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Scroll down to view the photographs after the report or click here For the last few months I've chosen to get out and about on two wheels as opposed to two feet having recently invested in a new mountain bike. All very enjoyable, but the urge to get out for a walk became too much so the bike was left in the garage and the walking boots brushed off again. Actually, they didn't really need a clean because I clean my boots after every walk as we all do. Right? Because I left the decision to go for a walk until late in the evening the night before (it was actually midnight!) I opted for a short, local walk on the North York Moors. My starting point for the walk would be a little village called Boltby, situated on the western fringe of the National Park and a couple of miles north east of Thirsk, North Yorkshire. Fifty minutes and 28 miles later, I arrived in the village centre and parked alongside the church. Boltby is an attractive little village, totally uncommercialised and very quiet. Didn’t notice any pub! The weather was bright, sunny and warm, so I wasted no time in lacing-up my boots and setting off along the road heading for the old Methodist chapel at the far end of the village, leaving the village via a ‘no through road’ which wound its way past a ford and footbridge, with gliders soaring above me, passing lambs and horses, until the path ended at a gate entering a field. Passing through the gate the path climbed steadily to reach the edge of a wood and, looking back, offered great views over Boltby with the extensive Boltby Forest as a backdrop. A lovely sight. The path now headed right and lead me briefly, along a muddy path, into Cow Pasture Wood before emerging at a little knoll, again offering great views, this time towards the eastern Yorkshire Dales. From here the route ahead is signed and winds its way up through the woods, skirting Little Moor, to arrive at another gate out of the trees and at the edge of a field. A short clear path across the field lead to another gate and on into a plantation, passing over a crossroads and curving up further into the woods. The light was struggling to penetrate the canopy of the trees and made for a rather spooky atmosphere! The path, a bridleway, was also becoming very muddy indeed and quite difficult to pick a way through without sinking into the squelchy mud. After a short distance a large boulder was seen up ahead, perched in the middle of the path in a small clearing, and was an ideal place to stop and sit. Shafts of light were beaming down through the trees and onto the boulder, and I was half expecting to see a space ship hovering above, waiting to beam-up anyone who was foolish enough to stop and rest! Undeterred, I sat and rested and luckily didn’t see any sign of an alien space ship. It was a very peaceful and quiet area with nothing but trees, and a boulder, for company. After my brief rest it was only a short distance along the path until I reached another gate on the edge of the woods. The path ahead was a grassy one and slanted up to join the Cleveland Way long distance footpath running along the Hambleton escarpment. From the top of the moor edge, I turned left, north, following the Cleveland Way and headed for Boltby Scar and the disused quarry. This route looked familiar and I realised that I had ridden along this section of the Cleveland Way (yes, it is a bridleway!), only a few weeks previously. It was a lovely grassy route along the edge of the moor and offered great views of the surrounding countryside below. I was on the look-out for a prominent grassy mound in a field to my right which apparently is the site of a Bronze Age hill fort. Unfortunately, I can’t have been paying attention (probably admiring the views over to my left) because I didn’t see a grassy mound and must have walked straight past it. A little further on and the rocky crags of Boltby Scar came into view along with the disused quarry close by. I must admit, I don’t really know a lot about the history of this area or of the quarry itself. All I do know is that it was quite spectacular to see and to walk above and offered a great viewpoint overlooking the village of Boltby far below, the Hambleton Hills, and the mountains of the Yorkshire Dales over the Vale of York. On a clear day Great Whernside, Little Whernside, Buckden Pike and Penhill can be seen. From this viewpoint I could also see a dark cloud heading my way and sure enough the rain started to fall along with a heavier, and more painful, hail shower! Rummaging around my rucksack I pulled out my jacket and headed off along the path towards High Barn, visible in the near distance. Luckily, the rain and hail storm was a brief one and the sun was once again shining down on me as I picked up my pace until I finally reached High Barn which offered good views back towards Boltby Scar and the quarry. This section of the route was an absolute quagmire when I last visited on my bike and I was glad to see that it had dried out substantially since then. Anything for an easier life! From High Barn the path is a grassy one and slopes gently down to meet the Sneck Yate road (there are some great names around the North York Moors!). Feeling rather energetic at this point, I decided to jog along this section just for a change, until reaching the road. Sneck Yate is the high point of a minor road over the Hambleton Hills. My route now crossed over the road and into more woodland following a good woodland path. The path rose gently and I again decided to jog along this section but, on reaching the high point of the path, decided it might not be a good idea after all as my right hip was starting to play-up again. Having been off work for 7 months recently with the same problem, I decided to walk the rest of the way! It was a lovely, peaceful walk through the woods and eventually the firm woodland path gave way to another green and grassy path which, passing by some more horses, led to a gate and joined a farm road leading to High Paradise. The sun was shining and the birds were singing, so I decided to stop here for a bite to eat, and found myself a comfortable rock to sit on with, again, great views over the surrounding countryside. However, I didn’t stay as long as I would have liked because the rain and hail started to fall again. Passing through the gate I followed the road round to my left and, after a short distance, turned right at a junction, headed downhill along a drive towards Low Paradise. On reaching the farm and cottages, I was greeted with two ‘private’ signs and was a little confused as the route was supposed to come through this way. Thinking I must have turned off the farm road too early, I retraced my steps, uphill, back to the junction with the farm road, and continued along it looking for another road off to the right. I could see one in the distance and made for it only to find, on reaching it, that it wasn’t the road I wanted. I scrutinised my map and checked my GPS for a grid reference, and decided that the road I had followed originally, was indeed the right one. So much for the ‘private’ signs. I didn’t fancy walking back to rejoin the ‘proper’ route which passed through woodland and fields, but decided instead to follow the road back into Boltby. Looking at the map I could see the woodland route eventually met the road I was going to follow anyway and it was downhill for most of the way so no big deal. The farm road eventually joined the Sneck Yate road again, where I turned right and followed it downhill. As it turned out, the roads were quiet and it was quite a nice walk and I even passed a rather fine display of bluebells along the roadside. Continuing along the road, and shortly after passing Boltby water works, I met a path exiting woodland on my right, which turned out to be the path I would have been on if I had followed my original route. Boltby was now roughly five minutes walk further along the road and so I knew my walk was almost over. It was along this last section of road where I witnessed large numbers of rabbits in the fields to my left. At one point there must have been about 40 of them hopping across the field in unison making for cover in the side of a bank beneath the road. I stopped above where they had disappeared and stood silent, waiting to see if they all came out again once they thought I had gone, but they didn’t, so I continued on my way. However, a little further on I came across two very tiny, young rabbits amongst the hedgerows. One of them was trying to climb up onto a root but it was so small it kept sliding back down again until it buried its head under the root and sat perfectly still, obviously thinking that if it couldn’t see me, then I couldn’t see it! I think this little rabbit has a lot to learn! It was only a few inches away from me so it did mean that I got some good photos of it and of another one a little further on who didn’t try to get away at all, but just sat there posing whilst I took its picture! I set off again and just as I was entering Boltby village, the rain and hail started to fall, this time a little heavier than earlier, but it didn’t really matter as I only had to walk a short distance along the road back through the village and to my car. A short walk but very enjoyable all the same. The only downside was that there wasn’t a village pub. I must select my routes with more care in future!
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