Saturday 11 March 2017

The Yorkshire Wolds Way, Stage 2. South Cave to Londesborough

We had mixed fortunes with the weather today.  The original forecast was for heavy rain.  It then improved to light cloud in the morning to become heavy cloud in the afternoon.  In the event the heavy cloud turned to drizzle.  After the usual shuffling around of cars we set off from South Cave at 10.45, immediately climbing up to the delightful beech woodland of Little Wold Plantation which gave splendid views south across the Humber.  Shortly after leaving the wood we dropped steeply down a grassy slope into Comber Dale, one of the most serene parts of the walk.  We enjoyed the first of several red kite sightings here, the bird wheeling over the wood.  Soon we crossed and then followed the disused Hull to Barnsley railway line before heading up the beautiful, wooded East Dale.  Signs of early spring were all around: catkins, dogs mercury and primroses in flower.  We also spotted deer slots here, probably roe deer.  The path eventually climbed steeply out of the wooded dale and this marked the end of the route across the wooded slopes of the Southern Wolds.  From here the Wolds Way crosses wide expanses of chalk tops and follows deep, mainly grassy, dry glacial valleys.  It was good to see hawthorn coming into leaf up here, another sure sign of spring.  My mother, Lincolnshire born and bred, used to refer to these new hawthorn leaves as 'bread and cheese' and enjoy them as a snack when out playing in the fields.

A mile or so of walking over the high tops of the Wolds brought us to the steep and grassy Swin Dale where we came across a badger sett out in the open and, further down, an even larger one on the edge of the bordering woodland.  After exiting Swin Dale we climbed up to the highest part of today's walk, the trig point on Sober Hill.  Again on the tops, we passed the site of an Iron Age cemetery. This was the territory of the Parsii and excavation of the cemetery revealed chariots, horse harnesses, skeletons of ponies, bronze broaches, armlets and beads.  Soon we were descending once more to a valley known as the Market Weighton Gap, through which the North Eastern Railway constructed the Beverley and Market Weighton Railway.  This is now a bridleway, the Hudson Way,  named after the railway builder George Hudson.  Climbing out of the valley we reached Goodmanham and a welcome pot of tea at the Fiddle Drill tea shop.  This sleepy village was once the scene of a crucial event in the coming of Christianity to Britain when, in AD 626 Edwin, the Saxon king of Northumbria, was converted to the Christian faith by the missionary Paulinus.

The final few miles of today's walk took us again over the high country before descending through the beautiful Londesborough park and into the village where we had left one of our cars.  We were delighted to spot a couple of green woodpeckers searching the turf for food as we approached the bottom of the hill.The village seems to be 'out of sync' with itself as the large ornamental lake and parkland is overlooked by only the remains of a grassy terrace, two large pedestals, some gatepiers and some smaller pedestals.  The original house which would have backed the terrace was demolished in 1819, its materials used for an addition to Chatsworth.  It was replaced by today's red brick structure set further back in the trees.

My legs were feeling all of the 14 miles we had covered as we settled down in The Sloop in Barton for an excellent tea and a couple of pints.

To view large, Click on an image.






























No comments:

Post a Comment