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Scroll down to view the photographs after the report or click here My better half was off work today, Monday, so I had decided to use some of my flexi-time and booked a day off work too. We chose to tackle a local walk within the North York Moors National Park and decided on a visit to Bilsdale. The day looked promising as we set off for the short drive. The sun was shining and it was dry. What more could we ask for? The walk would start from the lay-by alongside Birch Wood on the B1257 Helmsley road, and it wasn't long before we had parked the car in the lay-by, booted-up and heading off across a field which turned out to be the wrong field! This wasn't too much of a worry because its quite common for us to go astray at the start of our walks! We were soon heading in the right direction following a green pathway slanting gently up through the natural woodland of Birch Wood. It was a short walk through the woods but a pleasant one all the same. We eventually arrived at a gate in the opposite corner of the wood, leading out onto a track which then headed off across open fell-side leading to the long abandoned ruins of Carr Cote. It was a lovely spot with some fine views across Bilsdale with the bulk of Easterside Hill also prominent. We had a wander round the ruins before finding a nice spot to sit and have a bite to eat and to explain to my better half the benefit of being able to use the GPS and OS map to pinpoint our exact location. After a pleasant rest, apart from the attentions of some rather pesky bumble bees, we passed through a gate for a short walk to another ruin, this time of New House which wasn't looking so new today! From here we passed through a stony enclosure and located a gate in the dry stone wall which leads onto the open heather covered moor and where the route then followed the well worn Shooters Track across the vast expanse of Laskill Pasture Moor. The heather was looking splendid in the sunshine and displaying a mixture of violets, purples and mauves. A lone farmer and his dog approached us at this point, asking if we had seen any sheep wandering around where they shouldn't have been. We said we hadn't but I couldn't help thinking how I could determine whether the sheep were supposed to be where they were or if they shouldn't have been there at all! The path eventually leads to the corner of Roppa Wood. Our route didn't enter the plantation but instead headed north, directly away from it, following a thin path which was located by a small cairn, back onto the open heather covered moor. We were to follow this path for quite a way which wasn't so easy at times with the heather being waist deep and the path disappearing altogether! It was fun though. Walking along this section we were on the lookout for a curious red brick shelter off to our left and two impressive stone crosses which would be on our right. Wandering across the open moor, up to our waists in heather, it was a reassuring site to see the red brick shelter in the distance. At least we were on the right track even though we couldn't actually see one! The shelter seemed out of place upon the open moor but I suppose it could be some sort of shooting butt as there are quite a few on the moors but I've never seen one like this before. Passing close by the shelter, although not actually visiting it, we could then see the first of the stone crosses further into the distance and off to our right. The track passes approximately 75 yards from the cross but we decided to pay it a visit and left the track for a closer look. There are a lot of crosses and markers scattered all over the moors and I'm always intrigued to find them standing in the middle of nowhere although, as Annette was quick to point out, they are all in the middle of somewhere! She was right of course! Its also quite common to find coins have been left on the stones and the two crosses we passed today were no exception. Back on track it wasn't long before we came to the second of the stone crosses along this route. Again we made a visit to it and again we found more coins placed on its top. The Cleveland Hills also came into view at this point. Cringle Moor, Cold Moor and Hasty Bank lined up at the head of Bilsdale. The television mast which beams out the local TV signals was also in view. Passing by a number of stone built shooting butts we were soon heading down to our left to locate a stile in a fence. As we crossed through deep grass I heard Annette chuckling to herself. On asking her what she found so amusing, she commented on how we must have resembled John Cleese doing his famous funny walk as we had been fighting our way through the heather, bracken and long grass! Thinking about it myself it also brought a smile to my face. Remarkably, on locating the fence, we found the stile was situated only a few yards away. More luck than judgment I suspect! At the stile the views were again spectacular and reminded me of the Lake District with a great valley scene, rolling lush hills, dry stone walls and bracken covered hillside. Needless to say we stopped here for a while to take in the surrounding views. Moving on we followed the grassy route downhill to a wall and then on through deep bracken and onto a gate. It was here, and after failing to locate the correct way, that the route became hard to locate. We could see our destination, Low Crossett Farm below, but we had to pass through a locked gate to get to where we wanted to be. On reaching a finger-post above Low Crossett Farm we followed the right of way only to become confused again a little further on. A sign informed us that the route had been diverted but it wasn't easy to identify where it had been diverted to! We could see the B1257 below, running alongside the field that we were in and so decided to head for the road a little earlier than we should have. Looking at the map it showed that the Sun Inn pub was just a short walk along this road and considering that this is where we would have reached if we had followed the original route, it wasn't such a big deal. We soon reached the Sun Inn where we were looking forward to a bite to eat. First though we were to visit the original Sun Inn, situated alongside the present day Sun Inn. The old Sun Inn was originally called Spout House and is a remarkably well-preserved example of a 16th century cruck-framed house. The building began life as a farm tenant’s cottage and continued as a farmhouse right through its long and varied history. In 1744 the cottage also became an alehouse, known as the Sun Inn, and later accommodated lodgers and shooting parties. By 1914 it had grown so popular that a larger inn was needed and so the new Sun Inn was built across the yard. Spout House closed its doors and was virtually forgotten, gradually falling into disrepair. In 1979, however, the North York Moors National Park agreed to carry out the much needed repairs and re-open the house to the public. The repair work, using traditional materials and skills, was completed in 1982. By preserving its fittings intact and keeping much of the original furniture in the building, its character is now no different from that day in 1914 when last orders were called for the last time. Spout Hose is situated 8 miles (13km) north of Helmsley on the B1257 at OS Grid Reference: SE 575936. After a very interesting and informative visit to the original Sun Inn, it was time to pay a visit to the present day Inn. Unfortunately, they didn't do food except for crisps, nuts and chocolate bars. We had a refreshing drink along with some crisps, nuts and chocolate bars, before heading outside and meeting-up with the lone farmer we had seen earlier in the walk. He informed us that he hadn't found any lost sheep and was of the opinion that they had been rustled! From the Sun Inn the route followed the B1257 for a short distance before heading off right, along a bridle way, and passing over the River Seph. A drive, if followed, would lead up to Helm House, but our route passed through a gate on our left and lead off across another field heading up to a couple of derelict barns. A track was now followed along a lovely enclosed green way with the plantations of Helm House Wood up to our right. The weather was becoming even warmer now as we followed this sheltered route but it made for a nice end to our day's walk. The route eventually slanted gently down to a gate on our left which leads to a footbridge spanning the River Seph. Once over the bridge we came across a lovely lake in a very peaceful and secluded spot but didn't linger too long. Crossing the field to a fence the path then climbed up the field side emerging back onto the B1257. Turning right here and with great views of Easterside Hill over to our right, it was only a short walk along the road back to the lay-by and the end of our walk. A fine day out and a very pleasant walk around the North York Moors National Park.
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