Route: Fridaythorpe Circular
Area: East and North Yorkshire
Date of walk: 14th December 2016
Walkers: Andrew
Distance: 8.4 miles
Weather: Fog and mist most of the way, clearing towards the end
I parked in the village of Fridaythorpe near the village green and after walking north west for a short distance I left the road at an industrial grain mill to join the Yorkshire Wolds Way. I’d followed this path in April 2015 as one of the legs of the Wolds Way, a long distance walk which I can highly recommend (follow this link for stage 1 which in turn links to the other stages)
I walked across Brubber Dale and past Gill’s Farm to descend into Thixendale. This should have been the scenic highlight of the walk, but sadly the weather didn’t flatter the landscape at all. These rolling chalk wolds and their dry valleys need clear weather and good skies to be seen at their best, but today it was foggy and overcast, and frankly rather gloomy
After walking along Thixen Dale, Bradeham Dale and Wayrham Dale I climbed out of the valley and crossed the A166 to start the return leg to Fridaythorpe. This last section of the walk was along the top of the wolds and as I reached Wold House Farm there was an improvement in the weather as the sun finally managed to break through the murk
The last mile or so of the walk was a joy, and a welcome contrast to what had gone before. All too soon I arrived back in Fridaythorpe, wishing the walk had been a little longer. A visit to Robert Fuller’s wonderful gallery in Thixendale rounded off a day well spent
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
The village pond in Fridaythorpe at the start of today’s walk - this is the highest village on the Wolds at 561 feet above sea level
I pass by the diminutive St Mary’s Church
Striding out across the wolds
Beyond this gate I descend into Brubber Dale
I follow the gentle path down into the dale
Looking back to West Dale
Wolds Way waymarking - Fridaythorpe is roughly half way along the trail
Beyond Gill’s Farm I descend into Thixen Dale…
Looking down into Thixen Dale
I walk along the valley floor
The ‘Waves and Time’ project by land artist Chris Drury
Looking back along the path into Thixen Dale
Further along the valley I pass through a plantation of conifers - their unnatural presence detracts from the surroundings
Having climbed out of the dale and back onto the wolds, misty woodland at the halfway point of the walk
I follow a minor road for a while
The sun tries to break through the gloom
One of several bollards with Latin inscriptions placed by a local farmer in the 1960’s to mark entrances to his fields
Further along the road section…
I pass through Wold House Farm on Huggate Wold
Brighter skies at last…
I follow the path above the head of Holm Dale, which is to the right
Holm Dale…
I descend to the track leading back into Fridaythorpe
The village pond again at the end of the walk, seen in better light than at the start
A visit to the nearby studio and gallery of wildlife artist Robert Fuller is a must for anyone in the area
