Bransdale walk

BRANSDALE was beautiful on a still, misty morning. The land shapes of the North York Moors shading grey; four headlands in softening tones to the west. It was incredibly quiet, no bird sang, no tractor worked a little field; cattle were silent and there were no cars.

A farmer said good morning, I asked which were the walls that Big Mark and Little Mark rebuilt. "All of em," he laughed.

We admired the stone work, including the 'linear plan' farmhouse at Ankness, and the blue steel of its new barn, and turned a corner. There was one of the two Marks, the bigger by the look of it, peering at a wall. Well actually at a necklace of woven wool in wire fence, where a sheep had its head caught.

"Stay awhile, have a go," Mark said. "Once you've picked up a stone you won't be able to stop." Victoria showed interest. "All that bracken up there needs beating down," he said. But we had our own bracken to beat, on the drop from Ankness Ridge to Hodge Beck, where midges ate us, ants ferried up and down a pine and we ate our sandwiches on a rustic seat in a larch wood.

The wood soon ended at oaks, and we looked out across Pockley Moor and we pondered. Our target, Little Roll Gate, is a track to the east less than a mile away, but the shortest connection was via a gully head high with bracken.

A public footpath that would have done the job had disappeared. But as this is open access area we had choice and took a wider arc through heather, burnt, short and mature, and some bracken.

Here in the tale there should be a eulogy on the purpling heather. But it was hard work, sometimes we couldn't see our footfalls, and I'm nursing a slightly sprained ankle. Spending a mile foot watching had its bonus: a flash of a lizard, and also two heather eating caterpillars. Bon apptit.

The track reached, we speeded up, a mountain bike went one way, another went the other, and we stopped to watch dragonflies hawk a jewel of a dark pond.

A while later at a crossroads, there were exquisite sunken doughnuts of stone and bilberry: i.e. four-star grouse butts, five star but for the nearby quarry.

I mentioned we hadn't seen birds, a pair of lapwings, grouse awaiting the 'Glorious 12th', that's all, but then we saw it, a big, big raptor, and we watched its lazy flight and glide into the heart of Bransdale. Bon chance.

Stork House, what can you say? Top ten ruin, dead rooms with views to die for. An open-air fireplace with a classical touch, tumbling pantiles and ash trees rooted on the peak of a gable end.

A farmer turned hay across the valley, and we headed for the farms there, dipping into National Trust woods of ancient oaks, freshening in the beck and zig-zagging up the last flank.

Directions:

1. When in doubt look at the map. Check your position at each point. Keep straight on unless otherwise directed.

2. Right to road (verge), track on right at hairpin bend (signed), fieldgate into farmyard and skirt to left of barns then through yard, stile/fieldgate out by trees to track, left-hand bend and keep by wall to left, fieldgate.

3. At dog-leg in wall, where track starts to descend, faint path at 45 degrees down hillside, right downhill at handful of pines and birch (before tiny stream) for 100 yards to fieldgate (waymark far side), left down bank for 100 yards to footbridge over Hodge Beck.

Ford side stream (avoidable), 20 yards. Right to track, bridge, ignore right fork at tracks junction (little log seat), stile/gate to moor (waymark).

4. Public right of way vanished. Open access moorland ahead. Head west-northwest for about half a mile, then angle further west, watch out for rough ground and gullies.

5. Right to obvious dirt/stone track.

6. At staggered tracks junction, track to right (quarry to left).

Fork left on to grassy track in heather (waymarked post), gateway to left out of yard of ruined house, walled track, gate, 300 yards, fork right at sign to path down hillside.

7. Footbridge over Hodge Beck, right to path uphill, gate, uphill to left of wall for one field, fieldgate and right to track (sign), fieldgate, track swings left, fieldgate by trees (waymark), through yard to track (fieldgates), turns to tarmac up to road.

Fact file:

Distance: Five miles.

Time: Three hours.

General location: North York Moors.

Start: Moorhouses parking area GR. 637 947.

Right of way: The route is along public rights of way and in Open Access Area.

Date walked: Saturday July 31, 2004.

Road route: A170 to Kirkbymoor-side. Left at mini roundabout at top of Kirkbymoorside main street, left at fork after 1 miles (signed Fadmoor). Straight up through Fadmoor (signed Bransdale). Parking area 4 miles.

Car parking: Moorhouses parking area. Also signed High and Low Lidmoor, and with dead-end sign.

Lavatories: None.

Refreshments: Fadmoor and Gillamoor an inn each, inns and cafs at Kirkbymoorside.

Tourist & public transport information: Helmsley TIC 01439 770173.

Map: Based on OS Explorer OL 26 North York Moors western area.

Terrain: Upland pasture, valley and open moor.

Points of interest: Little Roll Gate is a track that's a public highway that's been closed to 4x4s etc.

Difficulty: Rough in parts.

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

Click here to view a map of the walk

Updated: 08:38 Saturday, August 07, 2004