On Shanks' Pony in the Yorkshire Wolds!
“And the rhythm in my shoes keeps the blues all away
When you ride Shanks's Pony you don't have to pay”Walking the Long Miles Home - R. Thompson
Introduction
I’m Pauline and together with my friend Jill, plus our dogs, we decided it would be great to walk the Yorkshire Wolds Way. Jill and I first met over twenty years ago when we were both long distance horse riders. Having ridden many of bridleways of the Yorkshire Wolds, we had become very fond of the lovely rolling country side. Since my retirement I am not riding anymore so I was keen to continue my exploration of this lovely area on “Shanks Pony”. We will be accompanied by our two dogs, my whippet, Ruby and Jill‘s labrador Maizee.
Due to family commitments, and as the Yorkshire Wolds are virtually on our doorstep, we plan to walk the route in sections of 10-12 miles a day at approximately weekly intervals. Jill has done more walking at this distance than me so in the weeks preceding the start of the walk, my whippet Ruby and I gradually upped our dog walks from 3 or 4 miles to 7 or 8 miles at a time.
Our plan is to use two cars, leaving one car at the end of our planned daily route and travel to the start in the other. This means that we can, more or less, walk sections at our desired mileage, and with no overnight stays or public transport concerns. We are therefore tending to plan the sections according to the mileage we wish to walk.
The Yorkshire Wolds Way
The “Yorkshire Wolds Way” is one of the lesser known National Trails. First opened in 1982 the Wolds Way is 79 miles (127kms) in length. It starts in the East Riding of Yorkshire and follows the airy chalk uplands, and the tranquil dry dales of the Wolds, from the Humber estuary in the south to Filey Brigg on the east coast. The countryside is a mix of upland arable land, often with panoramic views and beautiful pastoral dales valleys. The valleys are dry dales traditionally used for grazing sheep or cattle. They are dry because of the porous chalk, although there are often natural springs, and the sides of the dales are occasionally wooded. When roads are encountered they are frequently very quiet rural lanes which do not destroy the peace of the valleys.
Among the interesting diversions, on or near the way, are the magnificent Humber Bridge at the start, the deserted village of Wharram Percy, abandoned due to the introduction of sheep, long before the more well known clearances in the highlands of Scotland. The route goes through the Londesborough Estate, once owned by George Hudson, the Railway King. It also passes near to the Madhyamaka Buddhist Centre (including its World Peace Café – very good coffee and cakes) at Kilnwick Percy Hall. And there is the hidden village of Thixendale, where mobile phones still cannot be used and where villagers have only very recently been able to receive television signals. Much of the later part of the walk, in the North Riding of Yorkshire, is along the “brows” on the top of the Wolds, passing by the Staxton Wold RAF station (where UFO sightings have been reported) and another, less known, deserted village. The walk ends on the bracing cliffs above Filey Brigg, a stunning rock formation jutting out to sea but which is accessible on foot at low tide.
More information about the Yorkshire Wolds Way can be obtained from: