Thornton-le-Dale (From York Press)

Thornton-le-Dale

12:21pm Saturday 9th January 2010 in

• Skip social links
• Print
• Email
• Comments(0)

THORNTON-LE-DALE is a fine village, notably for its intricate channels of water that splash and chortle with a surplus of ducks, so many ducks that I thought idiotically “on the thirteenth day of Christmas my true love sent to me... three French hens, two turtle doves, ten thousand ducks, and a partridge in a pear tree”.

The A170 grinds through, but soon we slipped off by Church Lane, slipped being the word.

On the edge of the village the snow covered the large municipal landfill site and purified the season’s excess. Then a track named Outgang Lane, which is the southern border of the National Park, took us up through a few contours. The views south showed off the Carrs under a sky streaked with pinks.

The track was ice; “painful on the bum” said a walker and me and my true love were glad of our thick underwear, cosy in the cold new year.

A valley opened below to the north, Thornton Dale it’s called and was to be our return route; but for the next mile we kept to our top track.

It wasn’t long before we met pheasant shooters and their convoy of 4X4s. Normally we’d sigh at the loss of silence, shrug and just carry on, but this day we had Merlot, a spaniel, a friend’s dog, and this focused our concentration. Because, as any dog walker will know, pheasant woods are dangerous and these days most woods are pheasant woods. The guns were firing on Nabgate and we didn’t want a gamekeeper to nab Merlot. Thus we were on best behaviour for a mile until we reached the safety of Forestry Commission conifers and a flex of land named Shoulder of Mutton.

A descent slotted us into Sand Dale which is on the southern border of Dalby Forest. The snow was thick, each step a hollow crunch, and more came down, bending branches, lifting the spirits and it was lovely.

Sand Dale connects with Thornton Dale at a pond where there is a bird hide, a wooden shed with lookout slits. There were no birds, the water was iced except where its spring feed kept it clear. We sat on the benches, looked out at this, chewed sandwiches and chatted to a lively crew who turned up from Marishes with mulled wine.

Then it was time to finish the walk and we left the forest and followed the footsteps and Thornton Beck.

Along the way the sheep seemed frozen, the Highland cattle subdued and the brown trout in fish farm ponds barely moved a fin. However, Merlot hunted ducks.

Fact file

Distance: Six-and-a-half miles.

General location: North York Moors.

Start: Car park.

Right of way: Public and Forestry Commission open access.

Dogs: Legal.

Date walked: January, 2010.

Road route: From York, A64.

Car parking: Honesty box.

Lavatories: Car park.

Refreshments: Thornton-le-Dale.

Tourist and public transport information: Pickering TIC 01751 473791.

Map: Drawn from OS Explorer OL27 North York Moors eastern.

Terrain: Mixed.

Difficulty: Quite easy.

Please observe the Country Code and park sensibly. While every effort is made to provide accurate information, walkers set out at their own risk.

Directions

When in doubt look at the map. Check your position at each point.

Keep straight on unless otherwise directed.

1. From centre of Thornton Dale, east by A170, bridge over Thornton Beck, left 20 yards, right uphill on Church Lane.

2. Left to road (dead-end sign). Keep straight on at left-hand bend to recycling site. Road becomes track. Ignore left forks.

3. Track enters woods, ignore track downhill on left and instead take nearby fieldgate on right (Forestry Commission signs), immediately left to track for 100 yards, left to track downhill (metal forest barrier).

4. Forest barrier and left at track junction in valley bottom (various signs/blue waymark).

5. Left to track, 20 yards, path on right to Wildlife Hide (sign). Return to main track, metal gates out of forest (waymark), three successive gates/fieldgates (some waymarks), pass farm, fieldgate out of yard. Ignore a signed left fork up hillside, fieldgate (waymark). Pass fish farm.

6. Track swings right over Thornton Beck, briefly road, bridge on left opposite church (campsite sign), into farmyard for 50 yards, path on right between stream and barn, riverside path with three successive stiles, snickelgate (waymarks).

7. Left to road in Thornton Dale. Footbridge over Thornton Beck before two benches, path back to centre.