
From Whitcliffe Hall, our route takes us across a pasture field, passing Hum Hill until reaching a wood. Enter the wood (where there are ramsons in springtime), turn left and continue until meeting a path coming up the hill from the right at a sharp angle.
Turn down here – it is a steep hill - and you will come to a metal footbridge over the River Skell and onto the Seven Bridges Walk. Turn left here with the Chinese Wood opposite. Mackershaw wood is on the left.
The river is often dry especially during the summertime. Between the path and the river bed there were St. John’s wort, buttercups, thistles and of course Himalayan balsam. We reach a large kissing gate and just beyond a sign saying that this is now National Trust land.
Fountains Abbey and Studley Royal.
In 1718, John Aislabie M.P. began work on developing a garden in Studley Royal Park. When he was expelled from parliament in 1720 for his involvement in the South Sea Bubble, he took this up in earnest in a formal style. After his death in 1742 his son William bought the remains of the Abbey and extended the landscaped area in the picturesque romantic style. This became perhaps the most important 18th century water garden in England.
In 1966 the estate was bought by West Riding County Council and was later taken over by the National Trust.
This is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and probably the best bit of man-made landscape in Yorkshire. It covers 273 hectares and has been in the hands of the National Trust since 1983. The Abbey itself is one of the largest and best preserved monastic ruins in the country.
The history goes back to the year 1132 when 13 Benedictine monks came from York and set up home in the secluded valley of the River Skell. Before long they had become Cistercians and began the construction of the Abbey. Over the next 200 years or so in spite of some poor harvests, raids from Scotland and later the Black Death, the monks prospered. The original church with its nave and choir was completed in 1160. Cloisters, a refectory, chapter house and the abbots house (the largest in England) were added. In 1170 there were 60 monks and 200 lay brothers there and by the mid 15th century it was one of the richest monasteries in the land. By the middle of the 16th century Henry VIII had decided that such places should be no more and with the Dissolution of the Monasteries the monks were evicted, the roof removed from the Abbey and it was left to become a ruin.
The first of the stone bridges is only a few metres along the path. There were originally seven bridges, as the name suggests but only five remain. They were built of timber in a Chinese lattice style but later replaced by the current stone ones, rather like pack-horse bridges.
Two of the Bridges © John Fielding
There is a limestone crag (an old quarry face) on the right made up of massive dolostone.
The river meanders from side to side as the path curves round to the left amongst scattered beeches and sycamores. There is small crag behind the second bridge. Jackdaws and pheasants called out and a distant stag bellowed.
We come to a few young sweet chestnut trees but better is to come when we reach some magnificent mature ones. Their bark is wonderful to behold and on many of these trees it spirals upwards. There are also some beeches on the crag to the left.
High above the third and the nearby fourth bridge, at the top of a stratified crag called the Devil’s Chimney, you will see a strange little building. This is the Roman monument in the style of a tomb near Rome. It is one of many “follies” scattered round the park.
Now we come to the fifth and last of the bridges as we approach the outfall from The Lake. This is guarded by a pair of sphinxes set on short stone bases. A footbridge takes you across the water (this was being rebuilt when I was there). The Lake is home to many ducks and geese. There were a lot of noisy Canada geese and a few swans when I walked by.
The path takes you round the curving north side of The Lake to join a road coming in from the right. This takes you up the hill to the car park with toilets beyond.
Then there are two choices. It is free for National Trust or English Heritage members to enter the Water Gardens and Fountains Abbey. Otherwise you have to pay at the desk (about £13). There are tea rooms here.
If you don’t want to pay, you can go directly to the Visitor Centre. To do that there is a footpath across the grass from by the entrance to the car park, heading north-westwards towards St. Mary’s Church. Turn left here and go through the gate and along the footpath. This is Church Walk and it will lead you to the car parks from where the Visitor Centre is signposted.
If you do enter the Water Gardens turn left over the “fishing tabernacles and cascade”. Turn left up towards the Serpentine Tunnel and this will lead you through the woods up to the Octagon Tower where there is a view down to the ponds. Yew trees are obvious as you come up to the Temple of Fame. High Ride Path takes you up to Anne Boleyn’s Seat and the “Surprise View” of Fountains Abbey. A steep path takes you down to De Grey’s Walk, that gives you a shady riverside stroll past a weir and up to the Abbey.
Fountains Abbey © Richard Croft
There are tea rooms by the Mill, and at the Hall there is a herb garden and an orchard.
On the crag on the north side of the valley the rock shows some fascinating cross-bedding, hinting that it is Carboniferous gritstone rather than Magnesian Limestone. The Abbey does seem to be built in part of the latter. The unconformity between the two must be near the top of the crag.
A steep hill takes you up towards Visitor Centre and you will pass Swanley Grange on the way.
Visitor Centre © Bill Harrison
Leave the Visitor Centre at the northern entrance by the bus stop and turn left and go up to the road junction. Turn right here and in a few yards there is a well defined bridleway between two hedges, parallel to the main drive with a sign saying “St. Mary’s Church, the Deer Park and Water Gardens”.
This is Church Walk. Pass the entrance to the Pheasantry (which is private). After a while there is a stone wall on the right. You will come to some large gates on the right with a pedestrian gate that give access to the Deer Park. Go through that with the Obelisk on your left. This was erected in 1805. On the right there is an old sweet chestnut tree. This has been here since before the 18th century and has been pollarded at some point.
You can hardly miss St. Mary’s Church that has a spire that is a landmark throughout the area.
St. Mary's Church © Andrew Curtis
St. Mary’s Church is described by Pevsner as “the ecclesiastical masterpiece of William Burges, one of the most original and yet most characteristic of the High Victorian architects”. It was funded by the Marquis and Marchioness of Ripon and built in 1871-78 at the cost, said to be in the order of £15,000. Burges followed the Gothic style but with more exuberance. The interior is breathtaking – very decorative and colourful with beautiful stained-glass windows. There is an unusual organ surround looking like a medieval house. The church is managed by English Heritage and is open every day from 12noon until 4p.m, April – October.
Just opposite the church, inviting you to sit down, is a bow-backed rustic bench made from sweet chestnut wood. You will pass Chorister’s House, also designed by Burges, that these days is holiday accommodation.
The View down the Long Drive © Ian Capper
Travelling north-eastwards along the road, in the distance ahead of you are the Studley Roger gateway arch and beyond, in line is Ripon Cathedral, all framed by an avenue of lime trees.
Roads leave going south and north, and after passing about 25 trees (count them!) on your left a path cuts diagonally across grass towards Studley Roger. At the side of the Deer Park a gate leads you to a fenced path and on to the village. If you miss this go through the archway to the crossroads and turn left up to the village. Pass Lawrence House, and in the middle of the village a bridleway goes eastwards by a letter box. Follow this to a point where paths cross and turn right. Here we join the Sanctuary Way Walk. This was set up by the local Rotary Club in 2005 to celebrate their centenary. It provides a 20km circular walk round Ripon, taking in the sites of Sanctuary markers that define the Liberty of St. Wilfred, created in the 10th century. There are a number of replica stones at various points along the way.
Our route then takes us over the lovely little Rose Bridge and up to Hell Wath Cottage.
Rose Bridge © John Slater
.Also close by is Whitcliffe Wood. (or the Old Spinney). This can be accessed from Hell Wath Cottage. A permissive path starts just on the east side of the cottage and runs around the side of the field to reach the wood on its north edge. It has recently been taken over by The Yorkshire Wildlife Trust. There is a permissive path running all the way through. An interpretation board at the south end by a patch of mullein tells us that there are dog’s mercury and lord and ladies (arum), great spotted woodpeckers, tree-creepers and speckled wood butterflies. There is a sign saying “no motorcyclists” but it is apparent that there have been incursions in the past. So, there is a lot of bare ground beneath mainly ash and sycamore trees. However, nature is recovering with help from the Trust and the owner.
Within the wood are some real outcrops of the Magnesian Limestone. One crag shows an example of cross-bedding and another large one at the far end seems to be a quarry face with massive dolomite.
Near Hell Wath Cottage by the gate at the end of the lane is one of the Sanctuary marker stones and an interpretation board.
Now there are two options. One takes in a nature reserve, a riverside walk and some beautiful gardens, the other has some interesting geology in a nature reserve, a supermarket café and a canal.
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To try the first, take the footpath northwards from just beyond Hell Wath Cottage into the nature reserve. Here we are leaving the Sanctuary Way. The path goes through woodland reminiscent of Middle Earth and takes you down to the River Skell that comes down from Fountains Abbey. Eventually you emerge at a footbridge called Willow Bridge that leads to the confluence with the River Laver, and beyond this is an open well-mown grassy area with some fine mature tree, mainly alders.
We have finally arrived at Ripon but the story is not quite over as there is a lot to see in the last mile.
You will come out onto Highcleugh and a right turn at the end takes you onto Mallorie Park Drive. On the left is a sports ground where you might see football being committed. A terrace of houses goes off to the left at an angle just as the Cathedral comes into view ahead. Just after Mallorie Court on the left some steps, next to the remains of a fountain, will take you into the Spa Gardens. This beautiful park maintained by Harrogate Borough Council has a Victorian bandstand at its centre, which still has frequent concerts. There is also a war memorial, a statue to the Marquis of Ripon, as well as a café and toilets. You could play crazy golf or bowls. But the highlight perhaps is a group of tree sculptures, next to the bandstand, of Alice in Wonderland characters based on the original drawings by Tenniel.
Alice in Wonderland figures © Dave Pickersgill
Leave the gardens at the northeast corner and you will come out onto Park Street next to the Spa Baths. These were opened in 1904 originally as a spa built in the Art Nouveau style. In 1936 they were extended to contain a swimming pool.
After passing Firby Lane on the right, bear right onto Westgate to approach the Market Place. Ahead on the right is a half-timbered building called the Wakeman’s House. This was built in 1604 and is now a popular café. The Cathedral appears
The Wakeman's House © Stephen Craven
The Cathedral appears beyond the southeast corner of Market Place. On the south side is the Town Hall. This was built about 1800 and presented to the town by the first Marquis of Ripon in 1897. On the frieze is inscribed “Except Ye Lord Keep Ye Citie, Ye Wakeman Waketh In Vain”. This refers to the Wakeman.
The story of the Wakeman goes back to the year 886. King Alfred the Great came to Ripon in his bid to help defeat the Viking invaders. He thought it would be a good idea to grant the settlement a Royal Charter. As he was without pen or parchment, instead he gave the representatives of the “town” a horn. The king suggested that in order to maintain vigilance and to safeguard the defence of the town, one of the populace should be appointed to keep watch overnight. He would be called “The Wakeman”. He would sound the horn at each corner of the Market Cross at 9 p.m. every evening to let the citizens know that the watch was set and they could sleep peacefully in their beds. The Wakeman was voted for by 15 of the local worthies and over the years became quite powerful. So, in 1604, when a new charter was granted by King James 1st it was made more democratic. A mayor was to be elected and he would appoint the hornblower. From then on, his task would be to continue to sound the horn as before but then to report to the mayor that the watch was set. That practice has continued to the present day. The 90 feet tall obelisk in the Market Place (2 acres) is now where this takes place every evening. This was erected by William Aislabie (M.P.for Ripon) and records the names of all the hornblowers since 1804.
There is also a Tourist Information Centre in the Town Hall.
Town Hall © Stephen Craven
Leaving the Market Place at the southeast corner, Kirkgate leads you down the hill, twisting to the right before leaving Duck Lane to go right and as you come round the bend the magnificent west front of the cathedral stands before you.
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The alternative is to go eastwards from Hell Wath Cottage, continuing along Sanctuary Way. This route follows the road past the car park until coming to the end of Whitcliffe Lane. Cross over this and follow West Lane as far as the end of the cul-de-sac. A path then continues south-eastwards. After it bends off to the left you enter Quarry Moor.
Quarry Moor is an SSSI because of its unique geology and unimproved species-rich Magnesian Limestone grassland. It is the last chance to see an exposure of our old friend before the end of the walk. It was an active quarry from the 15th century until the 1950s. Its geology is unique, showing features that tell of how it was deposited. It was laid down on the shores of the Zechstein Sea in similar conditions that you would find in the Persian Gulf today. The water was warm with a high salt content and “algal mats” developed. These show up as shallow dark bands on the quarry face. Gypsum was also deposited as the sea water evaporated because of the high temperature and enclosing land mass.
A feature of Ripon’s history is the occasional occurrence of a sink hole. These appear when the gypsum which was deposited within the Magnesium Limestone is dissolved away, leaving cavities beneath the surface. Eventually the land above collapses into it leaving a sometimes quite large hole up to 10m across. Many houses have been damaged in the past although I don’t think any have actually fallen in a hole. There have been some close shaves though including for Sainsbury's supermarket.
Quarry Moor © David Rogers
We are told that at Quarry Moor there is a great variety of plants including primrose and cowslips, ox-eye daisies, knapweed, self-heal, common spotted orchid and bee orchid, yellow wort and autumn gentian. In addition, I found centaury, rosebay willow herb, yellow vetch, meadow sweet, creeping cinquefoil, a small geranium, meadow cranesbill and a small forget-me-not.
The reserve is owned by Harrogate Borough Council for the purposes of “conservation & recreation”.
Take right turns when they occur and you will follow the edge of the reserve until you come to the cliff face.
Follow the path anti-clockwise through the reserve until you reach the car park and emerge onto Harrogate Road by the roundabout at the end of the bypass. Turn left and proceed northwards to the final leg of the journey.
The next thing to notice will be a burger restaurant. After the traffic lights for the supermarket, take the right fork onto Quarry Moor Lane. Just past the school next to the pedestrian traffic lights is a footpath that will take you out to the junction of Knaresborough Road and the by-pass. Follow Knaresborough Road to the left, passing Littlethorpe Road on the right. Skirt Camp Close playing field and take Dallamires Lane to the right. Then immediately turn left into Bondgate Green Lane. As you go down the road you will see the south face of the cathedral ahead. You will come to the main road – Bondgate Green, and the intention is to turn left here. However, a brief sortie to the right will bring to the most northerly point of the English canal system.
The left turn will bring you to New Bridge over the River Skell and up to a roundabout. Turn right here up Bedern Bank. Up the hill brings you to the east end of Kirkgate and as the road bends to the right you won’t miss your final destination - the west front of Ripon Cathedral.
Ripon Cathedral © Richard Croft
Ripon Cathedral.
Ripon’s first recorded event was the founding of an Anglo-Saxon monastery in 657 A.D. by Alfrith. It was near the site of the present cathedral. In 671 the monastery was given to St. Wilfred, the Bishop of York and in 672 he built the first stone church on the same site. The crypt from this church is still there beneath the nave of the cathedral and is the only Saxon crypt in Britain. The present building was begun in 1154. It was built in the Transitional style when the classic Norman round arches were giving way to pointed arches. The two transepts are from that period. The west front with tall lancet windows and the two towers was added from 1220 in the Early English style. It is built with a warm, light brown Carboniferous sandstone probably from Hackfall near Masham.
The Crypt © Martin Dawes
Some of the later phases of the building used Magnesian Limestone, probably from Quarry Moor. Among the cathedral’s most distinctive features are the mismatched pillars and arches at the central crossing. This because in 1450 the central tower collapsed, damaging the nave that was rebuilt in the new Perpendicular manner.
The “Quire” at the east end was somewhat earlier and is in the Decorated style. The stalls were made by a team of local carvers in the late 15th century and some have misericords that have carvings that feature stories from the Bible and popular folklore. The image of a rabbit being chased by a griffin down a hole is thought to have inspired Lewis Carroll to write Alice in Wonderland. He visited Ripon when his father was a canon here in the 1850s.
At the east end is a magnificent stained glass window dating from 1854, although in other parts of the cathedral there is some medieval glass.
The East Window © Alexander P Kapp
The Quire is separated by a stone screen that dates from about 1480. The niches either side of the central arches are occupied by statues of historical bishops.
The pulpit in the nave was made by Henry Wilson in 1913in a style influenced by Art Nouveau and the Art and Crafts Movement.
For most of its life the building was a Minster and only became cathedral in 1836.
There is a lot more information about Ripon Cathedral in Arthur Mee, for the history and Pevsner for the architecture. .
Also in Ripon:
Holy Trinity Church. This was built in 1826-28.
St. Wilfred’s (RC) Church from 1860-62.
St Mary Magdalen leper chapel. 12th cent.
There are three museums: The Police and Prison Museum, The Courthouse and The Workhouse. These are open from mid-Feb to the end of November.
There are lots of places to eat and drink, many shops, three supermarkets, guest houses and hotels, a race course and there is a market every Thursday.
Also nearby – Newby Hall. (SE 347 674)
Built in the 18th century it is now the family home of Mr & Mrs Compton. It has excellent examples of 18th cent interior decorations and furnishings. There are 25 acres of gardens, an There are three museums: The Police and Prison adventure garden for children, a woodland discovery walk and a sculpture park.
Lightwater Valley.(SE285 755). This is a theme park with 5 rollercoasters and other attractions for thrill seekers.
There are facilities for touring caravans and possibly tents at Riverside caravan park at SE 317 729.
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