Bishop Burton walkabout

Good morning on this sunny but chilly Easter Sunday morning. I set the bedside clock forward one hour, due to the start of British Summertime, it was 7am when I rolled out of bed, so 6am in old money. My watch has yet to catch up. As soon as the cats hear me stir they are up and hanging around the back door, waiting to be let out.

Yes, it was a bit of a grueller yesterday, but I set off with the intention of upping the mileage a notch or two. I like to push myself a bit, to see what can actually be achieved. Another trip over the bridge into the Yorkshire Wolds. My map is fast filling up with coloured lines highlighting the routes I have walked. There are some parts that are lacking in footpaths and bridleways, so some road walking is needed to join up the circles. My starting point was Walkington, guess what I did first, pop in the shop and go straight to the back to see if there were any out of date goodies in the trolley. Bingo, success. I bought some naughty chocolate, two at 10p each, and a big bag of crisps for 10p. A nice start to the day.

I took a bridleway out of the village which is part of the High Hunsley Circuit. It is a circular route of  25.5 miles long, achievable in a day for experienced walkers. I don't follow established long distance routes in their entirety, preferring to hop on and off as I make up my own walks. So, I arrived in the village of Bishop Burton, and what a pretty village it is. Real chocolatey box type stuff. I couldn't resist lingering a while. Oh my, isn't this gorgeous.        

There is a massive village pond. The only thing marring this idylic setting is the main road which passes through, just beyond those white rainings over there. The drone of traffic is forever present.

Lots of white buildings with unusual features. The sticking out windows just below the eaves.

A lot of the houses had a rustic wooden porch over the front door, which was supported by tree trunks that have been left in their natural state, polished to preserve them. 

Ducks and swans wandered around freely on the village green. There was a hunt the Easter egg competition going on, a stall was set up and children were excitedly running around with a piece of paper and pencil searching out the hidden eggs. I could have joined in that myself, there was one behind the church, and one on the railings next to the duck pond.

The sun was in the wrong place for a good photo of the church, a bit of shadow on one side of it.

Inside a small display of Easter flowers, with little peg characters. 

You can see the porch a bit more clearly on this photo.

Even the pub on the main road had the same porch at the front.

Time to move on, I've got some walking to do. Continuing along the High Hunsley Circuit, there was a long tramp through several fields. Luckily the ground was not swampy, it has dried out nicely. Some remaining snow drifts in the hedges, quite high in places. A bit chilly but ok if I keep moving.  

Time for a late lunch. Not many places to sit down in the middle of the countryside, oooh look, some very conveniently placed bales of hay. I wasn't there long though, the sky blackend and flurries of snow were dropping on my head.

I passed Newbold Lodge, one of the many farms along the way, and when I reached the road, I turned right past Arras Cottages and continued up Kiplingcotes Lane. Eventually it comes to Hudsons Way Nature Reserve, where I stopped for a few minutes at the old railway station. The station is now a house, and another building has been turned into a small furniture making business.

The Wilberforce Way is the old railway line which was converted to a cycle and footpath. At this point it crosses over a farm access road. The path continues under the bridge on the left.

It was a long and pretty boring trek along the straight path, at least I could get some speed up as the ground conditions were quite good. The only people I saw was a group of cyclists braving the cold. The Wilberforce Way became the Hudson Way. I find it confusing when two long paths merge and they run together along the same path. This is where I got off, at Mill Farm. You can get a glimpse of the old mill here in the top right of the picture. It has been left to go to ruin, shame really.  

By now I was ready to head back, so the last part of it was the quickest way, by road. Time to march on. The roads were quiet however, and some of the grass verges were pretty flat so I was able to walk on them to save wearing down the soles of my boots on the tarmac. A quick look at Cherry Burton on my way through. The church is gorgeous, but the village is not half as pretty as it's neighbouring village, Bishop Burton.  

A simple but very nice altar.

Just as I was coming back into Walkington, the sun was going down, and made a beautiful sunset. There has been a mixture of all sorts of weather today. At times I was pretty cold, but other times the sun came out. I was striding along and I had to roll my knee length socks down and remove my scarf and gloves, because I was too hot.

I started at 10.30 am and finished at 6.15pm. Ready for home now ready for a sit down, ready for my dinner. More spinach and mushrooms, and the left overs warmed in the microwave from the meal out last night. Yes I took my own plastic box with me because I knew I wouldn't be able to eat the whole lot. Ha ha. Thanks for reading. Toodle pip.