Spring Walk 2023 - Kirby Hill, Gilling West and Richmond

Friday 3rd March 2023

Walking Diary (All Walks) North Yorkshire & Co Durham Country Pub Crawls Easy Walks Other Dales

Spring Walk 2023 - Kirby Hill, Gilling West and Richmond.

A route that I had checked out some time ago, but put it to one side due to the limited number of pubs that opened early. But the Shoulder of Mutton at Kirby Hill is now under new management and opens at 11am on Friday's, plus a couple of pubs/craft bars in Richmond had opened or improved and they looked like they were well worth a visit now. Also, The White Swan at Gilling West had a good local reputation for food, so I decided to give the route a go.

The walk is relatively easy from Kirby Hill to Gilling West generally following the course of Holme/Gilling Beck and is about five miles long, the second stage was more uphill but at just over 3 miles, it's nothing difficult. Passing the Hartforth & Aske estates were highlights of the day as our thoughts turned to those lucky enough to own such grand buildings.

The day overall was another really good one with everyone enjoying the trip out into North Yorkshire and for those that fancied it, a beer or two back in Stockton at The Golden Smog - and for the real hard core, the Kopper Keg for even more !

The information contained in the material on this Website is for information purposes only and does not constitute advice.
Distance: 8.5 miles
Duration: 6:15 hours
Ascent: 767 ft
Difficulty: Easy/Moderate
Accompanied By: Davy, Paul, Ste, Rob, Dicko, Gary & Mark
Weather: Mild & Dry

3D outline of route

Parking

First couple of the day were enjoyed at The Shoulder of Mutton in Kirby Hill - Really nice beer, plus the addition of a hot bacon buttie got the day off to a nice start.

Just outside the pub is the Sts Peter & Felix church.

Ready to go - Photo opportunity kindly undertaken by the landlord.

Kirby Hill (population less than 60) and it's Village Green is where our walk started. Bit nervy for me as I wasn't totally sure where to start, but nothing to worry about in the end as I easily found the narrow grassy alley that gets you on your way

Yep - that's what I was looking for - Can't go wrong now can I! Well, not totally perfect navigation today, but a little more about that later.

The 'Those were the Days' team negotiate the first of their pre-planned challenges.

Making good time, we head into the woods near Whashton.

A pity that Whashton no longer has a pub - I think it used to have one called The Hack & Spade, that would have been ideal for our second stop, but this is the problem all over the countryside, pubs are shutting down or not opening till the evening. Makes my life very difficult when trying to arrange country walks, especially when the beer is much more important to everyone than the walk itself.

Waiting for the stragglers to catch up.

All smiles as we head back out into the countryside.

Anyone see the path ? Single file for a while chaps.

Approaching Hartforth Woods.

Crossing and then walking alongside Holme Beck.

Hartforth Hall. A Grade II listed country house and was built in 1744.

Hartforth Bridge.

Too good to miss out on a photo here.

Arriving in Gilling West, we head straight for the White Swan to check out their highly recommended burgers.

Managed to get all eight of us in this photo - I didn't notice it at first either! Then after lunch it was back down the busy high street to The Angel for a couple more.

The beer by now was beginning to take effect.

This poor fella looked like he had myxi'

One of the highlights of the day was walking past the impressive Aske Estate. Apparently this is the former stable block - more was to follow.

Then the 18th Century Georgian Aske Hall. No - Not Arthur Askey! which was the subject of discussion for a while.

A private lake too within the lovely parkland.

Time to press on - Richmond next stop.

Ah - Too much chatting with little or no navigation. I neglected my walk leader role for ten minutes or so as I was engrossed in a chat with someone, only to realise we had headed 'off route'. Much to the enjoyment of everyone else and to my embarrassment, we have to back-track to pick up the correct path again. My disappointing reputation remains intact unfortunately.

Phew - Back on track !

A golf course - Not our favourite of places.

Fortunately, it was late in the day and I don't think anyone was playing so we managed to negotiate the fairway crossings without any difficulty or injury. That's it for today as we head into Richmond and enjoy the rest of the evening at the really nice Number 29 Alehouse and then the Castle Tavern.