Yorkshire Wolds Way [Part 1]

 Day 1: Hessle to Brantingham
12th May 2022

Having finished the Cleveland Way on Sunday, I wasn't expecting OH to suggest we start the Yorkshire Wolds Way on Thursday,  but I was definitely up for it. At first, I thought we should walk it from Filey Brigg, but having spoken to a couple who completed the Yorkshire Wolds just as I completed the Cleveland Way, and who told me there was a really steep bit that would be very hard to go down (the normal direction for it is 'up'), I changed my mind. So we set out for Hessle.

Hessle is really more like a suburb of Hull and the walk begins somewhere near the Humber Bridge. Actually, the book seemed to assume everyone got there by train, so we started from the train station instead

I have a bit of a thing about letter boxes - this one is Georgian and is in the wall right  by the train station.

Having crossed the railway line and then the A64 by a footbridge or two, I finally reached the start of the walk, on the corner of an insignificant back road:

The path was good and led west away from Hull and Hessle. It was also green and quiet, with nothing but the Humber alongside for company. There were very few people out and the weather was dry and dull - perfect for walking.

Looking back towards Hull

The first proper glimpse of the Humber Bridge as I walked towards it

The hawthorn was in full bloom

At the end of the path, known as Jean's Walk, there was a monument to the Yorkshire Wolds Way, though I'm not sure why it is here rather than at the start. It's at least half a mile from the first signpost and around twice that from the railway station. It has carved into it the names of some of the places that will be visited in the course of walking the Way. The light wasn't great so the names are not easily visible. Here OH and I separated; we agreed he would meet me with the car part way along the walk. I had had covid in January but it had taken some time to recover and I wasn't sure just how far I could walk.

Soon after the stone, we passed under the Humber  Bridge

..and then past the Country Park Inn. At this point, the path goes onto the 'beach' (for want of a better word). As you can see, it's pretty stony, which is hard to walk on.

This is one of two places where there is an alternative route in case the tide is in, but when I was there, there was plenty of room to walk, so I stuck to the beach. The path eventually has a more solid footing on a hard path higher up from the shingle but still next to the river

The second place where there is an alternative route in case of high tide, is near North Ferriby. Again, the path goes onto another section of rocky beach, but this time, I decided I would prefer to see North Ferriby, so turned right off the path and towards the small town.

At the seaward end of the diversion was a pond, called the Reed Pond. There was an information board explaining the birds and plants that could be seen here

The other end of the path past the pond emerges onto a road on the edge of North Ferriby, which also led me to a dilemma: the guidebook said to turn left, then over a footbridge crossing the railway line. The signpost at the end of the path said to turn right. What to do? In the end I compromised. I decided to follow the signpost, as my book had been published some 17 years ago and things change! 

The main reason I chose this route was I wanted to see the church as I had heard it was a pretty place and so took a photograph or two:

And I also discovered that the regions around Hull have a unique quirk - their phone boxes are cream, instead of red:

The road through town seemed to go on forever with no further indications of direction - and I was aware that sometimes signs disappear in more urban situations. I checked my guidebook again and decided to turn off to the left when I saw a sign to the railway station just near the cream phone box. That eventually put me back on the route in the book. I realised that what the new route was suggesting was to walk all the way through the town, bear to the left and keep walking along the main road. The route I finally took used side streets and a small lane before rejoining the main road.

And that again is where I got a bit lost. The path either didn't come out exactly where expected, or else there was a signpost missing, as when I emerged onto the A63, it wasn't actually the A63 at all! The proper route crossed the A63, then went through a rural estate (farm, not housing) leading up to a wood. When I eventually got to the start of the estate, there was a sign barring the way: NO ACCESS TO YORKSHIRE WOLDS WAY - FOLLOW THE SIGNS AT THE ROUNDABOUT! I looked at the sign and followed it, only to find another one shortly afterwards, pointing in exactly the opposite direction. What I think I should have done, is go east past the estate entrance to find the path further along on my left. But in reality, I was flummoxed. I wasn't too far from my next stopping point, the village of Welton, so I ended up walking west along the exceedingly busy A63. It was noisy and smelly and just plain horrible, but eventually I was able to turn right and walk onto the much quieter lane past a school, that led into the village of Welton, with another pretty church, complete with a pond. In times past, some churches had ponds they used as 'ducking ponds' - a punishment for anyone who was accused of being a witch. She (it was more often than not a woman) would be 'ducked' in the pond, ie thrown in! If she floated or swam, she was guilty and then put to death; if she drowned, she was innocent. Seems like a no-win situation really! I didn't find out if this particular pond was ever used as a ducking pond, but I wouldn't be surprised. There is a pond next to a church in the tiny village of Barcombe in Sussex that was used for this purpose - it was even called 'Penance Pond'.

Alongside the church, well, just across the street, was a rather nice pub, the Green Dragon. Apparently Dick Turpin was arrested here in 1739 and there is a plaque on the wall to commemorate the fact.

I decided to stop there for a rest and a quick drink. It was here that OH met up with me to see if I wanted to stop or was fit enough to continue. Before he arrived however, I met the two men in the picture below, who were also walking the YWW. They had not had the same issue I'd had with the A63, so I decided it was possibly the fact my guidebook is 17 years out of date. Looking back however, I think it was my own fault for not going far enough towards the east because it was counter-intuitive to walk in the opposite direction to the way I knew Welton stood. Anyway, they happened to have a spare map of the walk (one of those maps that has the whole walk on a single sheet, which they offered to me - and didn't want anything for it either. Very kind! Apparently one or both of them lives just near the Humber Bridge, so this was a 'local' walk for them. And the map was very useful too! Thank you very much; sorry I didn't get your names though to thank you properly!

After some refreshment, I decided I would continue the walk. Finally, I was moving away from the A63 which had been my almost constant companion for some time - if not in sight, I could certainly hear the lorries as they roared by! I set off away from the pub, retracing my steps a little,  but then turning left to head out into the countryside

Just around the corner was a lovely little area with cottages and 'The Old Stables', which boasted an interesting water feature and an old post box. The pleasant moment was somewhat rudely interrupted by two big red setters who decided to assault me. The owner called them off, but they paid no attention to her - and she didn't apologise either 😞

The path now led away from the village uphill and eventually entered a section of woodland on one side (Welton Dale) and fields on the other

The fields were full of belted Galloways and their babies

After a pleasant walk, I emerged onto a road, then continued straight ahead, walking past some lovely fields yellow with rape - how on earth did it get that unfortunate name I wonder?

On my way, I managed to miss my turn. There was a nice farm track with a tarmac covering, so I chose to walk up that - bad idea! Part way along, behind the hedge I was next to, there was a signpost off to the left. Being on the road, I couldn't see it, so when I got to the end of the lane and studied the map and guidebook, I realised I must have missed a turn somewhere and had to retrace my steps - this time, on the actual path!

Outside the farm entrance where I realised I had missed my turning

From there, I headed towards Wauldby Manor Farm, where I turned right to follow the track. It was now bright and sunny and flies were buzzing annoyingly round my head! How they manage to get in my eyes when I wear glasses I'll probably never know!

Signpost at Wauldby Manor Farm

The path followed pleasantly beside fields until reaching more woodland (Bottom Plantation and Long Plantation - novel names, not) and then I turned left again. There was a convenient bench on the corner, so I stopped to have a drink - water is always important and all the more so as the temperatures rose. 

Nice views:

I usually take a picture of the benches I sit on to have lunch, as a kind of 'thank you' to those who put them there, to show their efforts at placing benches strategically is not in vain: 

The track led between hedges and shortly after setting off again, I saw OH and Dog (not her actual name) in the distance coming towards me. This is our usual habit - he goes to a suitable spot, then walks Dog towards me; when we meet, we walk together with him retracing his steps.

Dog is out in front; she's spotted me and can't wait to say 'hello'

We emerged onto another road where OH had left the car, not far from the waymarker. 

This time, I abandoned my rucksack as I only had a couple of miles left to do to reach my day's destination. I also swapped my phone for his as mine was now out of battery so there would be no more pictures. I really need to take my proper camera with me!

The fields had been prepared and made interesting patterns in the landscape

The path took me along a short section of road; OH passed me in the car, as he set off for my final destination for the day: Brantingham. 

The footpath goes off the road near those trees in the distance

As I approached the corner of the road, the path kept going straight on, down a wide track, blocked to vehicles  by large tree trunks across it.

And finally, I saw what I had been looking out for all day:

I knew these existed having seen pictures previously, but this was the first one I had seen in person. On one side it says how far still to go to Filey Brigg and on the other, how far back to Hessle (or the other way round, if you are doing the walk in reverse).

A little later, the path emerged onto another minor road, which led downhill.There were some amazing views off to the side. 

For the third time today, I met OH and Dog coming towards me:

In the distance, I could now see Brantingham:

The road finally gave way to another track, leading steeply downhill towards the church. Brantingham is not actually on the route,  but the church, which stands outside the village, is. The church was my actual destination for today

At the bottom of the track was another YWW signpost and also a small car park, presumably for walkers as well as visitors to the church

There was an unusual shepherd's crook marker  by the gate, which OH suggested might be an estate boundary marker, or something.

I walked over to the church, which has a lovely lychgate and once again, photographed another pretty church (they're so photogenic, don't you think?)

So I'd made it to the end of my first day. I wasn't sure I was going to, but it was exhilarating when I finally reached my destination. Leaving the pack behind for the last couple of miles was also a good idea, as it made the journey that bit lighter on the feet. So, next step - return to the church another day and set off towards South Cave and beyond...