Ripley

Sunday, 13th June
6.5 miles
Map: OS Explorer 26 - Nidderdale

A short stroll today as I was "breaking in" new boots. Nevertheless, the walk marked a milestone as I have now done 105 miles since February ! Again, I found this walk on the walkingworld.com website, although I have to say that is not the easiest of walks to follow and Gill and I went of course twice ! We also extended the route from that shown on the map above and went on to Shaw Mills, rather than cutting across the valley at Kettle Spring.


Parking in Ripley is easy with a large (free!!) Car Park as you enter the village (GR 285604). The village itself is a tourist hotspot and there were plenty of people around. However, it was not long before we escaped the crowds as we followed the Nidderdale Way out of the village, going almost due North.

The path climbs out of Ripley before dropping through woods at Cayton Gill. The peace and tranquility was only broken by birdsong and we stopped for lunch in delightful surroundings as you can see from the picture. Although the weather was dull and overcast it was warm enough to walk in shorts, although we did get one sharp shower on the route.

The Nidderdale Way eventually brings you out onto the B6165 and care needs to be taken on the 1/2 mile stretch that runs down Scarah Bank before turning on to a bridleway that heads towards Kettle Spring. Instead of taking the prescribed route which turns off just before Low Kettle Spring we continued along the Nidderdale Way until we reached the village of Shaw Mills. Here we followed Law Lane, a quiet metalled road, until we reached the collection of houses known as Bedlam.

From Bedlam the route is straightforward and soon meets the walls that surrounds Ripley Park. You simply follow the wall, not forgetting to view the deer park on the other side of the wall, until you arrive back at the front gates to Ripley Castle.

Another enjoyable Sunday afternoon. Thankfully, we managed the walk before the rain set in and the boots didn't hurt too much, although six miles was just about long enough.

A few photos available from the link