Route: Harwood Dale
Area: North York Moors
Date of walk: 29th September 2013
Walkers: Andrew and Gilly
Distance: 8.7 miles
Ascent: 800 feet
We parked near the small church of St Margaret’s in Harwood Dale village and walked across fields towards the moors. On a couple of occasions we had to take minor detours to avoid herds of cows
Eventually we came to the edge of open moorland, at which point we turned back on the return leg. There were wonderful open views, and in the far distance we caught occasional glimpses of Scarborough Castle and the North Sea
The route back took us across fields, back down to valley level, and then through woodland beside Harwood Dale Beck. Just before arriving back in Harwood Dale, we visited the Mill Inn for refreshments. It was an unusual place to say the least, see this article in the Yorkshire Post
The weather improved as the day went on and by the end of the walk there wasn’t a cloud in the sky. We visited St Margaret’s Church, which looked stunning the the late afternoon sunlight
What a great walk it had been
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
Leaving Harwood Dale village
Close encounter of the bovine kind - we tiptoed along to the left trying not to make eye contact
Scar Wood
Leaving the wood to cross Jugger Howe Beck
We emerge from the woods onto open fields
Hawthorn
Scarborough Castle in the far distance, take my word for it
Lownorth Moor
On Pike Rigg
On the return leg now, looking towards Broxa Forest
Descending back to the dale
Footbridge across Lownorth Beck
The Mill Inn - unique
Someone had to give way along this track, so we did the polite thing and pulled over
Back to the start - St Margaret’s Church Harwood Dale
