DAY 2
South Cave to Goodmanham or Market Weighton

Start

Jubilee Clock, South Cave, grid ref 923313

Finish

Goodmanham Parish Church, grid ref 890432, or the Londesborough Arms, Market Weighton, grid ref 877417

Distance

19km (12 miles)

Maps

OS Landranger 106, OS Explorer 293

Terrain

Easy roads, tracks and paths with a few ascents and descents on reasonably gentle slopes. Route-finding is intricate at first but easier later.

Refreshments

Pubs off-route in North Newbald. Pubs, restaurants, cafés and takeaways at Market Weighton.

Public Transport

East Yorkshire bus X46 links Arras and Market Weighton with Hull and Beverley, Pocklington and York.

The Yorkshire Wolds increase in height as this day’s walk unfolds, although the higher parts are simply rolling fields rather than hills. A series of charming, steep-sided dales are visited — some wooded, some grassy — two of which have had railways routed through them in the past. After leaving South Cave facilities actually on the way are very limited indeed, with the village of North Newbald located 1.5km (1 mile) off-route if food and drink are needed in the middle of the day. After passing the remote farmstead of Arras, walkers are faced with a choice of routes. Either follow the main route to Goodmanham, which has a pub and bed-and-breakfast, or take an alternative loop through Market Weighton where there is a hotel and several opportunities to enjoy food and drink.

Leave South Cave by following Beverley Road out of the village, then turn left on the outskirts as signposted Wolds Way. Cross a footbridge and follow a narrow path uphill beside a small plantation of willow. Walk into Little Wolds Plantation and turn right to follow a broad woodland path — the wood is managed by the Woodland Trust and enjoys open access. The path climbs almost to 120m (395ft) to reach a junction with a wider track. Turn right to walk down the track, which is flanked by trees and bushes but allows a glimpse back to the Humber Estuary. Watch out for a gate on the left where the Wolds Way runs down a grassy path through little Comber Dale. Swing right near the bottom of the slope to reach a bridle kissing gate — a huge kissing gate for horses (cross a stile alongside if unsure how to operate it).

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North Plantation, seen from the Wolds Way after passing High Hunsley Beacon

Cross over an old railway trackbed in Weedley Dale (the railway ran from 1885 to 1959). Don’t follow the trackbed but turn right as marked to follow a grassy woodland track above the cutting. The markers later point right, then almost immediately left, taking the Wolds Way up a woodland track through East Dale. The clear track later swings left and narrows as it climbs, while the woodlands become quite dense. Emerge into a field at the top and turn left to wriggle round the edge to reach the busy B1230. Cross with care, go into a field and turn right to follow it to High Hunsley Beacon at 162m (532ft). A sign swinging from a brazier reads: ‘Erected by Rowley Parish Council Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee 2002’. Hunsley Beacon is also the name of a nearby transmitter mast.

Turn left alongside a field, then right along a quieter road and head straight through a crossroads. Continue walking alongside a strip of woodland known as North Plantation. Turn left alongside another field and turn right around its boundary. Cross a stile and drop down into a dale, then turn left through an old gateway — no more than a couple of stout posts in a gap in an old hedge. Walk down through the dale passing large clumps of nettles, though these do not impinge on the grassy path. The steep slopes are used for sheep grazing. Turn left at a Wolds Way signpost to reach a confluence of dales and continue down through Swin Dale.

Follow the path as marked, then turn right as signposted Wolds Way to follow a clear grassy track further down through the dale. The floor of the dale is cultivated, while its steep slopes remain untilled and trees fringe its upper brow. When a minor road is reached the Wolds Way turns right, but walkers who need food and drink can turn left and walk off-route to North Newbald.

Follow the road from Swin Dale to a farm and turn left up a clear track to a higher road on Newbald Wold. Turn right along this road then left up another broad, clear track. When the track levels out it passes a trig point at 144m (472ft) and there are good views around the higher wolds. The track narrows as it passes under a pylon line and there is a Wolds Way signpost at Gare Gate, basically in the middle of nowhere pointing all the way back to Hessle and far ahead to Filey! The route continues along a grassy, rutted track beside a large field and reaches a minor road. Walk straight ahead, rising slightly, to pass a farm and a few houses in a clump of trees at Hessleskew. Keep walking along and gently down the road to reach a junction with the busy A1079, which has bus services.

NORTH NEWBALD

The village offers a few facilities in an area otherwise lacking services. Clustered around the Green are two pubs, the Gnu and the Tiger Inn, both serving food and drink and the former also providing accommodation. The Post Office and Stores also faces the Green. Use the road signposted Beverley to get back onto the Wolds Way.

Cross the busy main road with care and walk along the farm access road, whose tree-lined avenue leads to the farmstead of Arras in a small woodland at over 120m (395ft). Simply walk straight through the farmyard to continue. The Wolds Way runs alongside enormous fields, initially tracing the overhead power line away from the farm across Weighton Wold. A grassy track later runs down a slope to reach a gate at a road junction. Walk straight ahead to follow the minor road to an intersection with an old railway trackbed, now signposted the Hudson Way, which is where a decision needs to be made about a choice of routes.

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The Wolds Way uses a high track between Newbald Wold and Hessleskew

The main route goes to Goodmanham today and meets up with the alternative route at Londesborough Park on Day 3, but lacks all but the most basic facilities. The alternative route goes to Market Weighton today, which offers more in the way of accommodation, food and drink, and then rejoins the main route at Londesborough Park on Day 3.

Main Route

Simply stay on the road to follow the main course of the Wolds Way. The road climbs out of the wooded dale, swinging right to proceed at a gentler gradient. Turn left at a road junction to walk into Goodmanham.

Alternative Route

Turn left along the old railway trackbed, signposted the Hudson Way. The line operated from 1865 to 1965 and its founder, George Hudson, made and lost a fortune on the enterprise. Follow the track through a well-wooded dale. There is no doubting the way ahead, which is always clear and generally flanked by trees and bushes. The route soon brushes alongside Market Weighton. Watch out for a turning on the left that leads into town by way of Station Road and a passage beside All Saints Church known as Church Side. This leads to the main shopping street beside the Londesborough Arms.

GOODMANHAM

This delightful little village surrounds an old church and features fine houses and cottages. Of particular note in the church is the lavish baptismal font carved with the words, ‘wyth owt baptysm no soull ma be saved’. The only facilities are the Goodmanham Arms and a bed-and-breakfast. Limited buses run to and from Market Weighton,

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The ‘alternative route’ follows the Hudson Way railway path into Market Weighton

MARKET WEIGHTON

This is the only town of any size actually on the Wolds Way, apart from Filey at the end, and it offers a good range of services. While considering its size, also consider the size of William Bradley, born at Bradley House on York Road in 1792 and buried in the churchyard of All Saints Church in 1820. He was the tallest man in the country, standing 2.36m (7ft 9ins). A life-size statue stands outside his birthplace.

The only place offering accommodation is the Londesborough Arms, but otherwise there are banks with ATMs, a post office, toilets, plenty of pubs, restaurants, cafés and takeaways, as well as a range of shops including one selling outdoor gear. East Yorkshire bus X46 runs daily to Pocklington and York as well as Arras, Beverley and Hull.