Additional information
Terrain
- Lane, farm tracks and moorland paths
Landscape
- Quintessential mix of partly wooded valley and heathery upland
Dog friendliness
- Lead required on roads and around livestock
Parking
- A few spaces near road junction at Hawnby, and more just round the corner on the road signed for Osmotherley
Toilets en route
- None on route
About the walk
Hawnby is a village of two halves. The lower nucleus, just above the river, includes the village shop and village hall. A second cluster of houses, including the pub, is set about 500yds (457m) away, higher up the slope and tucked in under the steep nose of Hawnby Hill. The walk sets out from here... to loop around the hill and return along its crest, a delightfully elegant ridge with great prospects. Like its neighbour, Easterside Hill, Hawnby Hill owes its striking form largely to a cap of hard limestone which is exposed as small crags on the west side of the ridge. The steep climb onto the ridge is well repaid, as the ridge itself runs almost level for nearly half a mile (800m). A large cairn, mid-way along the ridge, suggests that this point is the summit. However the Ordnance Survey map gives it a spot height of just 294m (965ft), while the north end of the ridge is 298m (977ft). This north top has the best views over the wide expanse of moorland which spreads out beyond – stunning in late summer when the heather blooms – while southward progress along the ridge gives great views down into the green, sheltered valleys. Not only is Hawnby a village of two halves, but the church is detached from both of them. Exactly why the church stands where it does – to the west of the village, forming an almost equilateral triangle – is a mystery. However, the reason for the division of the village itself is known. This is the story of the Hawnby Dreamers. The original village is the higher part, where the walk starts. In the mid-18th century two labourers, Cornforth and Chapman, were cutting bracken on the hill on a hot day. Taking a break, they both fell asleep. When they awoke, the men discovered that they had dreamed the same dream, a remarkable coincidence which suggested some sort of call from God. Soon after this event, they were advised by a Mr Hugill that John Wesley, founder of the Methodist Church, was shortly due to preach in Newcastle. The three men walked to Newcastle – a distance of around 60 miles (97km – where they heard Wesley preach, and were converted on the spot. Returning home, they recruited many family and friends to Methodism, but were arraigned before the magistrate for disorderly conduct, and their landlord expelled them from their homes. The Methodist converts built a new settlement for themselves at the bottom of the hill, near the bridge. A few years later, hearing of this story, John Wesley himself paid the community a visit, recording that the area was ‘one of the pleasantest parts of England’ – a view with which many modern visitors will agree. Today the hostility between the Established Church and the Methodists is a thing of the past. The Methodist chapel has closed, but in 2002 the local Church of England parish initiated Hawnby Dreamers’ Day to remember the determination and devotion of those pioneers.
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