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THE TABULAR HILLS

Forge Valley Woods is part of a National Nature Reserve (Walk 1)

THE TABULAR HILLS

The Tabular Hills stretch along the southern part of the North York Moors National Park. The land rises gently from south to north and is cut by a series of dales that leave tabular uplands between them. The gentle slopes often end abruptly at their northern ends in a series of shapely knolls, or nabs, that look out towards the rolling moorlands at the heart of the national park. From east to west, from Scarborough to Helmsley, the more prominent nabs include Barns Cliff, Langdale Rigg End, Blakey Topping, Whinny Nab, Levisham Moor, the Nab, Boonhill Common, Birk Nab, Helmsley Bank, Easterside Hill and Hawnby Hill. Prominent dales from east to west include the Forge Valley, Hole of Horcum, Newtondale, lower Rosedale, lower Farndale, Sleightholm Dale, Riccal Dale, Ash Dale, Beck Dale and lower Ryedale.

The rocks that make up the Tabular Hills are seldom exposed but belong to the Middle Oolite Group in the Corallian series of the Jurassic period and, hence, are around 170 million years old. They are essentially a limestone and lime-rich sandstone series, porous enough to allow surface water to drain away rapidly. In the more deeply cut dales the bedrock is formed from the older Oxford Clay, which is impervious and supports the flow of rivers and streams. Some areas of the Tabular Hills have been turned over to commercial forestry. The land is very fertile and easily ploughed but the soil is often too thin to support good root crops. However, grain crops such as wheat, barley and oats are grown in rotation, and oilseed rape blazes yellow early in summer.

As if to celebrate the distinct nature of these gentle heights, the waymarked Tabular Hills Walk has been established. It traverses the low hills and intervening dales from the coast at Scalby Mills to the bustling market town of Helmsley, a distance of 80km (50 miles). The signposts and waymarks for the route feature directional arrows and a Tabular Hills logo. The route has been designated a regional trail and is an initiative of the North York Moors National Park Authority.

Ten walking routes through the Tabular Hills are described, including two routes around Hackness, three in the Lockton and Levisham area and one each around Hutton-le-Hole, Gillamoor, Rievaulx Moor, Helmsley and Hawnby. Some of these take in the distinctive nabs, while others wander more through the dales. From time to time, on the higher ground, it is possible to look along the range and see how the higher nabs end abruptly, and the High Moors then stretch northwards into the heart of the North York Moors.