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EAST YORKSHIRE - Skidby
'Walking to Walkington'
… through farmland and parkland, starting from the Mill on the hill at Skidby and passing the site of a 16th century gallows and a 'lost' medieval village. These are just a few of the interesting features of this easy stroll on the edge of the Yorkshire Wolds.
There are various alternative options to this route
- shorter walks from either Walkington or Skidby with a break at the Folly Lake Cafe in Risby Park.
- figure-8 loop via Dunflat Road starting from Folly Lake, Risby Park
- a linear route either way between Skidby and Walkington, using the 61 or 180 bus one way
Whichever option you choose, there are pubs in Skidby and Walkington and a convenient tea-room halfway at Risby Park
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Distance
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14.4km (9 miles)
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Time
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4 hours
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Map
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OS Landranger 106 or Explorer 293
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Start/Parking
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Car park down from Skidby Mill (NOT the Restaurant), or park in Mill Lane opposite
Alternative start/finish and parking at Folly Lake, Risby
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Terrain
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Field paths and bridleways.
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nearest Town
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Beverley
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Refreshments
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Pubs & shops in Skidby and Walkington.Tea-room at Skidby Mill
Folly Lake Cafe at Risby Park (open daily until 5pm, 3.30pm (winter)
Website: Folly Lake Cafe
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Toilets |
Skidby Mill & Folly Lake Cafe
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Public Transport
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East Yorkshire buses via Walkington and Skidby:
Mon - Sat: 61 & 180 Beverley - Cottingham - Hull/Hessle; Sundays: 180 Beverley - Cottingham
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Suitable for
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all
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Stiles
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4
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Route created using TrackLogs Digital Mapping
Image reproduced with kind permission of Ordnance Survey and Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland.
- (Start) From the car park walk up the roadside pavement passing the front of the Mill House Restaurant. Pause to study the village information map, and then turn into the entrance to the restored windmill. A footpath goes to the left of the mill buildings through a 'kissing' gate. For the first 50m (60yds) the path is enclosed by a new fence, after which it continues straight along the field boundaries. After about 800m (½ mile) you reach the clump of trees at Gallows Hill. A little further, at a junction of paths, turn right and follow the track down the hill to arrive at the western end of Skidby village by a cemetery.
- (1.6km/1 mile) Turn right towards the village but at the road junction go left up the hill. At the bend take the second of two footpaths on the right. This path follows a track up the field side, which twice swings left and right before dropping down to the minor road at Risby. The earthworks of the 'lost' medieval village of Risby can be discerned in the field to the north of this road.
- (3.2km/2 miles) Turn left and walk along the road for about 400m (¼ mile) then go right through a gate and follow a track, which skirts the edge of Risby Park. At the bottom of a dip before Risby Park Farm notice a track to the right - you will use this on your return. Continue past the farm, after which the track becomes a metalled lane. You can now stride out with only the occasional farm vehicle to worry about. The lane dips down past Halfpenny Gate Cottages. Ignore the 'Beverley 20' sign - you will return that way, and continue along the lane straight towards Walkington. To your left is open, rolling Wolds countryside, whilst on the right is Risby Park with its woodland plantations.
- (5.4km/3¼ miles) On reaching the outskirts of Walkington turn right and walk along the lane towards the Church. Turn left either down Kirk Hill, or down through the churchyard, and you will come to the centre of this attractive village with three pubs, shops, and a large duck-pond. For the route back to Skidby you must return to the church and take the path along the side of the churchyard. Turn right at a 'Beverley 20' sign onto a path heading south between parallel fences. This leads into parkland and swings right up past Walkington Plantation to a track. Turn right here and this will bring you out onto the farm road at Halfpenny Cottages. Turn left and walk back along the road towards Risby Park Farm where.
- (8.8km/5½ miles) At the signpost, you take the path diagonally across the field on the left.(Alternatively you can can continue along the lane and in the dip take the track going left- signed alternative footpath) Walk up a slight rise to a stile, cross and keep along the edge of the field with woodland and a pond on your left. Go round the corner of the wood to keep along the field boundary to a gate and stile at a road. Turn right along the road for a short distance to a corner, where a footpath drops down towards Fishpond Wood. The path hugs the edge of this woodland round a couple of bends before coming to Dunflat Road again.
A short distance along the road is the entrance to Risby Park where you will find Folly Lake Cafe.
- (10.5km/6½ miles) Back along the road, take the bridleway opposite Folly Wood. As you top a rise, Skidby village and windmill come back into view. The track drops down into a gully to a gate leading into grassy area, once the site of an old quarry. Leave the track as it swings to the left and keep to a footpath along the bank on the right. This heads straight up to a gate and the main street in Skidby, opposite the church. Turn left there, to walk through the village, passing the Half Moon Inn, and go right at the road junction to return to the windmill.
Along the Way
Skidby Windmill dates from 1821, and is the only complete working example of an East Riding windmill in existence. Originally restored in 1974, and further so in 2000-1 with the aid of Lottery funding, it is well worth a visit if time permits. Skidby Mill is open from 10am to 5pm on Saturdays & Sundays throughout the year (also Wednesdays to Fridays in summer).
Gallows Hill - reputedly the site where sheep stealers were hanged at the time of Charles II.
Walkington is an attractive village, spoilt only by traffic on the busy B1230 road, which various traffic-calming measures have failed to reduce. The large duck-pond has benefited from a 'millennium make-over' and has gained a waterfall.
By the pond, this plaque set into the pavement commemorates the success of local athlete, Sue Hearnshaw, in the 1984 Olympic Games
Arnold Underwood (updated Dec 2014)
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