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Kilnwick Percy Hall/Photo by Arnold Underwood/Nov 2009

Snowfields above Millington/from a photo by Arnold Underwood/Feb 2009

Pocklington and the Yorkshire Wolds – 13.6km (8½ miles)


This walk starts from the market town of Pocklington and takes you via the delightful village of Millington up onto the Wolds. The return includes an option for an interesting diversion through the grounds of Kilnwick Percy Hall which for many years has been a Buddhist Madhyamaka Centre – a haven for peace and meditation. Access is permitted to the grounds, and you can walk through the parkland linking existing rights of way, but please respect the ideals of this Buddhist community now living in rural Yorkshire

Fact File

Distance 13.6km/8½ miles
Time 4 hours
Map OS Explorer 294 Market Weighton & Yorkshire Wolds
Start/Parking Pocklington Station Road Car Park or Market Place (SE 802489)
Terrain Field paths and bridleways. There is a fairly steep climb out of Pocklington and again out of Millington .
Grade *** Moderate
nearest Town Pocklington
Refreshments Cafés and pubs in Pocklington and Millington; World Peace Café at Kilnwick Percy Hall (closed Mon & Tues)
Toilets In Pocklington and at the World Peace Café, Kilnwick Percy
Public Transport Frequent East Yorkshire buses, 743/4/6 & X46, from York, Bridlington and Hull all serve Pocklington
Suitable for for all
Stiles 6


Route created using TrackLogs Digital Mapping
Image reproduced with kind permission of Ordnance Survey and Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland.

  1. (Start) From the Market Place, head north cutting along the narrow Union Street top pick up the B1246 Kilnwick Road heading out of town. Walk along the LH pavement and branch left into Target Lane. After crossing Denison Road the lane continues as a track up by houses. It is a steady pull up Chapel Hill to a transmitter mast at the top on the edge of Kilnwick Percy golf course. Continue ahead through gates to skirt the golf course by Pocklington Wood until you meet a track. Turn left down this track, Woodhouse Lane, which zig-zags through the woods to meet the Pocklington-Millington road.

  2. (2.7km/1¾ miles) Turn right along the road for about 200m until you see a footpath sign on the left. Cross into the field and follow the field boundary north to emerge on a narrow lane. Turn right and walk along the lane to the road junction near Ousethorpe Farm. Go ahead a short distance and cross a stile on the right. Walk across the field towards electricity poles then bear left down to a footbridge over a stream. Keep left round the side of the next field to a stile over a wire fence. Cross a paddock to a stile/gate in the corner near Mill Farm. Walk towards the house and at a waymark, cut left up a muddy bank into a field. Walk round the right-hand side of the field until you reach the lane from Clay Farm. Turn left up the lane to the road and the walk along the road to Millington. Continue straight ahead to the church then turn right down into the village. Opposite is the Travellers Rest tearoom and round to the right is the Gait Inn.

  3. (6.0km/3¾ miles) Head north from the tearoom and just round the corner find a footpath sign (Minster Way) directing you down a track on the right. Go past a small pond and through gates to a footbridge over Millington Beck. Cross into the field and head straight up the steep hillside. Join a track leading up to Warren Farm. It is a steady climb but the reward is the view over Millington and the Vale of York. When the track swings left continue upwards crossing stiles to meet the Wolds Way at the top. Turn right to head south along the Wolds Way following the waymarked route round the sides of fields to reach a farm track near Warrendale Plantation. Walk down the track to its junction with the Millington-Kilnwick road.

  4. (9.1km/5¾ miles) Continue ahead along this unfenced road passing Home Farm on the left. Beyond the farm, you can continue along the road to a footpath across the golf course (see below). However, time permitting, the more interesting option is to divert left down a lane into Kilnwick Percy. Pass secluded cottages to enter the grounds of Kilnwick Percy Hall now undergoing a new lease of life as a Buddhist Madhyamaka Centre. Follow the signs across a courtyard to the World Peace Café. From the café, walk down the steps and bear left to a gate in the corner opening into the park, heading towards St Helen’s Church in its overgrown graveyard. The right-of-way continues ahead over a stream but our route turns right away from the church to follow the stream along the bottom of the park towards the lake. Continue across the park with the lake on your left and the Hall up to your right until you have to climb away from the lake to a stile by the driveway gates. Turn right up the road passing the new entrance to Kilnwick Percy Golf Club.

  5. (11.2km/7 miles) At a footpath sign enter the golf course and walk straight across towards the corner of woodland. Note the imposing club house over to the right and a new development of holiday chalets! The path continues alongside the trees then behind a hedge where it can be muddy, and emerges into the open at a signpost overlooking Pocklington. Go straight ahead dropping down into a housing estate. Cross the first road and continue down, but just before the next road turn left along a footpath through the bushes near St. Helens Well. At the end of the path, join St Helens Road and walk down to meet the main road (B1246) opposite Woldgate School. Turn right along the pavement and walk back into the centre of town, cutting back along Union Street to reach the Market Place.

    Along the Way


    The Georgian Mansion, Kilnwick Percy Hall, is nowadays The Madhyamaka Centre and home to a Mahayana Buddhist community of lay and ordained practitioners. The centre nestles beneath the Yorkshire Wolds close to the market town of Pocklington. Schools and other community groups are invited to visit the centre for a talk about meditation and tour of the house and grounds. The centre is open to the public for most of the year.

    Millington Church/Photo by Arnold Underwood/Dec 2009

    Millington - A new stained glass window has been installed at St. Margaret’s Church, Millington, commissioned as a generous gift from a member of the church. A service of dedication was held in November 2007 conducted by the Archbishop of York, the Most Revd and Rt Hon John Sentamu.
    The Gait Inn is named after an old English word meaning a small area of pasture for grazing a few animals

    Arnold Underwood (Dec 2009)

This page was created by
Arnold Underwood

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