Thursday 28 February 2013

A walk in the Yorkshire Wolds

A slight blip with the broadband this morning meant I had to switch off for a while when I was half way through this post. Never mind, I got to do a load of washing, and dyson the stair carpet. The washing is drying nicely in the brilliant sunshine and will need fetching in soon. In the meantime, I've managed to upload the rest of the photo's from my day out yesterday. I decided to do another walk over the other side of the bridge, this time paying the £3 toll and driving across. Time was of the essence and I didn't want to faff around waiting for buses. It's a short driving time from here, only takes half an hour.
I parked my car at Welton, which is close to the small town, or is it a large village, of Brough. I have been here before, there is a lovely church next to the pond. I set off along a minor road, which runs parallel to the main A63 Trunk road. I noticed that the drone of the traffic was with me for a good part of the walk, it's a very busy road. The first pic shows the views over Brough and across the river, I can see the cement works at South Ferriby. A little further along to the right, I can see the windfarm near Normanby, a couple of miles from my house. I am in the southern part of the Yorkshire Wolds. Although there are no steep mountains to climb, there are lots of pleasant rolling hills to amble along.  
I made a short diversion into the village of Elloughton, I just fancied an ice cream, might as well get into the holiday spirit. Back on the road again, I picked up a track heading towards Brantingham. The hens look happy in their dust bath.
Next was some woodland walking. I like the way the sun casts shadows across the path.
It looked like the way was barred here, but on closer inspection I see a tree has fallen down across the path and no one had been bothered to move it. There was a short diversion round it.
This is an amazing seven trunk tree. It looks to me that the main trunk has been split when quite young, but I'm only guessing. It could be that seven separate trees took root at the same time, close together. Either way, it definately has the wow factor.
It was while I was admiring this tree, that I noticed a lone male was coming towards me from the same direction as I had just come. I didn't want to carry on walking with him behind me, so I walked to the edge of the wood to pretend to admire the view across the field, to give him chance to pass me. He seemed to slow down a little, and glanced at me several times. There was probably nothing to be worried about, but I was not going to take any chances, I would rather have him in front of me, than behind. I just got an uneasy feeling about it. 
The path through the wood came out on a road, I held back to see which way he would go. He turned right, that's good, I want to turn left. I hid behind a bush and watched him walk up the road. A dog walker arrived on the scene, he looked ok, so I explained why I was lurking behind a bush. We watched the man disappear over the brow of the hill. A few minutes later the man had turned round and was heading towards us. Very strange behaviour I thought, especially as he didn't have a backpack and didn't look like a walker who had took a wrong turn. I told the dog walking man I was going into the village, he said he would stay there and keep watch. Anyway, I found some work men who were surveying the driveway to a farm, so I hung around there a while. The strange man came down the hill and went off to the left on a road. Probably nothing to worry about, but best to go with your intuition.
I was in Brantingham. This is the ancient water spout set on a plinth.
The village pond wasn't very big, only a few ducks, and the water looked a bit murky, unlike the crystal clear water flowing along the stream next to it.
I could hear the buzzing of a hedge cutter and found two men chopping back the ivy on the side of this farmhouse.
The road out of Brantingham goes through a wood, and about half a mile out of the village is this beautiful church. It looks like it has had a lot of TLC, the grounds are immaculate, and the brickwork is sparkly clean. It looks magnificent against the backdrop of trees.

I walked through the church yard, and found this frog. It made me smile, how lovely. There is joy in my heart today.
Not far past the church, I took a path to the left into the woods. As you can see I am on the Yorkshire Wolds Way, a long distance footpath.
Onward and upward I went, there was some twists and turns as the path changed direction. Through Ellerker North Wold, Woodale Plantation, past Mount Airy Farm, and out into the open countryside. Here I am admiring the view over South Cave.
I came across these two interesting benches, a very unusual design. They are made of wood which has been soaked and moulded into shape, held together with metal brackets. You can sit on either side, whether you fancy looking at the woods.....
or facing the other way and admiring the wolds.
I love them, very quirky.
It was time to start making my way back, there was a bit of road walking to do towards Riplingham, then further on I picked up another path and headed back towards Welton. I recognised some of this path, I have walked it before. I looked at my watch, it was too early to go back to the car, so I added an extra twiddly bit on, to arrive back at 5.15pm, just right. The sun was coming down and a beautiful red sky was emerging in the distance. It shone across the duck pond and lit the church up.  
The ducks were lining up on the church wall, some of them asleep, their heads tucked under their wings, and standing on one leg. How do they do that.
This is a scan of my paper map, I did the walk in a clockwise direction. I couldn't fit the whole route on the screen to do a screen shot. I had a fantastic day and plan to do some more days out to the Yorkshire Wolds. 14 miles walked.  
Right, must dash, need to go to town. Got to pay my gas and electric combined bill, it's £122 and a bit for the quarter, 44p less than the same period as last year. So even though British Gas profits are up, they haven't had much from me. I've also got a big fat cheque to pay into my account at Santander. My mortgage capital is on the way down. YAY.
Toodle pip.

24 comments:

  1. Looks like a lovely walk :) Well done on your gas and electric bill! We don't have gas here and our electric bill alone is higher than that :(

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  2. Another wonderful armchair tour. I love that seven armed tree and the frog! Great photos, thanks for taking the time and trouble to share them with us.

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  3. Brenda B. here. I don't comment often but Hello from me. ~This sounded like a worrying scary walk if you felt the need to pretend to enjoy the view and hide behind bushes. I am wondering why you don't walk with a friend? I go out with a friend, we're both quiet people who don't feel the need for chat all the time, it's nice to be quiet to enjoy our surroundings. Much safer than being alone in lonely places. The man must have been odd, if he was lost he would have asked for directions.

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  4. Hi Brenda. I was not worried, I was not scared, I was only taking sensible precautions by keeping out of his way. It didn't spoil my walk in the slightest.

    Why don't I walk with a friend? You tell me where I can find someone who will drop everything at eight o clock in the morning, to come out for a fifteen mile walk? In the summer it will be further because the days will be longer. Do you know anyone who will walk for 10 hours only taking short breaks, because I don't. I took a forty something man friend out with me once, we did 16 miles, nearly bloody killed him, ha ha. I don't want to walk with someone who does not have the same fitness levels as me, moaning that they are tired and want to stop.

    If I can find an easy going person with no baggage, who has the same outlook on life as me, the same love of the countryside, who is not tied to a job or a family, who is a free spirit and can take off whenever he/she pleases, then I will walk with them.

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  5. I love "our" walks. You do not walk alone - we are all along with you. Thank you.

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  6. Wendy here Ilona.
    Really loved going on this walk with you. The pics and your descriptions make it so enjoyable. Those seats were really interesting and we loved the chickens having a dustbath. Sorry about the suspicious bloke but you did all the right things, I would have done the "bush hiding" bit too.
    Wendy (Wales)

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  7. What a lovely walk....I always enjoy tagging along with you on your walks Ilona.
    I loved the seven trunk tree, very distinctive.
    Glad you decided to put safety first and keep an eye on that strange man.
    Loved the twirly swirly benches too...what are the words inscribed on them?
    I'll have to check and see if our ducks here go to sleep on one leg too....how do they do that?

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    1. Hi V. If you copy and paste the web site link that Quinn has posted, the poems are there in full. Can't say that I make much sense of them though.

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  8. Thank you for sharing your lovely walk and views! I was interested in the poems on your wavy benches, and when I poked around online, I found the benches themselves. Maybe you'll find this interesting:

    http://www.angusross.co.uk/public_art_woldsway.html

    Can't say the poems really speak to me, but I do like the bench designs!

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    1. Wow, thanks for posting the link. They make some amazing furniture with wood. Worth a look for anyone who is interested.

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  9. Hi Ilona, I am planning on cycling the Yorkshire Wolds cycle route at Easter. We will cycle from home and take 4 or 5 days to do it. Don't know if it goes as far south asBrantingham but hope it does.Will have to look more closely at the route.Glad you had such a good day. It wasn't so sunny here.
    Brenda in the Boro

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    1. Hi Brenda. I might be able to come and meet you for a drink somewhere along the route. If you could email me with some dates and places I'll see what I can do. Email address on the side bar, or put your email address in a comment, I won't publish it.

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  10. Nice walk! Those benches you saw are actually called 'kissing benches'. One person sits each side and they face each other sideways. That`swhy they are called kissing benches.
    A bit wierd to have come across a suspicious walker. But, you were causious enough and avoided any trouble. You are quite right to be careful when walking alone.

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  11. Hello, Emma here. Love the pictures. That man sounds odd, I'd have been a bit nervous but it seems like you know what you're doing.

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  12. Another gorgeous day out...thanks! If I lived there I'd be right with you..but not every day..I need to rest up between bouts of exercise!
    Jane x

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  13. lovely going along with you, loved the bench and church, good for you being cautious but keeping to it.

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  14. Kathy here in the USA. I admire you "for doing your own thing" with regards to walking alone and enjoying yourself, all the while! Good for you! I too walk by myself most of the time and I thoroughly enjoy my nature walks, just as you do. I am glad you didn't let the strange man ruin your day. You handled it very well and went on about your lovely walk when you felt it was safe. Take care, keep posting your wonderful photos and fabulous life on a pension! You give me daily inspiration. :)

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  15. Thank you for sharing photos of your walk. I really enjoy "going around" with you and seeing all the sights. All so different and SO GREEN(even now) from where I live in the high desert(4600ft) of Western Colorado. Thank you again for taking the time and effort to post. It is very much appreciated.

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  16. I am always overjoyed when you share your walks. You live in a beautiful country that has such picturesque vistas. Like the others who have already posted, I feel I am tagging along.

    That seven trunk tree is amazing. As are the ducks. How do they balance like that?

    I am also amazed at your ability to walk for so many hours. Walks here in Australia are very different. We don't have rights of way and we don't have anything in the same way as you - walking along a marked path to a different village. I would love to live in your area for a year and experience your seasons and do some of your walks.

    As that is not likely to happen, I thank you for sharing and ask that you keep posting.

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  17. Jan here.Your walk looks amazing and impressivley long.The strange man sounds a bit worrying but without really knowing what he was up to,it's hard to judge.I agree that you should always follow your intuition.You obviously know how to react in such situations.It's hard to know if you would until you are confronted with a situation but your confidence and experience must be invaluable.Amazing that the dog walker popped up at just the right time,must have been meant to be!As for your ideal walking companion,I think I know who he was.Hope little Rocky is okay.
    Spring is in the air for sure,bet you're busy planning lots more walks.

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  18. Another great walk! I love "walking" along with you. You do live in such a pretty area. There is always a beautiful church on your routes. Love the tree and the ducks also. I walk in the more suitable weather and walk alone usually. I had been asked by a friend if she could walk with me in the mornings and I said yes but she is late for everything and the first morning she didn't show up at all and I waited and waited for her. I gave up finally and just went by myself. After that, I told her that I would enjoy her company but that I would leave if she wasn't there on time. So that was the end of that! If I want to go out walking, I don't want to hang around waiting for someone. Thanks for always taking the time to post all the photos of your walks and I hope you do another walk soon.

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  19. Ilona, I got told off by my doctor yesterday because I had promised I would get more exercise by walking. Instead, I have vegitated and used the weather, etc. as excuses. As a result my blood pressure and cholesterol are just as high and my weight has increased. So my orders are to get a dog or borrow my neighbours! After I read your blogs on your walks, I am motivated to get out there. I have tried walking by myself but people stop and ask you if you need help. Why is it if you are walking with a dog they pass you by?

    Keep posting your walks!
    Joan in Michigan

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  20. This walk looks beautiful, thanks for sharing it. It occurred to me that in days gone by there would have been a man up a ladder cutting that ivy, safe or not and probably not very well paid at that!

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  21. Stopped off at Brantingham today to eat our sandwiches before continuing on to Beverley. It's a lovely village nestled at the foot of The Wolds.

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