wAl -s$ 4r, TilAtKING s 6¡ vl C' o IN 9o dsr LEEDS UilISOt{ MAY,201ó No.416 TODAY'S \ilALK 1984 and April 2000' ouR walk today mostly repeats those we walked in February centre From st Leonard's church a lane leaves Burton Leonard was once a linen rveaving york and across the vale of to the Hambleton the v'lage an¿ orrers uil*, ,o Ripon catf,edrar lane and track' we reach and cross Hills and the white Horse. By fields and woodland. St Monagh's Lane The l8ú pass Well House Farm. We enter Copgfo;t on Robert Beck and lane' best seón from a bridge further along the century Hall nearby overlooks a lake, a ieature Copgrôve has an interesting church' walkingham Hill (warren Hill) and Leaving the village, we take a bridleway which crosses crossing Shaw Beck the track rises to to cross the Knaresborough Räund. After descends limestone I Ztn c€ntury church This is magnesian Farnham with its t¡attgriut green ind outcrops' though in places you might see red sandstone "oun,ty, School where another bridleway' the Afl.er a mile of lane-walking, we reach Lingerfreld Beck) to Brearton with its church' pond and Ripon Rowel, heads a"iossî"t¿s (and ¡umiueU rig and fürrow pattern' inn. The fields h;riltt display signs of strip cultivation - Enclosure Act' Much of the lane here is orvned remnants of the open freld system before the by the Mountgarret Estates' which rises between helds and emerges on Leaving Brearton, Lillygate Lane becomes a track and Norwood Edge can be seen' A track Rakes Lane from which Knaresboro";h: H;;";;te iescending towards Robert Beck' We leave the soon leaves this lane (for Low Rakes Hou,.¡, ford and Lime Kilns Farm' track and cross a foårùriag. by the picturesque yorkshire wirdrife Trust's Lime Quanies s's S I A footpath rises through woodrand of the quarries and kilns' We meet Limekiln Lane on Mickle Hill where îhere is euidence olformer Leonard about 4' 15 4 30 pm' and Scurah l-une nnUit r*urns us into Burton - CONTENTS PAGES 2 - 5 : THE LAST \ryALK PAGE6 : JOKINGAPART pÀcB z : MAY THß NExr wALKs 2 THE LAST \ilALK POCKLINGTON, MILLINGTON, KILNWICK PERCY AND TIIE ìVOLDS (E% miles) suNDAY, lTth APRTL, 2Ot6 LYING at the foot of the smooth, green slopes of the Yorkshire Wolds, the attractive market town of Pocklinglon slumbered on in the warm sunshine of this Sunday morning. An air of peacefulness pervaded its usually busy streets, broken occasionally by a peal of bells coming from the tower of the Parish Church of All Saints which drifted over the rooftops. There was also our chatter! Like last month, our walk was blessed with a perfect morning - a cloudless sky, bright zunshine and calm, crisp air, ideal for walking. We met in the small ca¡ park on Station Road, just by the former railway station (which happened to be almost empty upon our arrival) and when assembled there were l1 of us, all eagerly anticipating this walk which was new to the group. Crossing Station Road (by the mini-roundabout and toilets) we set out along Railway Stree then through the Market Place, leaving Market Street along Union Street, our interest held by the variety of shops and (later) houses as we made our way north out of the town. We joined the 81246 Kilnwick Road for a short distance before branching along Target Lane, an acc,ess lane to new housing, where a footpath led us out to Denison Road on the edge of the residential area and the edge of Pocklington. Opposite, a chalþ track climbed Chapel Hill, a lesser slope on the western fringe of the Wolds but steep enough to reduce our pace to a warming, steady plodl Birdsong drifted from bushes which covered the slope to both sides of the track and views of Pocklington and the Vale of York beyond dramatically increased behind us as height was gained - a good excuse stop and starel Having attained the ridge of Chapel Hill we passed a nearby transmitter mast and crossed the top of a field which fell steeply away to the 'levels' on our left. The cover of bushes ended revealing a sudden, marvellous view over the vast expanse of the Vale of York, the line of the Pennines rising in the far distance. We were so fortunate to have such a clear morning. It was definitely time for another stop! A kissing gate admitted us to Pocklington Wood where a wide path pleasantly meandered through the leafless, sunny interior between the fresh, gfeen foliage of the woodland floor which included wild garlic and the colourful flowers of wood anemonies, celandines and bluebells. We dodged the occasional muddy patch but further on, around a corner, the path narrowed and became restricted beside a wire boundary fence, We were suddenly faced with slithery, clayey mud from which there was no escape! \,¡Vho was it who said that the Yorkshire Wolds were well-drained because they were made of chalk? However, the path turned another corner where the fence terminated allowing us to wallow over a wider area as we kept on alongside the woodland boundary. Soon, though, the muddy path was restricted again by a wide swathe of 'rough' on the periphery of Kilnwick Percy golf course. But Dave had had an idea. With the rest of us 3 trailing behind him he cut across the 'rough' to walk along the grassy edge of the fairuay, parallel to the muddy footpath. The golf course wa¡¡ deserted, so what did it matter? But was it? Unfortunately a group of golfers appeared at the tee (some distance away) and, as we quickened our pace, we were treated to shouting and gesticulations from behind. We did, of course, leave the fain'vay at the earliest opporrunity! The diversion had been a success, thouglL because we returned to a firm, dry path which pleasantly resumed along the side of the wood until it met a track. Here we turned downhill, zig-zaggingthrough the wood. On the way down some of the group saw a deer! Returning to the foot of the hill we crossed a bridge over Pocklington Beck and joined Woodhouse Lane (a continuation of the track) which passed farm buildings outside which a jet fighter plane was parked - an incongruous sight! The track led straight to join the Pocklingfon-Millington lane, a straight, tevel lane with a wide grass verge where we could take reftrge when cars passed. The lane gave us the opportunity of looking around, particulady towards the slope of the Wolds with Millington Dale becoming more obvious as we slowly approached it, Around a bend in the lane we entered a meadow grazd by sheep and took a diagonal line across it, passing near an ancient moat. We crossed Ridings Beck over a rustic bridge at the far side of the field and continued along a fenced patl\ st fìrst beside the beck (a tributary of Pocklington Beck) which wound its way through a small cleft overhung with hawthorn bushes. Through a grassy paddock we emerged on a farmtrack which led to Mill Farm nearby but before we reached the farmhouse we climbed a small embankment in the hedgerow and entered a freld. We kept along the perimeter of two fields and here again (though not as bad as earlier) the path was muddy or squelchy for much of its length but soon we joined a farmtrack from Clay Farm which gently climbed to meet Swineridge Lane with increasing views into Millington Dale to our right. Although by now there were some summery clouds in the sky the sun shone almost unintemrpted and it was quite warm. Millingfon Dale looked lovely in its fresh green of spring. The houses of Millington village were not far away as we strode along the lane which contoured along the valley side. After the village nameplate we turned right, taking the lane which descended into the village where we passed delightful houses and cottages, most enjoying astounding views of the sunounding countryside and each with its own lovely garden. The Romans were attracted to the spring water at Millington and they established a settlement c¿lled Delgovicia. Evidence of their occupancy has been found outside the village, such as coins, tiles, paving and foundations of a circular temple. The lane turned a corner and levelled out as it passed through the village. We came to the Gait tnn, raised above road level and having a narrow terrace of picnic tables which looked $o tempting in the sunshine. The Gait Inn was named after the area of land each farmer had in the nearby Millington Pastures, one gait being the area needed for six sheep or four ewes with lambs, 4 Upon enquiry, we were permitted to use the beer garden at the rear of the pub for our own lunch but we were'encouraged' to buy drinks from the bar. We walked round to the back of the pub where the garden had been divided into 'rooms', each with picnic tables. Each was a veritable sun-trap! lt proved to be a relaxing and very enjoyable break - hot at frrst, prompting some to remove their fleeces, etc. but this turned out to be a little premature as a belt of cloud appeared from nowhere, later obscuring the sun to some extentl It appeared again, however, as we resumed the walk, rejoining the main street and passing the R¡mblers' Rest Tea Room and Restaurant, also possessing its own outside dining area.