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WALK 6

Hutton-le-Hole, Lastingham, Cropton and Appleton-le-Moors

Start/finish	Ryedale Folk Museum, Hutton-le-Hole, SE 705 900
Distance	15km (9½ miles)
Total ascent/descent	260m (855ft)
Time	5hrs
Terrain	Easy walking along low-level paths, tracks and roads, brushing moorland slopes first, then returning through fields later
Maps	OS Landranger 94 or 100; OS Explorers OL26 and 27 South
Refreshments	Pub and tearooms at Hutton-le-Hole, pubs at Lastingham, Cropton and Appleton-le-Moors
Transport	Summer weekend Moorsbus services to Hutton-le-Hole from Pickering and Danby; Monday, Wednesday and Saturday Ryecat buses serve Hutton-le-Hole, Lastingham, Cropton and Appleton-le-Moors from Pickering

The three little villages of Hutton-le-Hole, Lastingham and Cropton sit where the Tabular Hills give way to the High Moors. True to form the Tabular Hills display a series of high nabs before the higher moors stretch their uniform heather slopes northwards. This walk links all three villages, then uses the course of the waymarked Tabular Hills Walk to take in a fourth village, Appleton-le-Moors, on the way back to Hutton-le-Hole. Each village has at least a pub offering food and drink, so this is an ideal walk for those who like to be pampered.

Leave the Ryedale Folk Museum in Hutton-le-Hole and walk down the road a short way to the village hall. Across the road from the hall is a public footpath sign beside a small gate. Follow this path across fields as marked, then cross a footbridge over Loskey Beck and follow a woodland path up through a gate, continuing along a grassy track to reach a road. Turn right along the road – but well before reaching a road junction, watch for a public footpath sign pointing left along a grassy track. Follow the track through a gate, noting that some stretches are wet and muddy, then swing right and continue alongside a fence. Cut across a grassy slope as marked, well above Camomile Farm. Drop down into a valley where the ground is wet enough to support bog myrtle. Climb up the other side to reach a clear track above the village of Lastingham, beside its Millennium Stone and a signpost.

The Millennium Stone above the village of Lastingham

The little village of Lastingham is huddled between the Tabular Hills and High Moors and can easily be explored by making a detour from the route. Of particular interest is St Mary’s Church, with its Norman crypt and Shrine of St Cedd, originally built in 1078 on the site of an ancient Celtic monastery. Food and drink are available from the Lastingham Grange Hotel and Blacksmith’s Arms.

Walk past the Millennium Stone and follow a track signposted for Hartoft. This quickly becomes a broad, grassy track running alongside a drystone wall. The track rises gently, then runs downhill, with moorland to the left and fields to the right, eventually fording Tranmire Beck. Head straight uphill to a corner of a wall and follow the wall onwards, using a narrow grassy path to reach a clear farm access road near High Askew. Turn right to walk down the road, which eventually reaches a road junction.

Turn left, as signposted, along a public footpath, pass through a gate in a hedge and continue down a field before turning right alongside the River Seven. Go through a gate on to a road and turn left across a bridge. Follow the road away from the river, up past Beckhouse Farm, then down to a junction. Turn right over another bridge and walk up the road towards Cropton. Either walk all the way up the road to reach the village and its pub, or omit the village and turn right along a clear track signposted as the Tabular Hills Walk.

CROPTON

A motte and bailey was built at Cropton in the 12th century, but it was in ruins by the end of the 14th century. St Gregory’s Church may have been built on a Norman chapel site, but while it retains its 12th-century font, the building is essentially a 19th-century restoration. The New Inn offers accommodation, food and drink and a campsite, as well as tours of its micro-brewery. Other lodgings are available around the village.

The Tabular Hills Walk follows a clear track, but when this track suddenly turns right, leave it by walking straight ahead to enjoy a fine, garlic-scented woodland path, passing through a number of gateways. Eventually, at a junction of paths turn right down to the River Seven and cross it using a footbridge. Rise to a small gate, then follow a farm access road uphill, away from Appleton Mill Farm and continue along Hamley Lane. Turn left at a road junction beside the stump of an old stone cross to approach Appleton-le-Moors. The route turns right just as it reaches the substantial Dweldapilton Hall on the outskirts of the village.

APPLETON-LE-MOORS

Appleton-le-Moors is a typical Yorkshire ‘croft and toft’ village. The crofts are the little cottages arranged on either side of the long main street; the tofts are the pieces of land extending from the back of each dwelling, where householders would grow their own vegetables. The imposing Dweldapilton Hall was built by a wealthy whaler, Dweldapilton being an earlier name for the village. The Moors Inn offers food, drink and accommodation.

Follow the track away from the hall, eventually reaching a prominent junction of tracks. Walk through a gate and approach a wood where you will see two gates ahead – be sure to go through the gate on the right into the wood. Turn right to walk around the inside edge of the wood, then continue through fields. Turn right along another clear track, Bottomfields Lane, which rises gently. Turn left at the top and continue along a grassy track through more fields. The track then becomes narrow and drops steeply, passing through a gate and down to a road. Turn right to walk back up into the charming village of Hutton-le-Hole.

Hutton-le-Hole has a long history of settlement dating back to Neolithic times. The village was mentioned in the Domesday Book as ‘Hoton’, but throughout the ages it has also been known as as ‘Hege-Hoton’, ‘Hoton under Heg’ and ‘Hewton’. As a placename Hutton-le-Hole dates only from the 19th century. The village features the Ryedale Folk Museum, Crown Inn, tearooms, accommodation and gift shops.

Sheep regularly graze the extensive green in the middle of Hutton-le-Hole

RYEDALE FOLK MUSEUM

Trace the history of Yorkshire folk from 4000BC to 1953, with plenty of hands-on exhibits, as you wander from one part of the museum site to another. Over a dozen buildings have been erected since 1964, some with roofs supported by enormous cruck frames (pairs of curved wooden timbers supporting the ends of the roof), some standing in isolation, while others are arranged as a row of small shops. Vintage vehicles, including motorised and horse-drawn carriages, are preserved, and land around the site sprouts vegetables and flowers, including many varieties of cornfield flowers. Local folk often give demonstrations of traditional crafts while wearing period dress. There is an entrance charge, and the museum incorporates a shop and toilets, tel 01751 417367 www.ryedalefolkmuseum.co.uk.