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| Length of walk | 9.9km |
| Height Gain | 137m |
| Duration | 3/4 Hours |
| Pub On Walk | Shoulder of Mutton |
Make sure to bring decent footwear as it can be very muddy
Start) Village hall in Spofforth click Here to get directions on Google Maps
1) As you look at the village hall follow the road behind the hall up the hill. From the picture its the road on your right. Pass the old Fish mongers, now named Stockshill house and continue on the road around to the right passing the village school on your right and keep following the road down the hill towards the cricket club.
The Old Fish Mongers
2) At the bottom of the hill there is a stile, go over it and head towards the farm track that leads through the middle of the field. continue on the track towards the stone wall at the other end of the field. Follow the wall until you reach a stile in the wall, go over it, you will now be on a single track road.
The Old Viaduct, once used to go from Spofforth to wetherby.
3) With your back to the stile turn right and follow the track straight up towards a barn on your left, ignoring the path to your right, and left a litle further up continue straight.
4) You will come to Hermitage an old barn converted to a house pass this and continue on untill the road splits, take either road, they both join up later on.
5) Pass fox heads farm on the main path, ignoring the footpath to the left. And continue on the gravel track. The track bends slightly to the left then to the right.
6) Contiune on Ignoring the gravel road to the right that goes to a farm, and continue up the track a short way, stay stright, and don’t do down the Private Road.
7) A little way further you will reach a small wood, in your left, often filled with Bluebells if it’s Spring (Late March to early May).
8) Continue on the track over a useless cattle grid. Until you reach a 90 degree bend to the right, you are now going through the gate directly in front of you before turning, there should be a metal grass roller in front of you, go through that gate.
9) Pass through the gate and keep to the left of the field, continuing over the top of the field. This field is often used for cattle and I have found cattle horns here.
Pass through two rows of trees, in the middle of the large field, and head towards the large woodland area, at the end.
10) Once you reach the woodland there are two gates, one to the left that we will ignore, but goes to sicklinghall and the other that is straight ahead and goes through the woodland.
11) Pass through the woodland all the way to the end, and pass through the gate out of the woodland, turn into the field on your left, then immediately turn right and follow the wall, keeping the wall on your right until your reach a stone stile in a wall directly in front of you. Go over the stile and walk directly away from the stile still keeping the wall on your right
12) When the wall on your right bends, 90° to the right, walk right diagonally to the other side of the field.
13) Pass over another stone stile at the other side of the field and follow the footpath.
14) The footpath will open up to two fields again, go to the field on your right and follow the hedge that was directly in front of you on, keep it on your left all the way to the houses, and passed the back gardens.
15) You will then come to a driveway, go through the driveway exit on your left to a main road, there will be two large trees on a small patch of grass, turn right towards the center of Kirkby Overblow.
16) Once you reach a falk in the road, take the road towards Harrogate and Pannel, passing the Old Star which hasn’t been open for several years now and the Shoulder of mutton, a lovely place for a spot of lunch.
17) Continue down the road until your reach the primary school with large black gates, opposite, is a bench and just down the wall is a stile, pass over the stile into a sheep field, walk directly away from the road.
18) Follow the path, towards a red bricked farmhouse, following the wall on your left.
19) Passing through both fields until you reach the farmhouse, and go over the stile.
20) Pass through the farmyard keeping the farm buildings to your right and pass through the metal gate into a field.
21) Walk down hill towards the bridge and cross it, then head up the hill towards the left, once at the fence, follow it you will see a wooden stile
22) Go over the stile and walk directly away from it following the grassy quad bike track, until you reach another wooden stile at the other side of the track.
23) Pass over the stile and walk directly away from the stile, following a hedgerow keeping to the left of the field.
24) You will then reach a driveway, turn right towards sunrise farm, follow the signs for diverted footpath, if you are following the GPX map, this has already been updated.
25) Turn right off the driveway onto a gravel track, go a short distance to a T junction and turn left. Contiune on the path straight, then turn right once you reach a private road sign.
26) Then follow the gravel track towards a small wooded area, pass the wooded area following the main path, pass through another gate (often open) and continue on the main track, the track reaches another T junction, turn left, going away from the sunrise fishing lakes.
27) Continue down the track a long way, until you reach another folk, take the left track down towards a small campsite
28) Once you reach the campsite, follow the sign public footpath spofforth which is to the left of the wooden huts. Pass through the gate then follow the path (Walk on the left of the fields).
29) Follow the side of the woodland on the left, through 2 fields, the path will go down hill rapidly, towards a bridge in the top left most part of the field, if you can’t find it, follow the electrical pilon lines.
30) Once over the bridge, follow the path, spofforth golf course is now on your left. Continue following this path straight, ignoring any paths onto the golf greens.
31) The path goes up a small hill, make sure to stop off at the bench for the last good view you’ll see on this walk then gradually decend the path towards a stone bridge at the bottom. Cross over the bridge and follow the track around to the right, continue a short way then pass through a small metal gate on your left, follow the path under the old railway viaduct this one makes a great echo, so make sure to shout loud.
32) As you walk from under the viaduct, continue straight forward, until you reach a pebbled drive, and follow that until you reach the road, once at the road go straight on towards the T Junction, then, turn right and you’ll be back at the Village Hall.
However you’ll probably want to stop off at the Castle Ruin, who wouldn’t?