Where Can I go

Following our series of walks in the Yorkshire Dales, I thought I would pick a personal favourite of mine, a walk that takes in Aysgarth Falls and Castle Bolton situated between Hawes and Leyburn in Wensleydale. It is an easy and most enjoyable walk of about six and half miles and provides some excellent views of the Dale in both the west and east direction.

The walk begins from the pretty village of Thoralby. You walk through the village and up the hill for about a quarter of a mile, and then look for a footpath and a gap in the wall to your right. This footpath takes you across the fields to a farmhouse just outside Aysgarth. From the farmhouse take a left to join the main road (A674) just oustide Aysgarth.

Once on the road turn right towards the Hotel. Aysgarth Falls is signposted almost immediately to the left on Church Bank. Follow the road down the hill towards the Falls and the mill. Aysgarth Falls can be quite spectacular, especially if there has been a lot of recent rain. Cross over the bridge and follow the road for about another quarter of a mile before you come to a path on your right. This path takes you initially alongside the River Ure before you head in a north easterly direction across farmland to Castle Bolton. It is about three miles to Castle Bolton, but it is not difficult to get lost because your destination is usually always in view.

The footpath should eventually join the Brunton Bank road, and you then take another footpath on the left handside of the road towards Castle Bolton which takes you towards the abondoned Wensleydale Railway Line which you cross near a railway cottage. The path goes right round the back of the cottage’s garden and out through the drive to join the road up to Castle Bolton (Scrogs Lane). The incline is quite steep and by now you should be ready for a break. Castle Bolton has a tearoom inside and this is the perfect spot for a rest and a well earned cup of tea.

Ormesby Hall situated in Cleveland in the North of England was until the nineteen eighties, the home of the Pennyman family. It was given to the National Trust in 1961 when Colonel Jim Pennyman died although Ruth Pennyman continued to live in the house until her death in 1984.

Today it is open to the public and has some amazing rooms, furniture and fine plasterwork to see. Ormesby Hall was built sometime in the middle of the eighteenth century although there was already a manor house dating back to about 1600 to which the Palladian influenced new building was added.

Ormesby Hall also has a wonderful stable block, the first building that you see as drive in the grounds. This was intentional so as add to the grandure of the place. The stable block is very similar to the one found at Castle Howard and was almost certainly designed by the same architect, John Carr of York around 1772. The mounted section of the Cleveland Police currently have their headquarters in the stable block at Ormesby Hall and during the summer months run tours on special days which offer an insight into the unit that manage nine horses for duty around the local area.

Inside Ormesby Hall, you will not only find grand rooms and furniture but also a permanent exhibition of model railways featuring layouts of Pilmoor Station in North Yorkshire and Corfe Castle near Swanage.

Ormesby Hall is open weekends from 1.30 pm to 5.00 pm from the middle of March to the beginning of November and admission is £4.20 for adults and £2.70 for children and as with most National Trust properties, there is a very good tea room to enjoy at the end of your visit.

The Saltburn Smugglers Heritage Centre is located next to the Ship Inn in Old Saltburn and offers visitors an insight into the goings on in the Ship Inn over two hundred years with regard to smuggling which was rife in the area. The Ship Inn was owned by John Andrew, a Scotsman from a wealthy background which gave him some stature in the local community. However there was another side to John Andrew, who quickly became known as the “King of Smugglers”.

The Ship Inn at Saltburn was the perfect location for smuggling because of the shelter offered by the Huntcliff to the south and woodland to the west. There are a lot of legends and stories pertaining to John Andrew and this is the story the Smugglers Heritage Centre, Saltburn, tries to tell and capture. The Smugglers Heritage Centre recreates the Ship Inn in the late seventeen hundreds using mannequins in the authentically furnished rooms of the fishermen’s cottages attached to the main Ship Inn pub. Authentic sounds and smells are also used to add to the effect and it is well worth a visit if you want to learn a little more about the local history and the smuggling that went on in the area. The admission to the Smugglers Heritage Centre, Saltburn costs £1.95 for adults and £1.45 for children with a family ticket available for £5.80. The centre is open every day from 10 am - 6 pm with the exception of Monday and Tuesday.

The Saltburn Cliff Lift is a working Victorian tramway that descends 120 feet down the cliff to the lower promenade at the east coast seaside resort of Saltburn near Redcar. The Saltburn Cliff Lift was officially opened on 28th June 1884 and has transported thousands of holidaymakers up and down the cliff for over 130 years.

Originally there was a vertical hoist on the cliff edge which was designed by John Andrew. It was a timber frame construction which was kept in place by guy ropes. The hoist operated for fourteen years prior to the building of the Saltburn Cliff Lift and could transport twenty people at any one time. However in 1883, the hoist was deemed unsafe and a new solution had to be sort which is where the idea for the Saltburn Cliff Lift came following successful implementations of similar tramways in nearby Scarborough further down the coast.

The construction of the new cliff lift did not take long and was up and running within a year. Very little has changed with the way the cliff lift operates and today it is only one of two water powered tramways in the country. In 1998, the Saltburn Cliff Lift underwent a major service when the main winding wheel was replaced and a hydraulic braking system was added. Prior to this, the only major change was in 1924 when the water pump which was powered by the town’s gas main was replaced by an electric one.

The fare for the short journey costs 65p each way and although very short (the length of the track is 207 feet), it is an enjoyable step back in time, and credit must go to the people of Saltburn and the Tees Valley Partnership for keeping this fantastic old tramway in service.

Dating back to the fifteenth century and situated right on the shore’s edge at Old Saltburn just below the Cleveland Way, this charming unspolit pub is the place to eat if you are visiting Saltburn.

You can literally walk off the beach just north of Huntcliff and through the front door of the Ship Inn which has maintained most of its original features such as low ceilings and oak beams. The tables by the windows offer fantastic views of the North Sea coastline and really add to the pub’s atmosphere and charm. You can almost picture the legendary local smuggler, John Andrews, enjoying an ale or two at the bar back in the day.

The Ship Inn, Saltburn, is a busy spot mind you so you need to get their early if you want a decent table. When we visited on Sunday 17th August, almost every table in the pub had been taken and the restaurant was full as well. As well as traditional Sunday Lunch, the Ship Inn also had a magnificent seafood menu with battered cod, lemon sole and fresh dressed crab on offer. The battered cod ordered was very good value at £7.75 and the fillet was enormous and would have satisfied even the biggest of eaters.

If you are a fan of Tetleys, you will also appreciate the beers on offer. Not only was Tetley Best Bitter available on draught at £2.40 a pint, but also Tetley’s Ipmerial on tap at £2.25. Tetley’s Imperial like John Smith’s Magnet is a personal favourite of mine and it is so sad that you very rarely see it in pubs today.

The whole meal was thoroughly enjoyable and washed down with a pint of Imperial, it would take some beating. If you do get a chance to visit the lovely Victorian seaside resort of Saltburn, then you must head down towards Huntcliff and investigate this charming seaside pub.

During the summer, the pub is open from 11 am - 11 pm Monday to Saturday and 12 noon - 10.30 pm on a Sunday. In the winter the pubs shuts between 3.30 pm and 6 pm Monday to Saturday