Murton Grange Rievaulx Linear/Loop

A wonderful walk today that took Peak Scar Top to Rievaulx Abbey and back.

Parking is free on the grass near Murton Grange. The walk is well-defined most of the time; however, there are occasional instances when referencing the map is necessary. If you use my map, you should be okay, as it is an exact tracker using GPS on an OS map.

The weather today is outstanding for a walk. We have sunshine and a breeze. If I’m picky, then the breeze could be a bit warmer. The tracks are very good at the moment due to the dry spell, but I would caution care if there has been rain and possibly not doing it if there have been several days of rain.

As we walk the periphery of the woodland, we’re bombarded with bird song and musky smells of the forest floor. There has been a significant harvest of selected trees, leaving small piles of logs that smell of pine and remind me of childhood Christmases well over sixty years ago. Where the new sunlight is striking the forest floor, new life is stirring; rather than green or brown, it’s colourful and bright. I’m colour blind, so reds and the like are a mystery to me, but these are delicate flowers of blue and yellow with occasional flashes of white. I love nature and what she does when there are dramatic changes to its environment. Walking allows us to see all these things, and it’s sublime.

At the end of the Deep Gill Wood, we’re rewarded with a meadow worthy of the ones we played in when we were kids. Our Mams would feed us, then show us the door until the next meal was due, so we spent many an hour in fields like these where buttercups, daisies and clover were abundant. We made daisy necklaces and tested each other for ‘liking butter’ by reflecting the buttercups under our chins. If there was a yellow glow, you were deemed to like butter, and as there was always a yellow glow, the answer was a foregone conclusion. We spent many an hour looking for the elusive four-leaf clover and regularly came home with several.

However, this meadow has more than flowers in the form of a herd of cows, and the danger here is that they also have calves. It’s not a good combination, and we go on high alert to avoid getting between mother and calf. The extra vigilance is definitely worthwhile, but turns out to be unnecessary as they take little notice of us as we pass, although some of the ones nearest us move away and watch us suspiciously whilst chewing what’s left of the cud semi-digested earlier. We’re happy that they’re happy and celebrate their gentle demeanour; the thought of half a ton of blood, bone and horn stampeding towards us is not a picture we want to visualise.

We make our way through Barnclose Farm and onwards along the lane to Tylas Farm, where we turn left and negotiate the undulating lane adjacent to Far Hag Wood and Lambert Hag Wood. The lane takes us over a beautiful little bridge over the River Rye, then over a style into the fields again, where May Blossom is at its peak, and ground-nesting birds dance and pretend to be hurt to draw us away from their nests.

The ruin of Rievaulx Abbey looks majestic against the backdrop of the Rye Valley, and the thought of coffee in the cafe gives an extra spring in the step.

We settle with sticky buns and various caffeine infusions as a reward for the first half of the walk, well done. This welcome rest will certainly be necessary for the return – which is very ‘up’!

We chose an alternate route that avoids the mile-long hilly lane that brought us here, and it’s a delight. The path is certainly hilly, but it is well maintained and takes us through thorn bushes that are laden with white and pink blossoms.

The return is quite challenging, and we take our time with breaks that allow us more opportunities to appreciate the views.

This is a wonderful walk and if you’re staying or live in the Northallerton and Thirsk area – or further afield if your mobile then I’d urge you to do it. 

It’s about 8.5 to 9 miles (14km), but you will need to be reasonably fit.

Enjoy the snaps.

Love George x