Middleham & Coverdale - MASARNEN RAMBLERS

Middleham & Coverdale - Saturday 8 October 2022

Route

Middleham - Middleham Castle - Gallops - Middleham Low Moor - Naylor's Hill - Ashgill - Tudgill Park (Forbidden Corner) - Bird Ridding Farm - Hanghow Lane - Cherry Hill - Hullo Bridge - Middleham Castle - Middleham

Parking

On & off street parking in Middleham. The Grid Reference is SE 12763 87763 and the nearest postcode is DL8 4NP.

Mileage

7.7 miles

Terrain

Good paths throughout with some road walking on quiet lanes

Weather

Sunny with light breezes

Time Taken

4hrs

Total Ascent

1076ft (328m)

Map

OL30 Yorkshire Dales (Northern & Central Areas)

Walkers

Dave, Angie & Fudge

GPX File

gpx 8_oct_22_-_middleham_actual.gpx

If the above GPX file fails to download or presents itself as an XML file once downloaded then please feel free to contact me and I will send you the GPX file via e-mail.

Route Map

Middleham's eastern village square

Approximately 2 miles south of Leyburn, Middleham is famous for its twelfth century castle which was the childhood home of Richard III, and its thriving racehorse training industry. The village is set in the beautiful countryside where Coverdale and Wensleydale meet and is elegantly arranged around two market squares surrounded by Georgian buildings, interesting shops, galleries and cafés. The training of racehorses has been carried out here for over 200 years and there are still several hundred horses stabled here.

Angie served on HMS BULWARK between 2006 & 2008 - it is safe to say that the caricature bears no resemblance to her during that period

To the rear of Middleham Castle is the Richard III pub - fitting seeing as he spent his childhood here

A few yards to the left of the water fountain is Middleham Cross. The inscription on the bottom left reads:

"This cross is thought to commemorate the grant obtained for Middleham in 1479 of a fair and market twice yearly, in Whitsun week and at the feast of St Simon and St Jude, by Richard, Duke of Gloucester later King Richard III. The heraldic animal may be his own cognisance of the White Boar, or the emblem of the family of his wife, Anne Nevill, Co-heiress of the Lordship of Middleham."

The "heraldic animal" or "white boar" is the large stone sitting on the left hand plinth

The western village square complete with water fountain erected to celebrate the Jubilee of Queen Victoria. The building to the right is the old school house erected in 1869 to the memory of Rev James Ale-Birch and dedicated to the Township of Middleham as a Public School. It is now a private residence.

Heading out of the village to the south is Middleham Castle

The castle was built by Robert Fitzrandolph, the 3rd Lord of Middleham and Spennithorne, commencing in 1190. As mentioned earlier, it was the childhood home of Richard III although he spent very little time there during his reign. The castle was built to defend the road from Richmond to Skipton though some have suggested the original site of the castle was far better to achieve this than the later location. After the death of King Richard III, the castle remained in royal hands until it was allowed to go to ruin in the 17th century. Many of the stones from the castle were used in other buildings in the village.

Another view of the castle this time looking north

From the castle the route runs parallel with the road heading out of Middleham to the west

Crossing the road the route heads on to Middleham Low Moor & the Gallops

Fudge on his lead now as we head over Middleham Low Moor. The horses were just returning from their morning exercise as we passed over the Gallops.

Heading across Middleham Low Moor. The hill in the distance is Penhill which we walked in September 2021 - the walk report can be found here.

We think this random structure is where the trainer stands to view the horses racing past

Angie heading over Middleham Low Moor - now that the horses had gone we had it to ourselves

Angie & Fudge on the summit of Middleham Low Moor with Penhill to the rear

From Middleham Low Moor the route descends over Naylor's Hill to reach the rear entrance of Tupgill Park

Can't help it - why the long face?

The Tupgill Park Estate is home to "The Forbidden Corner" complete with gargoyle statues in and around the entrance. Fudge and I had a little competition to see who could best imitate the gargoyle - as you can see Fudge cheated before I was ready to pull a face.

Near the entrance to The Forbidden Corner was this little gem - the Potting Shed Cafe. Not ones to pass up the chance of assessing their fare, we partook of a couple of their excellent breakfast baps which we ate in the company of a drooling dog.

Having eaten our breakfast bap we were in need of some sanitary facilities which were a tad on the "primitive" side

Thankfully the real toilets were next door - and as facilities go these were very regal

Heading to the entrance to The Forbidden Corner Fudge had a quick "stare off" with one of the local residents

The entrance to The Forbidden Corner

The folly garden proclaims itself as "The strangest place in the world". It is made up of a labyrinth of tunnels, follies, chambers and large surprise statues all within a walled four acre garden. From wild boars to forest giants, the venue is filled with creatures from the imagination and treasures and tricks to be discovered.

Leaving Tupgill Park via the main entrance

The refuse area at Tupgill Park - we really liked the gate design

Leaving Tupgill Park we passed this private residence within the grounds that was hosting a wedding that day. I dread to think what a function here would set you back. As we left all the "beautiful people" were arriving.

The wedding venue complete with Marquee

The main entrance to Tupgill Park - we would cross over the road here and head to Bird Ridding Farm

Doing as we were told, we headed down the access road to Bird Ridding Farm

At the farm entrance a path heads off left in the direction of Bird Ridding Wath & the River Cover. The river meets the Ure to the east of Middleham.

The bridge over the River Cover

Having crossed the bridge we headed over farmland to Hanghow Lane

Looking back to the Tupgill Park Estate from Hanghow Pastures

The path heads through a small plantation where X marks the route

Crossing Hanghow Pastures

Seeing this all rather too often now - the remnants of helium balloons which unfortunately livestock eat resulting in death. We picked this one up and stuck it in the bin in Middleham.