Words & Photos Dennis Kelsall

July 01 2010

The heathery plateau of the North York Moors is striking for its emptiness and vast skies, although the best views are undoubtedly from the fringing Cleveland and Hambleton hills.

The two ranges come together above Osmotherley, where the panorama is to the distant Pennines and my luck was in with a fine day to appreciate it at its best.

I set off into the deepening fold of Oak Dale, passing the upper reservoir pleasingly sheltered by trees. Approaching the farm I swung across to Big Wood, climbing steeply among birch and oak. After regaining my previously lost height, the path meandered easily through woodland. Patches of pine and oak amid the darker clumps of conifer gave only tantalising glimpses to the wider scene before the way suddenly burst out onto a bare, rocky perch. In the distance I could see the rounded shoulders of the eastern Dales, while to the south, the dead-flat Vale faded into haze beyond York. My route now fell gently across the slope before re-climbing around the stub of the hill. I spotted the point at which the bridlepath cuts down through the trees to Over Silton, but the main track also winds to the hamlet.

Isolated in the fields to the east is St Mary’s, which has a fine Norman doorway and a roof supported by ancient ships’ spars. The surrounding village was abandoned in the Middle Ages, the population attracted by higher wages in areas depopulated by the plague. Although barely half a mile away, Nether Silton has a church too, built as a chapel of ease and containing an altar rail reputedly fashioned from the timbers of HMS Dreadnought, one of Nelson’s ships at Trafalgar. Facing it is the other mainstay of village life, the Gold Cup Inn. I sauntered enjoyably across the fields, the flanks of Black Hambleton an impressive backdrop to the east. The upper slopes have been extensively quarried for ironstone, marl and limestone, which was taken out on a tramway to lime kilns near Leake Hall.

After crossing the lane at Kepwick, a fold in the craggy nose of Atlay Bank broached the higher ground, climbing energetically through bracken, gorse and rhododendron and rapidly opening the prospect behind. As the gradient eased, my gaze swept ahead along the impressive scarp below, which nestles Kepwick Hall, a Tudor-style mansion built in 1873 on the site of a medieval manor.

At Gallow Hill I finally swung north onto the moorland proper, joining Hambleton Street, a prehistoric route later used by cattle drovers. But I couldn’t resist taking in the summit trig, which lies to the north-east as the track begins its eventual descent towards Thimbleby Moor.

Distance: 11.5 miles/18.5km Ascent: 1750ft/533m Time: 5–6 hours Start/finish: Thimbleby Moor (GR: SE 479959) Map: OS 1:25,000 Explorer OL26 (North York Moors – Western area) Information: Helmsley, 01439 770173 Travel: Bus service to Osmotherley

Technical Spec
From parking area, follow Cleveland Way W into Oak Dale. Approaching farm, cross valley and climb through Big Wood. Contour across Thimbleby Bank, joining bridlepath from Sandpit Lane around to Over Silton. L along Kirk Ings Lane then S across fields via Nether Silton to Kepwick. Climb Atlay Bank and continue over Pen Hill and Black Hill to Gallow Hill. Swing L to intersect Cleveland Way and follow Hambleton Street back over Black Hambleton, bagging the summit trig en route.