Hob Hole walk

Hob Hole, the beauty spot cum car park on the North York Moors, has long been a gathering place of smugglers, picnickers, campers, the drunk, the delirious, and in spirit perhaps, it has been the haunt of the mischievous, mythical hobs.

In recent times it has been closed because of modern misbehaviour.

There were some strange happenings there one recent sunny Sunday. The Cleveland Search and Rescue Team had brought their seven-ton command wagon and were supervising a Dyspraxia Challenge, Dyspraxia being a common disorientating ailment.

After a chat we were on our way, most of the day's climbing done on a quiet kilometre of back road up the side of a valley otherwise chock-a-block with bracken. A whinchat flitted from frond to frond.

We turned on to a track over the heather of Kempswithen Heights. In the middle and on the top of this moor, a few hundred yards from the track, there is Pike Howe, a 'bronze age Round Cairn topped by a later stone cairn'.

This listed monument is now topped by a black plastic water butt from which leads blue plastic pipe.

We sat and had our sandwiches. Whoever rests or rested underneath the cairn certainly had a prime position for eternity, a huge view, from Captain Cook's Monument in the west, round a bit to the top one hundred feet of Roseberry Topping, then north over Commondale, way down Eskdale to the east and then south to Castleton Rigg and Westerdale.

We moved on, reaching Kildale Moor, another top with heather and game birds. A grouse ushered five half-grown youngsters and there are golden plover which apparently have sweet flesh.

Sweet too the views of beautiful Baysdale and through a notch in the Cleveland Hills to the plains.

Down in Baysdale there were four walkers with orange clothes and orange rucksacks.

They headed back towards Hob Hole on the easy path I've marked on the map. We went into the bottom of the valley and found a slightly rough link to Baysdale Beck.

Walking by the beck was soon very nice, sparkling little flows, pools a few feet across, alders stunted but quite old and also alder saplings. There's a little detour to get above some crags then you're back to the beck and back to Hob Hole.

There, four yellow-clad walkers were homing in.

Another team were being lashed by bracken fronds and splashed with water as they tried to cross the beck while blinded by blackened goggles.

The punishment was being doled out by the very fit Search and Rescue crew. The purpose to mimic the difficulties of Dyspraxia.

Directions:

When in doubt look at the map. Check your position at each point. Keep straight on unless otherwise directed.

1. Left from car park uphill on road, ignore right turn.

2. Grassy track on right (old stone gateposts), ignore left fork after 25 yards.

3. On left hand bend either stay on track or detour to see Pike Howe by heading just north of east by taking second of two small tracks on right for 50 yards, then cross heather and head for cairn which had a black water tank on it. Return to track.

4. Left to road, right to track on bend.

5. When nearly opposite wood across valley, left to clear track downhill (about 100 yards before pallet grouse butts).

6. At junction, EITHER left for clear path to road then right downhill OR right for 25 yards, path on left downhill about five yards from wall to right, left before trees and wall, at wall corner steep downhill.

7. Left at wall remains to avoid wet ground, soon join beckside path.

8. At crags, follow path above them into trees, angle back down to beck.

Fact file

Distance: Under five miles.

Time: Two or three hours.

General location: North York Moors National Park.

Start: Hob Hole GR 653 074.

Right of way: The route is along public rights of way and in CROW Act access land.

Date walked: Saturday, June 25, 2005.

Road route: From York, via Hutton-le-Hole and Westerdale.

Car parking: Grass carpark at Hob Hole, free.

Lavatories: Castleton and Westerdale.

Refreshments: Kildale and Castleton.

Tourist and public transport information: National Parks Centre Danby 01439 772737.

Map: Based on the new OS Explorer OL26 North York Moors western area.

Terrain: Moor and valley.

Points of interest: Good Parish Map at Westerdale Village Hall, in part knitted, embroidered, clipped, appliqud and felted.

Difficulty: Moderate.

Please observe the Country Code and park sensibly. While every effort is made to provide accurate information, walkers set out at their own risk.

Click here to view a map of the walk

Updated: 16:43 Friday, July 15, 2005