Historic Walks in North Yorkshire
Historic Walks in North Yorkshire
Price
£9.00
Walk 12 - Richmond Castle and Easby Abbey
Richmond – River Swale – Easby Abbey – Skeeby – Aske Hall – Aske Park – Low Moor – RichmondDistance: 7½ miles (12km)
Start and Finish: Tourist Information Office, Friary Gardens, Victoria Rd, Richmond DL10 4AJ, tel: 01748 850252/825994
Map: OS Explorer 304 (Darlington and Richmond) (1:25,000)
Introduction
Few places express more perfectly than Swaledale the magnificent beauty of North Yorkshire. However, instead of going west along the dale into the National Park, this walk heads eastward along the Swale to explore the superb countryside around Easby Abbey and Aske Hall, before returning to the splendid town of Richmond. A full day is required if all the historical treasures along the way are to be fully appreciated.
Richmond, known as the gateway to Swaledale, is a grand old town that boasts a Norman castle, three museums, a Georgian Theatre, medieval wynds and a host of interesting shops. The evocative ruins of Easby Abbey lie on the banks of the Swale and date from 1155, while Aske Hall, the family seat of the Dundas family, nestles in fine parkland originally landscaped by ‘Capability’ Brown.
1. From the Tourist Information Office cross Victoria Road, go left a short distance into King Street then cross the Market Place, passing the Green Howards’ Museum and Holy Trinity Church. Bear slightly left into Tower Street, alongside the Town Hall Hotel, to reach the castle entrance.
A. Richmond Castle
Perched high above the foaming waters of the Swale, Richmond Castle has a setting that can hardly be matched; when viewed from the opposite hillside it is visually superb, forming a dramatic and memorable skyline. It was built by Alan ‘the Red’ of Brittany (one of William the Conqueror’s most trusted supporters) in an attempt to quell the insurgent people of the North and was an important residence and fortress until the end of the Middle Ages. There are superlative views from the top of the massive Norman keep. During the summer months, re-enactments and displays are staged on the lush grass of the Great Court.
2. After visiting, bear right to join the ‘Castle Walk’ for a short distance but keep left down steps to join a road and turn right down this to reach a car park in front of Richmond Falls. Bear left through the car park to join a footpath alongside the Swale and through a grassy area known as The Batts. Just before Station Bridge bear left and climb to a stile leading onto the A6136, cross and turn right over the Swale, then bear left through the car park of Richmond Leisure Centre, passing buildings at the old Railway Station. Join a footpath that follows the route of the now dismantled Richmond to Darlington railway line.
B. River Swale
Swaledale is less densely populated and further away from the main centres of population than its southern cousins, resulting in fewer tourists and fewer changes. As a result, it has retained an old-fashioned charm, which to many make it the loveliest of all the dales, being narrower, wilder and more isolated.
The Swale rises high on the slopes of High Seat and Nine Standards Rigg, surrounded by some of the highest peaks in the Pennine chain, before rushing through Keld, Muker, Reeth and Richmond, where it cascades over Richmond Falls immediately beneath the castle walls. From its source to Richmond Bridge, the Swale is a fast-flowing river, and although it may look serene during the drier months of the year, it can soon turn into a dangerous, roaring, coffee-coloured torrent, swollen with waters from numerous tributary streams.
3. Continue along the old track bed, with occasional glimpses of the Swale to the left, before an old railway bridge crosses the river. On the far side turn left along a broad track above the fast-flowing waters of this most splendid of Yorkshire’s rivers to reach the evocative ruins of Easby Abbey.
C. Easby Abbey
Before exploring the Abbey ruins, it is well worth visiting the lovely little church of St Agatha; it houses a 700-year-old font and rare medieval frescoes, while parts date from the 12th century.Built in 1155 by Roald, Constable of Richmond Castle, for thirteen canons and an abbot of the Premonstratensian Order, Easby is quite unusual in that it does not conform to the regular plan followed by most medieval abbeys and is a good example of the ingenuity of medieval builders. Because of the terrain and the fact that a parish church already occupied part of the site, the cloister is laid out on the skew, and the infirmary is placed to the north of the abbey church rather than to the east of the cloister. Despite this, the abbey prospered in the ensuing years, accumulating gifts of land and much wealth which allowed for considerable extensions to the existing buildings. However, in the late Middle Ages Scottish raids damaged the property and reduced its income. The abbey was finally dissolved in 1537, putting an end to almost four centuries of piety, chastity and devotion (the requirements of a Premonstratensian canon), leaving a picturesque ruin in the flower-filled meadows alongside the Swale.
4. Walk up the access drive, past the Abbey Gatehouse (which once controlled entry to the abbey) into the hamlet of Easby. At a junction with a lane, go left past attractive cottages and at the end of these turn right onto a broad track. Where the main track swings left, continue ahead on a grassy track that rises to give fine views eastward towards the North York Moors, before descending to the Brampton-on-Swale road. Cross onto an initially surfaced track through a sand and gravel quarry that leads to St Trinian’s Farm. Keep to the right of buildings, and where the track swings right towards the farm, walk on ahead along a grassy bridleway enclosed between a wall and fence. Continue in this direction along the right-hand side of a field, then along a farm track to join the A6108. Cross with care to a footpath on the far side and go right along this into the village of Skeeby.
D. Skeeby
The suffix ‘by’, meaning village, is a fairly positive indicator that this was a former Danish settlement, one of many scattered over the Vale of York and the eastern Dales (including the previous village, Easby). There are records that show stone quarrying here in the 12th century, probably extracted for the building of Easby Abbey, and the village once boasted two inns and two mills. One of the mills was demolished; the other, along with the Rose and Crown, has been converted into private accommodation, but thankfully the Traveller’s Rest still quenches thirsts and satisfies empty stomachs and can be found halfway through the village on the right.
5. Take the first turning on the left, Oliver Lane, which soon becomes a rough track that rises steadily between fields to a stile and gate. On the far side keep right, round the edge of a field, to a gate, and once through descend a grassy track, with the red pantiles of Low Pasture visible in the vale bottom and the distant outlines of the Northern Pennines forming the skyline over to the left. Follow the track rightwards, through a gateway, towards Gascoigne Farm, but at a waymarker 70 yards on turn sharp left across the field to climb a stile through a fence. Head across the middle of a field, turn right along the far hedge for 100 yards then go left over a stile and through another field to join the drive alongside Low Pasture. Follow this out to the B6274 and turn left along it to just before the Gatehouse and the drive to Aske Hall, where a gate on the right (footpath sign) gives access into a field. Walk up its left-hand side, pass through a gate at the far end, bear left to a stile then walk through a field heading towards the left end of the magnificent stable block at Aske Hall to a stile over iron railings leading onto the drive.
E. Aske Hall
Aske Hall has been the family seat of the Dundas family since 1763 and nestles in parkland landscaped by ‘Capability’ Brown. This Georgian treasure house boasts exquisite 18th-century furniture, paintings and porcelain, including work by Robert Adam, Chippendale, Gainsborough, Raeburns and Meissen. The stable block was built by John Carr in 1765 and later converted into a chapel with Italianate interior.
6. Follow the drive past the front of the stable block, keep left past the splendid east front of the Hall, with an ornamental lake over to the left, and at the end of the wall bear slightly right across Aske Park, following frequent waymarkers, to enter Low Wood. A clear path descends through the wood to cross a track and Aske Brook before climbing to a stile. Once over, turn right along the edge of a field. Climb a stile in the corner, turn immediately left along a low ridge between fields to just before iron railings on the far side and go right through trees to a kissing gate leading into the grounds of Richmond Golf Club.
7. Bear right across a fairway, pass a black and white marker post on its brow, walk to the left of a pond then bear right through the car park of the Golf Club, following footpath diversion signs, to join a stony track that runs past the No. 9 tee. Where the track swings right, at the end of a hawthorn hedge, continue ahead alongside leylandii bushes and past a house onto a road. Cross to a gap in the far wall, follow a path through undulating scrub to reach the clearly visible gallops of the old Richmond Racecourse on Low Moor and go left along the edge of this. When the course peels away to the right, continue ahead across grassland to a marked wall stile and, once over, bear half-left through three narrow pastures to reach a lane. Turn left along this to just before the first house on the right and go right down a surfaced footpath to eventually arrive in Quakers Lane. Cross and keep to the right along Queens Road, then bear right through Friary Gardens back to the TI office.
F. Richmond
Richmond’s lofty position, high above the Swale, makes it one of the most visually appealing market towns in England. With its narrow, cottage-lined wynds, huge cobbled market place (once the outer bailey of the castle) and wide streets lined with Georgian houses, Richmond has a unique character to be savoured.Despite its strategic position between the Pennine hills and Yorkshire plain, which make it pre-eminent as a gateway to the Dales, Richmond does not lie on any of the main lines of communication. The Stockton–Darlington Railway, opened in 1825 and with links to York and London, was only connected to the town with a branch line in 1846. The Great North Road, now the A1, is some four miles away to the east and the main A66 across the Pennines is well to the north. As a result, Richmond has not seen the industrial development typical of many other more accessible places, leaving it as one of our smaller, unspoiled market towns.
Since 1873, Richmond has been the home of the famous Green Howards and a museum to the regiment is now housed at Trinity Church in the Market Place, a building that Pevsner referred to as ‘the queerest ecclesiastical building one can imagine’.
Parking: Ample parking in Richmond
Public Transport: Bus services from Catterick, Darlington, Northallerton, Ripon, tel: United Automobile Services 01325 355415
Refreshments: Pubs, cafés and hotels in Richmond, inn at Skeeby
Tourist Information: Friary Gardens, Victoria Rd, Richmond DL10 4AJ, tel: 01748 850252/825994
Richmond Castle: English Heritage, 1 April – 31 Oct, open daily 10–6pm; 1 Nov – 31 March, open daily 10–4pm. For information on special events tel: 01748 822493.
Easby Abbey: English Heritage, open any reasonable time
Aske Hall: Open all year for groups of 15+ by appointment only, tel: 01748 850391
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