Route: Hole of Horcum
Area: North York Moors
Date of walk: 25th February 2016
Walkers: Andrew and Gilly
Distance: 6.7 miles
Ascent: 800 feet
Weather: sunny at first, then clouded over
The Hole of Horcum is a massive hollow in the valley of Levisham Beck, 400 feet deep and ¾ mile across. According to local legend it was formed when Wade the Giant scooped up a handful of earth and threw it at his wife during an argument. In reality the Hole was created by a process called spring-sapping, where water welling up from the hillside gradually undermined the slopes above, eating the rocks away grain by grain, so that, over thousands of years, a once narrow valley widened and deepened into an enormous cauldron. The process still continues today
We parked near the Horseshoe Inn in Levisham and walked out of the village with the inn to our backs and turned off along the path leading along Levisham Brow, a high level route at the top of the woods
The path was either muddy or frozen most of the way but we managed to avoid any slips and trips. Eventually we descended into Horcum Slack and walked along the valley to the deserted house shown on the OS map as Low Horcum, set in an extraordinary location and which makes one wonder who lived here and why
After passing by Low Horcum we climbed up the edge of the Hole of Horcum onto open moorland – a complete contrast with what has gone before – and from this vast open space the nature and magnitude of the gorge becomes apparent
The moorland section of the walk was otherwise quite featureless but made for rapid progress and it only took us an hour or so to cover the 3 miles back to the start of this classic walk
For other walks here, visit my Find Walks page and enter the name in the ‘Search site’ box
Click on the icon below for the route map (subscribers to OS Maps can view detailed maps of the route, visualise it in aerial 3D, and download the GPX file. Non-subscribers will see a base map)
Scroll down – or click on any photo to enlarge it and you can then view as a slideshow
Before we set off today, hungry birds at Derwent View Hackness - long tailed tit
Nuthatch
A fine display of crocus by the bridge in East Ayton as we drove to Levisham
Another brief stop at Ebberston, where fallow deer can usually be seen by St Mary’s Church. It looks as though the middle one is leucistic (white)
After those enjoyable distractions we finally arrive in Levisham and park near the excellent Horseshoe Inn
Walking out of the village
Just beyond the last house we join a narrow path which follows Levisham Brow
Looking back along the path
We descend gently into the valley below
Levisham Beck below
We carry straight on, but anyone wanting to return to Levisham could do so here by turning left along Dundale Griff
Levisham Beck
We follow the path with the beck to our left
Horcum Slack
Beyond the top of this massive hole lies open moorland
Low Horcum, population zero
We pass by the deserted cottage
We climb the path up to the top of the Hole of Horcum
Looking back along our path
The A169 runs along the east side of the hole and it’s odd to see cars and lorries passing by
We emerge at the top, from where there is a view across the moors to RAF Fylingdales Early Warning Station
Start of the moorland section as we walk across Levisham Moor, looking down to the path we’d followed earlier
Seavy Pond
Multiple choices here - we follow the sign for Levisham
Back to the start
