Route: Mount Grace Priory
Area: North Yorkshire
Date of walk: 28th April 2016
Walkers: Andrew
Distance: 4.3 miles
Ascent: 600 feet
Weather: Cloudy
Mount Grace Priory is set at the foot of the Cleveland Hills on the north western edge of the North York Moors. It is owned by the National Trust and operated and cared for by English Heritage, and is the best preserved Carthusian priory in Britain. It’s also well known for its colony of stoats which inhabit the drains and passages under the ruins. I’d not visited here before and decided to make it the feature of today’s walk
I parked on the roadside in the pretty village of Osmotherley, a typical North York Moors village, and after walking past the village shop I turned off to follow a track uphill with increasingly extensive views across the surrounding countryside. It’s a pity that the weather was rather dull and lifeless, and the grey sky didn’t show the views at their best
At passing through Chapel Wood Farm I descended down the fields into Mount Grace Wood and followed the path to the priory. I spent some time wandering around the atmospheric ruins of the priory and the gardens within the monastic grounds, after which I retraced my steps back up through the woods and across famland back into Osmotherley
Although I didn’t spot any stoats it was a very worthwhile visit and an enjoyable short walk
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
Dawn on the day of the walk, and a visit to Crummock Water before heading to North Yorkshire
Cormorant
Red squirrel in the garden
A couple of hours later I arrive in Osmotherley
I walk past the village store
I climb up a track away from the village
Wide ranging views along this section of the walk
I turn left at Chapel Wood Farm
I descend towards the woodland ahead
Entering Mount Grace Wood
Wild garlic about to come into flower
I enter the grounds of Mount Grace Priory - entrance is free to members of English Heritage or the National Trust
The Manor House
Some photos of the ruins of the priory…
I walk back to the Manor House to explore the gardens…
After leaving the priory and climbing back up through the woods, I walk across the fields back into Osmotherley
Back in Osmotherley
