Hawnby Ftemptation for Roe Deer, Making Hill Arable Field Edges One of the Best Places to Look for Them at This Time of by Year
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6 The Northern Echo Thursday, October 29, 2009 7DAYS northernecho.co.uk COUNTRY DIARY WALKS RESH new shoots of autumn- sown crops are an irresistible Hawnby Ftemptation for roe deer, making Hill arable field edges one of the best places to look for them at this time of By year. Early morning and dusk are the best Mark Reid times for deer-watching. Look for fields Based on Ordnance Survey map- that border on woodland, because deer WALKFACTS POINTS OF INTEREST ping © Crown copyright:AM26/09 don’t usually stray too far from the trees, always ready to run for cover if HE distinctive hills that Distance: 6.5 km (4 miles) they sense danger. Approach carefully, shelter Hawnby, including Time: Allow 2 - 3 hours Hawnby Hill, form part of from downwind, using hedges as cover Map: OS Explorer Sheet OL26 and you might be rewarded with a the Tabular Hills, an T Parking: Small car park close view. Row deer are creatures of extensive range of habit, following well worn paths where predominantly limestone hills behind Hawnby village hall, their distinctive, heart-shaped footprints dissected by countless deep near the village shop in are usually easy to find in the soft valleys that run along the ‘lower’ Hawnby. autumn earth, especially around southern boundary of the North Refreshments: Pub, shop and blackberry and wild raspberry thickets, York Moors. tea rooms at Hawnby. which are both favorite food sources in autumn. If you catch them by surprise The rocks of the North York Terrain: Country roads, clear and they bolt, look for the distinctive tuft Moors are predominantly tracks, field and moorland of white hairs on their rump as they sedimentary rocks formed during paths all the way. The climb bound away. These hairs are raised the Jurassic period that began to and from Hawnby Hill is when the deer alarmed, as a warning to over 210 million years ago. The very steep, and there are others nearby which may well include oldest are the Lias group of rocks steep drops to the side of the this year’s young, which would have that were formed over a 60 million path across the top of been born back in spring but stay with year period when silts and Hawnby Hill. their mother for their first year. Breeding Open Access Land: Open roe deer enter their rut earlier than deposits were laid down on the Access Land across Hawnby fallow or red deer, with mating over by bed of a deep sea and were the end of August, so bucks begin to gradually compressed into thick Hill. shed their short, three-tined antlers layers of shale with some layers of How to get there: Hawnby now, re-growing a new set by the end ironstone and sandstone. These can be reached via minor of winter. rocks underlie the entire North roads from the B1257 There are reckoned to be over York Moors and can be seen along Stokesley to Helmsley road. the coast and valley sides where 500,000 roe deer in Britain today but Caution: This walk includes they have only survived in England the sea and rivers have eroded some road walking, as well as because of human intervention. Native through the overlying rock a number of steep sections, animals survived in Scotland and stratas. This deep sea gradually whilst the path across perhaps in the Lake District, eventually became shallower and rivers from Hawnby Hill is narrow with recolonising North-East England, but the Scandinavian mountains steep drops. the species became extinct in the rest flowed into it forming a vast river of England in the 18th Century. The roe delta. These rivers brought down deer seen in the Midlands and southern sand, mud and silt from the England today are the descendants of mountains which were then animals that were reintroduced for deposited in this delta to form the hunting by wealthy landowners. Phil Gates sandstones of the Ravenscar Group of rocks on top of the older Liassic shales; these sandstone BIRDWATCH rocks now form the central moorlands. Over time a warm towards Osmotherley and follow HERE has been only one topic of shallow sea advanced to cover this this road for a short distance conversation over the past week, river delta and countless tiny sea Tnot just regionally but nationally. It then, as you leave the village, take creatures fell to the seabed over was, of course, the discovery of the turning down to the right millions of years to form layers of Britain’s first Eastern Crowned Warbler, towards â ˜Laskillâ ™. Follow this the mega rarity which quickly jumped limestone, calcareous grits and clays known as the Oolite Group road steeply down to reach a road- from birding news services into the bridge across Laskill Beck at the national media. of rocks, which today form the Tabular and Hambleton Hills. bottom of the valley, after which An estimated 2,000 birders from all follow the road climbing up for 50 over Britain saw the Oriental gem at These different groups of rocks – metres then turn left through a Trow Quarry, South Shields, on Friday gate along a track (signpost). and Saturday following its discovery on Lias, Ravenscar and Oolite – and carry straight on along the hillside then, where it joins a formed thick bands of rocks on Follow this track straight on Thursday afternoon by local birders rough track for 50 metres then fence/gate on your right, turn left top of each other; however, about across pastureland heading up Doug Holden and Derek Bilton. Their turn left along a narrow path along a wide grassy track climbing tremendous find again proved the 60 million years ago this landmass through the valley of Ladhill Gill (waymarker-post) heading down up onto the northern shoulder of benefit of carefully working a local was raised out of the sea by for 750 metres to reach a gate across the heather moorland to Hawnby Hill just beneath the steep patch rather than tearing around tectonic action to form a vast across the track, after which reach a gate in a fence just before slope. Where the hillside levels out, recognised migration hotspots. domed landform that stretched carry straight on to quickly reach the wooded banks of Ladhill turn right along a narrow path and The bird, only the fifth to occur in from the Pennines to the North the ruins of Low Banniscue Farm Europe, vanished on Saturday night on your left. At the ruins, carry Beck. Head through the gate and follow this climbing steeply up onto Sea. This landmass tilted slightly the ‘summit’ ridge of Hawnby Hill. A after the weather cleared ending the towards the North Sea and rivers straight on along the track then, turn right to soon reach a region’s biggest-ever twitch and leaving where it forks after a short footbridge across Ladhill Beck. clear path heads along the top of the soon carved valleys across these narrow ridge (take care – steep drops late-comers disappointed. The species hills. It was the powerful action of distance, bear right up to soon After the footbridge, follow the breeds in China, Korea and Japan and to the side of the path) to reach a these rivers, assisted to a large reach a gate that leads into a path bearing slightly right up winters in south east Asia. cairn, beyond which the ridge opens degree by the effects of ice, which plantation. Head through the gate across the fairly steep wooded Its discovery followed the arrival and follow the track straight on bank to reach a gate at the top of out. Continue straight on along the along the coast during south easterly created the Vale of York thus path across Hawnby Hill then, as you isolating the huge landmass of through the forest, bearing right the wooded bank. Head through winds of a host of rare migrants from after a short distance (signpost) the gate then walk diagonally left reach the southern end of the Asia and northern Europe. Pallas’s, the North York Moors. Over time ‘summit’, follow the path gently wind, rain and ice have eroded slanting up through the forest up across the field and through Radde’s, Barred and Yellow-browed the line of an old hedgerow, after down to a bridlegate. Head through warblers and Firecrest were all on Holy away the top layers of rocks so then straight on (keep to the clear path) for 0.5 km to reach a which head left alongside the field the bridlegate and follow the path Island at the same time, confirming its that the limestone and calcareous steeply down to join a fence where status as an October hotspot while grits of the Oolite group of rocks bridlegate at the end of the forest. boundary on your left then, as Head through the bridlegate and you reach the end of this field you head left through undergrowth another Pallas’s was just across the have gone completely from the to reach a bridlegate in the fence walk straight on bearing very (Sportsman’s Hall farm ahead to causeway at Beal. central dome and can now only be corner. After the gate, head right slightly to the right (passing your left) head to the right across Yellow-browed Warblers were also at found along the southern and straight down the middle of the field, another ruined farm just down to two fields and through a gate in a Long Nab, Hartlepool Headland, western edges of the North York through a gate beside a small barn Whitburn, Newbiggin and Druridge your left) along an indistinct wall that leads out onto the edge Moors.