EAST YORKSHIRE - Driffield

A waterside walk

Fact File

Distance	12km/7½ miles
Time	4 hours
Map	OS Explorer 295 (Bridlington & Driffield)
Start/Parking	Riverhead, Driffield. Grid Ref. TA 028 571
Terrain	Field paths, riverbank & minor roads.
Grade	** (easy)
nearest Town	Driffield
Refreshments	Pubs in Driffield, Wansford, and Nafferton
Toilets	in Driffield town centre
Public Transport	Buses (service 121) and Trains (Northern Rail): Hull – Driffield – Bridlington – Scarborough, plus other local bus services (irregular)
Suitable for	for everyone.Take care walking along the B1249 into Wansford
Stiles	6

1. (Start) Walk away from Riverhead beside the canal to find a public footpath sign by the wrought-iron gates to a private drive. The footpath continues along the drive past the lock-side cottages, becoming a gravel path and finally a grassy track between tall hedges. This ends at a gate (waymark) opening into riverside meadows. Continue through another gate with the disused canal on your left and the meandering River Hull over to the right. The path keeps close to the canal for about a mile (1.5km), whilst the river twists and turns through the meadows.

2. (1.2km/¾ mile) Cross a stile by a metal gate and, further on, another one by a new wooden gate. If you are expecting to come to a footbridge over the river, as shown on OS maps, you will be disappointed. Apparently the bridge collapsed about 20years ago and although there has been talk of reinstating it, nothing has materialised. This is unfortunate because it would eliminate a mile of road walking. Therefore you must continue along the canal bank to a gate, which leads to a narrow path close to the water. Cross a 3-plank footbridge over a sluice serving a trout farm, to arrive at a bridge over the recently restored Whin Hill lock by the main B1249 road.

3. (2.4km /1½ miles) You are now faced with nearly 1.5km (1 mile) of road walking. There is no footpath and this is a straight, fast stretch of road, particularly busy at weekends with traffic to and from the coast. Take care and after about 400yds a fisherman’s path can be followed along the canal bank. You arrive at Wansford by the disused lock gates. Keep by the canal as far as the Skerne road junction. (The Trout Inn is a short distance further along the B1249).

4. (3.9km/2½ miles) Opposite the bridge, cross the road into Chapel Lane (footpath sign) and walk alongside the beck towards the former mill. Keep to the left of the buildings, over a footbridge and turn to follow the beck towards Nafferton. At a road, the path crosses to the opposite bank. Watch out for trout in the stream and, if you are lucky, the blue flash of a kingfisher.

5. (6.7km/4½ miles) After about 2.5km (1½ miles) walking by the beck, you cross a minor road then the railway line near to Nafferton station. The path turns half left across a paddock to arrive at the roadside in Nafferton. Continue forward towards the church, pausing to admire the lake – the Mere – which, in an area of quite dense housing, comes as something of a surprise. There are pubs and shops in Nafferton. Turn left at the church and walk out of the village along the road towards Driffield.

6. (8.8km/6 miles) The road makes a right turn about 1km (¾ mile) out of Nafferton, but a footpath continues straight on, past a brick barn. The path turns left to follow the field side, then right along a farm track. This passes the edge of a wooded area, and converges with the railway line. Cross the railway with care and continue along the lane through a new housing development on the outskirts of Driffield. At the main road turn right, then left immediately before the railway crossing to return to Riverhead.(12km/7½ miles)

   Along the Way

   Driffield has been a market here for centuries, being the centre serving the fertile farmland of East Yorkshire. Several corn mills were established in the town as trade flourished with the opening of the canal and then the railway. Today one mill remains, with the others demolished or converted to flats and other uses. Two 19th century cranes are preserved alongside the canal at Riverhead. The Driffield Canal Society has ambitious plans to reopen the canal from Brigham to Riverhead, allowing craft once more to navigate from Hull to Driffield.

   All Saints Church dates from the 12th century and is said to have one of the tallest towers of any church in the old county of Yorkshire. The River Hull (also known as West Beck) rises near Driffield, and along with its other tributaries, provides some of the best trout fishing in the country.

   The river and the canal provide a haven for waterfowl. In winter months a variety of ducks and geese can be seen, and cormorants move inland from the coast. Spring sees families of ducks, geese, coot and moorhen on the canal. Reed-buntings can be heard but rarely seen, and the blue flash of a kingfisher can reward the patient observer.

   Arnold Underwood (Feb 2001/May 2002/Oct 2004)