Kirkham Abbey - Crambe - Howsham - Kirkham Abbey

Phil Catterall

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Kirkham Abbey - Crambe - Howsham Mill - Howsham - Kirkham Abbey

This varied walk in the Howardian Hills AONB starts from the free car park at Kirkham Abbey, an Augustinian priory maintained by English Heritage. We leave the lane just after Kirkham Bridge to enter Oak Cliff Wood and make our way towards the village of Crambe. After crossing the York – Scarborough railway line we reach Crambe Grange, an alpaca-breeding farm. This is a walk of contrast and after following a riverside path along the Yorkshire Derwent we see Howsham Mill, which was featured by Griff Rhys Jones in the BBC Restoration programme. The mill can be visited as part of the walk via a short detour on the opposite bank of the river. There are usually volunteers or trustees present who are very happy to show you around and talk about this very interesting project, which is now generating electricity and feeding it into the National Grid.

After a short road section we walk through the estate village of Howsham with its unique church. Howsham Wood comes next. This well-managed wood is full of wildflowers and a source of blackberries when they are in season. In springtime the bluebells are unbelievable. The walk now takes us to the edge of Westow Village before we turn left down Dark Lane, a green lane. A short road section returns us to Kirkham and the Stone Trough Inn for refreshments, a mere 400m from the car park at the abbey.

England - North England - Yorkshire - Howardian Hills

Features

Ancient Monument, Birds, Butterflies, Church, Flowers, Industrial Archaeology, Lake/Loch, Pub, Public Transport, Restaurant, River, Wildlife, Woodland

9/19/2017 - Phil Catterall

Thank you Mark for your constructive comments. I'm glad you enjoyed the walk. I have amended the information for Waymark 9 now that the wooden gate has been removed. Best wishes Phil Catterall WW Contributor

9/10/2017 - Mark Bailey

Excellent walk and some of the best directions I have come across, with one small exception.. Waymark 9..... "Pass through two metal gates and a wooden gate, then turn sharp right to walk downstream alongside the River Derwent for 800m"..... there is no wooden gate that we could see, which meant we skirted the river in the adjacent field only to come to a barbed wire fence through which we could see a wooden bridge. I guess we should have gone slightly left and then right to find the path which we did subesequently find.... Great to see the Alpacas, mill and villages. A very, very good walk which will doubtless be very muddy in many places in the winter. We got caked in 5/6 places in the first week of September. Minor detail

4/10/2012 - Trevor Clarkson

Did this walk last Saturday. The path through the wood at the start is still muddy and very slippery. The instructions are very clear and paths easy to follow. I have just a very very minor quibble with the instructions for waypoint 9. We are told to turn upstream when reaching the river and it should read downstream.

3/13/2012 - Ken Dixon

Completed this walk yesterday, it was an excellent walk with wonderful views and seeing the alpacas added something special. Please be aware the climb through the woods at the start of the walk is very muddy and slippery at the moment. The walk directions are excellent.

7/26/2011 - PAUL MCCAULLEY

We have completed this walk today and it was a delight. Not too taxing with some lovely views. We actually followed the river walk from the priory beyond Howsham Mill. It was blissfully peaceful, we saw no other walkers just a hard working farmer who gave us a wave and a thumbs up! We visited the mill at Howsham, a small detour but well worth it. Our dog had a great day, there was plenty of "off lead" time and only a couple of times that we needed to walk through fields with stock in. On our return to our car at the priory we walked for an hour along the Centenary Way passed the Castle Howard railway station and we saw a magnificent steam train on its way to the coast, Great day, Great walking area.