Wetwang Circular 22 August 2010

It was a fine warm day today. I was buying cold Lucozade at the Wetwang stores by 09:45 and off across the fields by ten. I was following a route suggested on the East Riding of Yorkshire Council’s walks website. For the first half mile it coincided with the Chalkland Way, a route I followed about five years ago, before leaving it to join a fine green lane heading east.

The green lane forms part of the Woldgate Roman road between Bridlington and York. It was probably old before the arrival of the legions and looks like it last saw heavy use as a drove road before the arrival of the railways. It makes for pleasant walking with wide ranging views across the Wolds and Holderness.

Sledmere Monument is a prominent feature of the view ahead. I left the lane a half mile before reaching it, however, to head south. The track of the long abandoned Driffield to Malton railway was the next feature of interest, followed by a view into the quarry at Garton Slack, the site of Iron Age chariot burials.

I’ve frequently driven along the A166 road. Always the road appears scenic, rural and pleasant. To approach and cross it from the fields, it was noisy, smelly and intrusive. Funny how walking in familiar areas gives things a new perspective…

The route met a surfaced lane to head east for a short distance, before joining another green lane. The walk here was through well wooded, shaded, field boundaries. The way was then left to head north, through Thorn Dale, back to Wetwang.

The route was about nine miles in length and in very pleasant, if unspectacular country, throughout. I passed half a dozen other walkers, mainly accompanied by dogs, and a couple of mountain bikers on one of the green lanes. My feet survived unscathed.