I started out from Derwent View in the unspoilt village of Hackness – for anyone not staying at the cottage there’s ample parking by the nearby village hall
After walking out of Hackness and just after Mill Farm I left the road to climb uphill and follow a path below Walker Flat Wood. This is a lovely section of the walk with ever improving views over Hackness Hall and St Peter’s Church to the woodlands beyond
I descended past the hall and after crossing the road followed a path uphill through Thirlsey Wood. Just before Thirlsey Cottage I turned left and walked across open farmland to Silpho, the half way point of the walk
After descending back to valley level through Haggland Wood I returned to Hackness via Lowdales, a beautiful secluded valley
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Before the walk I stopped at nearby Birdwatcher’s car park - a great place to see a variety of woodland birds, using the car as a hide
Nuthatch
Marsh or willow tit - very hard to tell the difference, and once thought to be the same species
The starting point for today’s walk - Derwent View Hackness
Leaving the village
I pass by Mill Farm and will follow a path uphill just beyond it
Walking above Mill Farm and looking back towards the start
Autumn colours in the valley
Zooming in on a ruined barn
Approaching Hackness Hall
The lake in the grounds of the hall
Hackness Hall
St Peter’s Church
Looking back to Coomb Slack and Coomb Hill
St Peter’s Church and Hackness Hall again
Beyond the hall, I descend to the road
Thirlsey Bottoms
I climb up through Thirlsey Wood
Approaching Thirlsey Cottage, where I will turn left across the fields
Walking towards Silpho
I leave Silpho via a path to the left of the red phone box
Descending into Lowdales through Haggland Wood
Lowdales…
Looking across to Lenfield Slack
Reaching the end of this lovely valley
Back in Hackness, I take a track above the road which brings me back to the start
Zooming in on another ruined barn in the fields opposite Derwent View
Back to the cottage, and the end of a wonderful walk