Our latest walk

Thursday 7th March 2024

BURYTHORPE & BIRDSALL

Burythorpe, Hermitage, Car Nab Wood, Clombe Wood, Birdsall Grange, Birdsall, Manor House, Mount Ferrant Farm, Leavening Brow, Fox Covert Plantation, Burythorpe (6 miles).

Members; Chris, Paul, John, Keith, Col, Sherlock & Stu.

Spring is in the air, allegedly. The only clue was fading snowdrops and blooming daffodils, as the weather wasn’t exactly spring-like, being dull and overcast. Still, it wasn’t raining, so we could be thankful for that. Today we were heading for Burythorpe, which lies south of Malton under the western edge of the Yorkshire Wolds. We’ve been there many times, and we know the route well, but today there was a surprise lurking along the road from Garrowby Hill Top towards Leavening. It was closed due to some road works.

We can see you!

There was the obligatory diversion, which sent us off into the middle of nowhere, eventually leading us towards Bugthorpe. Once there, we spotted yet more diversion signs, sending us back to the A166, where we’d driven along some minutes earlier. Where would we be next? Stamford Bridge?, on the outskirts of York? We’d had enough of aimlessly wandering around the countryside, so we made our own way along narrow lanes and winding roads, eventually landing in Burythorpe a good 20 minutes later than we should have been. Bloody road works!

We parked up outside the village hall and got ourselves ready for today’s jolly jape. We reckon it must have been still dark when John got dressed, as his jacket was buttoned in a similar fashion to our earlier diversion. That is start randomly in the middle, then just wander about till he ran out of buttons to fasten. I think Sue’s going to have to dress him in the future. Stu, along with Sherlock, would be joining us later in the morning, so Paul gave Stu a quick call to alert them to the road closure and discuss an alternative route via North Grimston.

Who dressed you, John?

On the way out of the village, we stopped and chatted with one of the locals for a few minutes. The subject of the village pub, The Bay Horse, came up. It’s another one of those establishments with conflicting information on opening and closing times. It’s a pub we’ve used many times, although not recently, as it doesn’t appear to open on midweek lunchtimes any more. The lady we were chatting with didn’t have a good word to say about the landlord, the pub, or his large dogs that she claims just wander about the place while people are eating. Quite clearly, the landlord and the villagers were at loggerheads. It’s best not to get involved in such feuds; there’s walking to be done.

The weather was still dull and gloomy, with low mist on the hilltops, while the occasional gust of wind had a bit of a bite to it. We were heading for Car Nab Wood, an area we visited around November last year. We had a field to cross, which back in November had just been ploughed, making it a bit of a chore to negotiate. At least this time the ground was a bit more walkable, plus there was a tractor track we could follow to get us across the field without us stumbling about between the furrows.

In retirement!

At the northern end of Car Nab Wood, there is a section of the footpath that is permanently wet, muddy, and boggy. After all the rain we’ve had this winter, we knew what to expect, and it didn’t let us down. Others had clearly used this route and tried different approaches to avoid the mire, but to no avail. You’ve just got to plough through it and hope you still have your boots on once you’ve emerged from the other side of the quagmire. Beyond the woods, the path crosses a couple of fields and then joins a farm track, passing the ancient farm buildings at Birdsall Grange.

Our next port of call was the tiny settlement of Birdsall, more of an estate village really. It boasts a charming old church, St. Mary’s, which is in a lovely setting on some high ground and, at this time of year, surrounded by a profusion of daffodils. It’s always a nice place to stop for a brew and a butty; it’s very peaceful, or at least it was till we got there. All that was missing was a bit of sunshine, but with the low cloud and mist, that looked most unlikely.

St. Mary’s

As we left this peaceful place, Paul got a call from Stu to tell him they’d just left Burythorpe, walking in the opposite direction from us, so we looked forward to meeting them further along our route. Between Birdsall and Mount Ferrant Farm, we walked along quiet country lanes, and about the only vehicle we encountered was the local Postie.

The last time we were near Mount Ferrant Farm, Col had a bit of a painful encounter with some angry hornets. We hadn’t told Col we’d be passing through here today, and we figured he might not even realise it as we were approaching from a different direction than previously. Of course, there were no hornets to be seen at this time of year, and we reminded Col, once we’d passed where the incident took place, of where he was. And we also congratulated him on laying that particular demon to rest, even though he hadn’t realised it at the time.

Yes, this is our path alight!

We met up with Stu and Sherlock just as we began the climb up Leavening Brow. From here, we followed the track back into Burythorpe, another footpath that boasts a couple of sections that tend to be sloppy and muddy at most times of the year, even more so after all the recent rain. As we walked into the village, it looked as though the pub was actually open. We did think about calling in, but after what we’d been told earlier and the fact that we’d already planned to visit The Star in North Dalton on our way home, we decided against it.

But even that didn’t work out as planned, as when we got to The Star, we were informed by a member of staff that the pub wouldn’t be opening till later as they were in the process of the old landlord signing it off and the new landlord taking over. It was just one of those days. But, as ever, there’s a plan B. So we made for The Wellington Inn at Lund, just a few miles down the road, and we had a good hour or so in there. A great end to an interesting day

It’s good to be out!

2 Comments

  1. A lovely walk except for the yukky mud.
    Glad the hornets were quiet and no attacks this time.
    Nice report Paul and I loved the photo of the cats Keith, and the beautiful capture of the church.
    As always the FAC never let’s us down.

  2. I used to love guiding a walk when things went wrong but that didn’t happen on many occasions though..
    Superb photographs as usual including the one of scruffy John Kendrew, he never was a one for tidiness..
    The mud sure didn’t fail you all and I bet that your boots were a right old muddy mess..
    Ah well that is walking for you..
    Keep up the good and great walking in the GREAT OUTDOORS..
    Well done to all for having fun..

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