I've just plotted out a longish walk on my nearby North York Moors that just awaits a bright cheery day (wimp I hear someone shouting ! - Yup). I'll probably comment further on it when I've been but as I've walked most of it as parts of other walks I thought I'd post it - maybe someone else might fancy the idea too.
Starting point is a public road north of Helmsley. In Helmsley take the A170 east from the town centre and turn left opposite the petrol station. Head a few miles north, through the tiny farming hamlet of Cartlon and on down the quaintly-named Cowhouse Bank and past some pleasant woodland onto Lund ridge on the road to Bransdale.
Soon after meeting the moorland on your right you'll meet it on your left too - stop here and park up.
A farm road leads NW and then SW to Old Kiln farm, passing by the typical NY Moors farmstead across fields and into some forestry on Collis ridge.
A steady climb takes you through and out of the wood onto Helmsley moor and then Laskill pasture moor. Here a moorland track wanders WNW to the edge of Bilsdale before turning north. Soon after a faint path follows the wallside when the track vears off. Take this path north across the moorland for about a mile before meeting the walls again.
Head downhill through farmland making for several farms along the way:- staying east of High Crosset farm, going through Low Bracken Hill, past Studstyle and Low Cowhelm before reaching High Cowhelm.
Here a choice of paths lies, take the one heading west through Hill End wood to Hill End farm - (see - nice consistant naming here - very thoughtful).
At Hill End farm pick the track heading NE and then N into the heart of the beautiful and peaceful Tripsdale - a small but exquisite dale running off (or rather into) Bilsdale.
In Tripsdale the footpath veers up and above the crags of Kay Nest - but sod the path and wander straight up the dale bottom beside the beck. Various crags and boulders add to the unspoilt beauty of the beautiful spot - perfect for a lunch break whilst enjoying the almost natural scenery of these parts.
At the top of Tripsdale a broad moorland track heads east up the bank and across the highest point of the walk at 400 metres on Slape Wath Moor.
The track vears SE and at Stump Cross a path continues SE whilst the track heads off into shooty grousey country. Stick with the track, blessedly downhill (it's a stiff little bugger of a walk the other way) to the public road above Bransdale head.
Here a boggy green path leads from the higher road to a lower one at Colt House farm - where a pleasant walks across the fields on a bridleway takes you the hidden Bransdale Mill.
You're on National Trust land and in the heart of perhaps the most beautiful and probably quietest of the bigger NY Moors dales - even on a bank holiday there are no crowds - laaarvleee.
Crossing Hodge Beck at the mill ( a hostel now) - a footpath takes you across more pasture to the road again at Cow Sike. (You're perhaps noticing a distinct livestock nature to the naming around here, although Toad Hole stands out and Cockayne Ridge makes paints a picture of toad-licking, powdery snorting depravity - surely not!)
At Cow Sike a lovely moorland track heads upwards a hundred metres vertically and some 3/4 mile to the head of Ouse gill, a small and gentle dale aiming south. There's no marked track down the gill but you can't really go amiss, just follow the beck for almost 2 miles of trackless joy and peace and quiet - not that peace and quiet will have been lacking so far.
The beck finally encounters the road again at Ousegill Bridge, a very phogenic spot. Take the road right and SW around the hairpin and uphill before turning off onto another farm road, passing Moor House farm - a rather bleak looking spot but so typical, again, of moorland farms - before descending to Low Lidmoor farm.
Pass Low Lidmoor and the bridleway and track head you into woods again and back across Hodge beck on a handy bridge before turning you south and uphill to the ruins of Stork House and fantastic views back up Bransdale. The track runs along a wall side totally ignoring the marked rioght of way which doesn't even vaguelly exist on the ground. The track soon heads off across the moor in bulldozed unloveliness for a short time before dropping down to and crossing Bonfield Gill and returning to the roadside some yards north of your starting point.
Watch out for Golden PLover in spring and summer, Curlews, Stonechats, Wheatears, adders perhaps, Slow worms and very few nasty biting thingies - barring the odd collie.
Peaace and quiet and, in late summer swathes and swathes of purple heather and the buzzing of happy bees. Oh yes and loads of Red Grouse (except after August when there are a few less!)
