Route: Around Hackness
Area: North Yorkshire
Date of walk: 20th October 2020
Walkers: Andrew and Gilly
Distance: 2.7 miles
Ascent: 300 feet
Weather: Sunny spells, quite warm
Hackness is a small and unspoilt village near Scarborough and is located in the North York Moors National Park. It’s one of our favourite places for walking, and numerous routes radiate out of the village in all directions. We only had time for a short walk today, and opted for a circular walk which takes in the highlights of the place
We started from Derwent View holiday cottage, but anyone not staying at the cottage could start just as easily from the nearby village hall. After walking along the village street we turned right at the war memorial by the village hall, and just beyond Mill Farm we left the road to climb up to a path which hugs the edge of Walker Flat Wood. There are lovely views back over the valley from here
The path leads into the woodland briefly before emerging above St Peter’s Church and Hackness Hall. The hall and its landscape gardens were created in the 1790s, and the house is a Grade I listed building. Neither is open to the public. The Hackness Shame is an entertaining story about an event which occurred here in 1600
As we meandered along the elevated path we kept stopping to admire the views over church and the hall, which were wonderful, with the autumn colours in the surrounding woodland being shown in good light
The path can be muddy after rain, as was the case today, and we left it a few times to seek out drier ground. A new fence has been erected across the field at one point, clearly crossing the line of the public footpath shown on the OS map. However, it’s a low fence and is easily straddled (unless you have exceptionally short legs)
After passing above the hall we descended to the road and turned left, passing by the entrance to the hall. We made a short detour to St Peter’s Church and then continued along the village road. At a junction with a path we left the road to climb up towards Hackness Head, following a track which brought us to Keeper’s Cottage above the Hackness Grange Hotel. From here we descended to the road and followed it back to the start
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 start of the walk from Derwent View on the edge of Hackness. As mentioned in the introduction, anyone not staying at the cottage could start from the village hall
The cottages in the village bear a similar appearance, having once been part of a larger estate
We pass by Hackness Village Hall
Looking back
Beyond Mill Farm we leave the road to climb up Everley Banks
Chapman Bank Woods above the village
The path contours around Everley Banks, with a brief section through Walker Flat Wood on the right
We pass above a lake, part of the grounds of Hackness Hall
We head in the direction of Hackness Hall
The spire of St Peter's Church Hackness
Lowdales below Loffeyhead Wood
Looking across the lake to Coomb Hill
St Peter's Church again
Hackness Hall - the hall and its landscaped gardens were created in the 1790's
Autumn colours in Hilda Wood
Looking along Lowdales
Views over Hackness Hall as we progress...
More autumn colours...
Hilda Wood
A final view of Hackness Hall as we pass by it and start to descend to the road
The road is below and on reaching it we turn left to walk back into the village
The entrance gates to Hackness Hall
We pass under The Dry Bridge which was constructed in the late 18th century to connect two parts of the gardens at Hackness Hall
St Peter's Church
We leave the road to follow a path above the village
Everley Banks on the left, where we'd walked earlier
We arrive back at Derwent View at the end of a lovely short walk
The next day, we abandoned a planned walk at Castle Howard in view of heavy rain and fog. All was not lost, as Ray Wood at Castle Howard was looking magical in the autumn mist and it's worth sharing a few photos...
We then visited the adjacent Yorkshire Arboretum, where there was more autumn colour...
