A circular walk from Dacre Banks - North Yorkshire - Walk 3507 - a walk description from Walking Britain

County/Area	North Yorkshire
Author	Allan Friswell
Length	6.5 miles / 10.6 km
Ascent	750 feet / 227 metres
Grade	easy/moderate
Start	OS grid reference SE196619 Lat 53.496535342623915 + Long -1.9970451454953198 Postcode HG3 4EL (approx. location only)

A pleasant ramble through the lovely Nidderdale scenery. The route includes oak and beech woods, part of the former North Eastern Railway track bed, the meanderings of the Nidd river and a section of the Nidderdale Way.

Start close to the Royal Oak pub (grid ref. SE196619), passing this on your left hand. Follow the track round to the left, between the buildings, dropping down through the gate on the right almost immediately. Keep the wall on your right as you pass under power lines to the gateway. Cross the next field at 11 o/c. After the stile the path takes you high along the river Nidd on your right. Past the bowling green to the bridge, you climb the steps and cross the bridge. Cross the road, dropping down Riverside Lane which, as it suggests, follows the river, now on your left.

Turn left at the car park. Soon afterwards the path bends left around a small plantation of christmas trees. You soon arrive at the former New York flax mill buildings (now appartments and offices) in Summerbridge, where you turn right, pass the fire station and cross the B6165 road. Turn left and after a few yards take the bridle way uphill. You soon pass through Braisty Woods Farm, after which the track bends right, then sharp right passing through a gate and making for making for Owenwell House. The path is now a concreted affair, but eventually becomes a simple two track bridleway with Braisty Woods on the left.

Go through the gate into Woolwich Farm, passing the pond on the left. Pass through the next gate and follow what is now a more boggy path. You are soon confronted by two more gates – take the left-hand one at SE203632, and follow the path through the young oaks of Old Spring Wood. The wood takes its name from the medieval “sprynge” meaning a coppiced woodland, the coppice branches being used in the manufacture of charcoal. When you reach the road of Hartwith Bank turn left, head uphill and take the path at grid ref. SE206631. Keeping close to the lefthand wall simply follow the path which merges with a bridleway and passes a very old water “trough” (grid ref. SE208623). The views of Nidderdale on your right become increasingly panoramic.

The bridleway soon narrows to the width of a footpath and eventually arrives at a four-way signpost (grid ref. SE210624) where you turn right towards Hartwith. On reaching the tarmac Moor Road turn right. Where the road bends left you should go through the gate straight ahead and follow the hedge on your right. The enormous building of the Old Vicarage on your right contrasts sharply with the plainer and smaller church on your left! The hedge cuts away from you, but you should maintain your line downhill to the bridle gate in the hedge opposite (grid ref. SE215615).

Cross the next field at 1 o/c, making for the wall which you then follow to a gate in the corner. The path goes left through the farmyard and you follow it to the main road. Here you turn left and then cross to the bridleway opposite after 90 yards (grid ref. SE214606). Drop to the access track and follow this right towards the green farmhouse. Where the path forks (grid ref. SE211601) take the right hand fork to White Oak Farm, passing through Willie’s Wood. As soon as you leave the trees, take the bridlegate on the left, crossing this field at 2 o/c to a series of bridlegates. Then go forward with the hedge on your right. As you approach the river the path rises quite sharply right and then follows the course of the Nidd to the footbridge which you cross.

Keeping the river on your right now, just follow the Nidderdale Way, passing through the gardens of some modern housing. After a couple of stiles continue along the riverside path with the embankment of the former North Eastern Railway branch line rising on your left. Cross a couple of bridges. You pass stepping stones (grid ref. SE201602) near where there is a fine example of railway bridge-work to be seen in the embankment. The path is narrowing appreciably now and in places you need to watch your footing.

After the stile at grid ref. SE199605 cross the field at about 2 o/c to a visible stone stile in the wall on the right. Turn left then right along the remains of the track bed, with views towards Summerbridge on the right. The track runs through Low Hall Farm, whose farmhouse was built in 1635. Eventually at around grid ref. SE197616 the embankment has become a somewhat overgrown cutting, so you should climb slightly to the right, keeping the barbed wire fencing on your left and then cross at about 2 o/c to the step stile near the farm buildings and power pole. Follow the track back to the start.

It is recommended you take a map with you when following a walk route. The preferred scale is 1:25000 used by the Explorer series.

Note : If two maps are listed at the same scale then either (a) both are required for full coverage of the route or (b) the route is covered on both maps.