6 The Northern Echo Thursday, July 30, 2009 7DAYS northernecho.co.uk COUNTRY DIARY HE herbal uses of many plants, such as woundwort for example, Newtondale Halt T are preserved in their common names. We have two species of this plant here in the North-East. Hedge woundwort, with spikes of purple and white-blotched, hooded flowers is common along woodland edges and can be recognised by the WALKS WALKFACTS appalling smell of its crushed leaves. Marsh woundwort, with a soft covering Distance: 8.5 km (5.25 miles) of greyish hairs and pink flowers, is restricted to damper habitats and – Time: 3 hours according to the 16th Century herbalist Maps: OS Explorer Sheet OL27 John Gerard – has miraculous powers. By North York Moors eastern area Gerard, a notorious figure among Steps taken: 11,237 herbalists on account of his tendency Mark Reid to exaggerate and take credit for Start/Parking: Levisham village others’ discoveries, says in his Herbal Refreshments: Horseshoe Inn at that marsh woundwort first came to his Levisham. Cafe at Levisham attention when he met a labourer who HE North Yorkshire Station had cut his leg to the bone with a Moors Railway takes Terrain: Quiet lanes and clear scythe. Gerard recounts how the advantage of this victim ‘tied a great quantitie of it unto grassy tracks lead across valley as a convenient Levisham Moor to reach Skelton the wound with a piece of shirt’, T route through the whereupon the pain and bleeding Tower. A rough path heart of the North York Moors. (heather/bracken) then heads ceased and he could resume work. This line was completed in 1836 Within seven days, he claimed, the across moorland along the top of between Pickering and Whitby, wound was healed. the escarpment above Newton Impressed with the labourer’s built to provide a stimulus for its Dale, with steep drops to the side experience, Gerard went on to test the flagging whaling and shipbuilding of the path in places, to reach efficacy of woundwort on two of his industries. Hudson’s Cross, from where a own patients. The first had been run Designed by George path leads quite steeply down to through with a sword, puncturing his Stephenson, the “Father of the reach Newtondale Halt. From lung, but Gerard claimed to have Railways”, this was one of the Levisham Station, grassy paths ‘perfectly cured him in a very short first passenger railways in the lead back up through woodland time’, using the labourer’s method with world, although the carriages and across fields out of Newton the addition of some turpentine, oil of were initially horse-drawn. Dale back to Levisham. roses and ‘a quart of good claret wine’. George Hudson, the “Railway King”, bought the line in 1845 and How to get there: From the A169 Even more improbably, he then between Whitby and Pickering, claimed to have successfully treated an set about upgrading it for turn offthrough Lockton then attempted suicide who had cut his own locomotive use. He built new head down and up a steep road throat and stabbed himself in the chest bridges, tunnels, stations and and abdomen, restoring him to good connected the railway with the into Levisham (SE 833 905). health within 20 days. Far-fetched for main Scarborough to York line. Railway: This walk utilises the sure, but back in Gerard’s day the tall Following the Beeching Report, North Yorkshire Moors Railway stories in his Herbal – and the wild the section between Grosmont from Newtondale Halt (request plants of the hedgerow – were the best and Pickering was controversially stop) to Levisham Station. For medical resources available. closed in 1965, although the Esk train times, call 01751-473535. Phil Gates Valley line from Middlesbrough to Trains run daily throughout the Whitby remained open thanks to summer months. Fares apply. BIRDWATCH concerted local campaigning. Caution: The path along the top The North Yorkshire Moors © Crown Copyright 2005. All Rights Reserved. Licence: 100011978 of Huggitt’s Scar runs along the T’S a measure of the North-East’s Railway Preservation Society was top of the escarpment above formed in 1967 and subsequently prominence in the rarity field that (Braygate Lane). Follow this lane Newton Dale with steep drops Ithe region had an interest in four of bought back the line from British Huggitt’s Scar to eventually reach straight on for 0.75km (lane and sheer rock faces in places, Railways, reopening it fully to the Hudson’s Cross with its trickling the five recent additions to Britain’s becomes a rough track) to reach a although there is flat moorland wild bird list. public in 1973 as a preserved waterfall (steep side-valley that gate at the end of the enclosed on the opposing side – keep Pride of place goes to the Amur steam railway. feeds into Newton Dale). track, with the open moorland of children and dogs under close wagtail, one of which was at Seaham, The evocative sound of the Levisham Moor ahead (signpost supervision. The path from County Durham in April, 2005. The steam engine’s whistle echoing FOLLOW the path skirting Goathland). Head through the Hudson’s Cross down to British Ornithologists’ Union (BOU) down Newton Dale, as well as the around the top of Hudson’s gate and follow the grassy track 3 Newtondale Halt is steep with described this as “one of the most rhythmic “chuff-chuff” from its Cross, immediately after straight on across heather steep drops to the side of the remarkable records” it had considered funnel, are some of the highlights which take the path that branches moorland keeping close to the path. Levisham Moor is exposed in recent years. Related to our familiar of this walk. down to the left (signpost to the elements, rough/boggy pied wagtail, but nesting in south-east stone wall on your left (signpost Newtondale Halt) and follow this Bridleway) then, where this wall underfoot. Siberia and north-east China, it hadn’t POINTS OF INTEREST heading quite steeply down across bends away to the left after 0.5km, previously been rated as having THE village of Levisham lies on the steep slope (take care) to continue straight on along this potential to reach Western Europe. the southern edge of this reach a stile that leads into track over open moorland to reach The BOU hasn’t declared it as a moorland. First settled by a Saxon woodland. Cross the stile and the crest of a steep bank (West branches up to the left slanting up separate species, as many birders farmer called Leofgeat more than follow the path meandering hoped, but as merely a race of white Side Brow). A clear track slants the side of the hill (signpost Village). 1,000 years ago, Levisham has through the woods (fence on your wagtail, just like pied. However down this bank to the right then The path gradually climbs up across retained its medieval layout with left) down to reach a footbridge taxonomical expert opinions change levels out and heads across a shelf the hillside for 0.5 km (superb views houses clustered around a central across Pickering Beck. Cross the constantly so maybe it’s a future of moorland to reach Skelton across Newton Dale to your right) green. footbridge then follow the path to then levels out (bench) and bends possibility. That’s certainly what Tower (ruin) overlooking Newton the left (railway embankment on happened in the case of Pacific diver, Levisham’s Church, dedicated round to the left into a side valley Dale. your right) to soon reach a one of which appeared on Farnham to St John The Baptist, was a (Keldgate Slack). At the head of this Chapel-of-Ease until the Fifties bridge/tunnel beneath the railway Gravel Pits, near Knaresborough, in AS you reach Skelton side valley turn right along a narrow when the much older Parish line. Head to the right beneath January 2007, and is yet another Tower, turn right along a path that traverses this valley up to a “Britlist” newcomer. Church of St Mary, which is 2 this bridge and through a gate wall stile. Cross the stile then turn grassy path that follows the situated in a deep valley between just beyond, after which turn Now with separate species status, it edge of the escarpment (with left alongside the wall on your left Levisham and Lockton, fell into right to reach Newtondale Halt used to be simply the black-throated Newton Dale down to your left) across two large fields to join a road, disuse. (train station). Catch the train diver sub-species nesting in north-west sweeping round to the left. The which you follow straight on back To the north of the village, on south to Levisham Station – this Canada, Alaska and north-east Asia. path soon joins a clear but rough into Levisham. the edge of Levisham Moor is a request stop, make sure you The Yorkshire bird, while another grassy track, which you follow outstanding “first”, isn’t quite as overlooking Newton Dale, stands wave to the driver to stop. straight on across the fairly Mark Reid sensational as the wagtail due to Skelton Tower, which was built in narrow shelf of undulating land Author of The Inn Way suspicion there may have been 1850 by Robert Skelton, Rector of AFTER you have alighted at (Levisham Bottoms), with the series of guidebooks. predecessors that were overlooked Levisham. It was built as a folly Levisham Station, head out steep bank of West Side Brow to 4 innway. co.uk due to their similarity to black-throated.