GEORGE WILKINSON strides out around Kilburn
You don't have to come to Kilburn to see its White Horse. The central tower of York Minster will do, almost anywhere will provide a sighting, and everyone argues about the best view. Harry Mead suggests from the Doncaster road, six miles south of Pontefract, which is 43 miles away and a recipe for a crash.
Nearly all chroniclers of our countryside agree that our famous beast is best at a distance, a reminder of place, or a welcome home for the traveller. James Herriot penned his last words on this in 1995, 'I know when I am approaching my own part of the world. The White Horse is there, apparently marching alongside from its lofty position in the hills overlooking the Plain of York'.
However coming close to Kilburn has attractions. The village is 'enchanting' says Herriot, 'perfect' says Walter Wilkinson in 1931. It hasn't changed much.
On a morning that looked set to brighten, I sat sipping coffee in the friendly cosiness of The Forresters Arms, offcuts of oak burning hot in the fireplace, oak tables, oak chairs, oak bar, everywhere that little oak mouse. So Kilburn famous for two animals, one tiny, the other the largest in the land.
Outside are the Thompson Museum, showroom, and precision-sliced trunks of weathering wood. A few hundred yards down the road the White Horse looms, plastered high on a steep escarpment, to keep us company nearly all the walk. We wander down Tig Tag Lane, a sign proclaims 'Game and Wildlife Conservation Area', irritatingly a messy quarter mile of churned pasture, buried stream, and vanished hedge. The land remains boggy but the landscape improves as we pass the last wooded hillocks and valleys of the Hambleton Hills, then ease onto tracks for a little circuit of the flatlands.
Thirsk lay south in limpid sunshine, over left shoulder the nag again, and on the bridleways trotted the real things. I did wonder what these horses made of the giant grazing the same patch everyday. It might be big, but ancient and beautiful? No. He, or she, reminds us a little of a herbivorous dinosaur with long, long neck stretched into the treetops, tail out in balance, and a torso solid and sturdy, Yorkshire if not prehistoric.
Writers have called it 'striking' and 'unusual'. Pevsner thought it 'innocent', on Jimmy Savile the effect was 'profound'.
We will visit the horse next week approaching from the head end along its escarpment for the most privileged views.
DIRECTIONS
When in doubt look at the
map. Check your position at each point. Keep straight on unless otherwise directed.
1. Right to road from parking area by pub, Wass road out of Kilburn, stile/fieldgate on left to track (sign).
2. At S-bend, fieldgate into field (waymark), by trees/hedge on right up to 'shelter'.
3. Downhill at 11 o'clock, stile in wire fence, gap in fence at corner of wood, 200 yards by wood, uphill.
4. Stile/fieldgate and left to road, 50 yards, track on right (signed), footbridge by drive and fieldedge path to skirt house and large garden.
5. After garden, red gate on left and right to grassy track (waymark).
6. Left at T-junction.
7. Right to track to pass house and stables.
8. Red fieldgate on left into field (bridleway sign) and by hedge on left, gate, 11 o'clock across field, over stream and, as public right of way not reinstated (boundaries gone) immediately left to grassy track, 100 yards, right at field corner, uphill, and stay on track until left to road in Kilburn (grassy track switches from right to left side of hedges, then becomes hedged track).
FACT FILE
Distance: Four and a half miles.
Time: Two hours.
Start: Kilburn
Right of way: The complete route is along public rights of way.
Date walked: Friday 3rd December 1999.
Road route: Kilburn is east of the A19 York/Thirsk road, 2 miles south of Sutton Bank.
Parking: Parking area by pub.
Lavatories: None.
Refreshments: The Forresters Arms.
Tourist & public transport information: Sutton Bank Visitor Centre 01845 597426
Map: Based on OS Outdoor Leisure 26, North York Moors western area.
Terrain: Mostly flat, sometimes muddy.
Footwear: Walking boots.
Points of interest: Views of White Horse. Kilburn.
Difficulty: Moderate.
Dogs: Suitable for dogs but keep on leads or under close control.
Weather forecast: Evening Press and recorded forecast 0891 500 418
Please observe the Country Code and park sensibly. Every effort is made to provide accurate information, but walkers set out at their own risk.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article