Kirkham Abbey and the Derwent offer the backdrop to a pleasant section of countryside near Malton to the north east of York. The villages are interesting to explore and the railway is unusual on this type of walk.
There are many highlights to the walk of Kirkham Abbey and the Derwent. It is certainly the best walk in the nearby Malton area. Kirkham Abbey, set splendidly near the river is one highlight, the small villages of Low Hutton and Crambeck another. In addition there is some excellent walking alongside the River Derwent. In addition the circular of Chanting Hill offers some great views. I did this walk on a warm August day and drifted around in a little bit of a daze. It is like that, a walk from times past. There is also something pleasant about hearing but not seeing trains passing close by, again it is a reflection of a walk for the imagination.
Crambeck is a fascinating places. It is a privately owned conservation village in which a management company is responsible for the upkeep of the village, the facilities and a nature trail. The residents pay the management company and they have created an immaculate model village.
The exception to this is a thoroughly unpleasant crossing of the A64 near Hutton Hill Farm. The roadside is full of brambles and the traffic passing quickly. Either cross at your own risk , cross further down the road (York way) or it is possible (but involves fence hopping) to not cross at all and walk down the fields picking up the route near Crambeck.
The return crossing is fine.
The Centenary Way is a good track to follow for the main chunk of the walk. Look for the signs. An official footpath like this always encourages more waymarking.
This looks like the walk that was in the Darlington and Stockton Times the other week, but maybe you haven’t done it recently, Jonathan. Some of the vegetation was quite overgrown. We made it as far as High Hutton and crossed the A64 safely, but that was scary. Although we found sections of the Centenary Way on the other side of the main road, the route didn’t seem very clear to us and we somehow ended up in Welburn, after skirting Castle Howard grounds, near the Four Faces, so we were a bit off course! We walked from Welburn to the A64, crossed it again and found a quiet way back to Kirkham Priory, but it seemed a long way on a very hot day. I was glad to reach the Stone Trough for a pint!
I walked this route today, a really nice walk with bits of everything, riverside walking, woodland and lovely villages. Just a couple of points, at the moment there is a diversion on the walk, it’s on the stretch of river at the Jeffry bog plantation, they are putting new duckboards down to stop erosion, the work should be completed shortly. Just after the Jeffry bog plantation it looks on your map as though you carry on besides the river but you need to leave the route and stick with the Centenary way and go up to the road, you can seem this clearly on the OS map. But a fantastic walk and well worth doing.
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