RIPLEY RAMBLE
1. Leave through the main gate of the ‘START’ field. Cross over the main road and walk left until you reach the ‘T’ junction.
2.
Turn right up this road and
proceed until you see the public bridleway sign for the
3. Turn left here following the arrow. Continue up the road to the farm, keep the farm buildings to your right, go up the rise beyond, making sure the main path is always in front of you.
4. Go down a dip in the field to a metal gate, keeping wall on right. In the distance you see a post with a yellow arrow.
5. The path goes up the field getting close to the right hand edge – through a further gate and up to a junction of the NW, which here turns sharp left and down the field under a 3-line power line.
6. At the bottom, DO NOT GO OVER THE STILE! Turn right by the wall, through a gate, keeping close to the wall until it ends.
7. Turn up the field making for stile. Cross over stile and head straight on with chapel in front.
8.
Cross onto the road, walking on
the right hand side and proceeding through the
9. Over the bridge, turn immediately right and continue up the wide track leading to COW GATE FARM.
10. Keep to the right of the farm buildings with a Dutch style barn, and just before the brown open barn building turn left through the gate (yellow arrow) and past the farm buildings.
11. Turn right through a gate and continue up the track.
12. Continue up the track, passing through three further gates and then through a gate with an old ruined building on the left.
13. Proceed into this field, where the path goes diagonally right, making for the far bottom corner of the wall at the end of the field.
14. Here you will find a stone step stile – go over and follow the wall on your right for 100 yards, where you will find a white gate.
15.
Go through the gate, over the
footbridge on the other side, then turn right,
climbing almost immediately to a stile, then, keeping a fence on the left, pass
the
16. Continue past all the buildings and you will come to a stile leading to the access road to BECK HOUSE, turn right along the access road and walk to a point where the main track goes to the right.
17. BUT OUR ROUTE LIES TO THE LEFT, signposted ‘WOODEND FARM’.
18. Go along this track, which goes through two gates and then bends to the right.
19. On the left are the old buildings of WOODFIELD MILL, now a private home, but make for the farm building on the higher road.
20. Turn right before the farm, through a gate, into a field.
21. Go to the gate in the stone wall on the left, signposted NW.
22. Through the gate you will see a large house on your right. Bare left down hill following the NW.
23. The path descends to Thornton Beck. Pass through the gate on the far side and keeping the wall on your right, go through two more gates.
24. AT THE THIRD (‘A’) FOLLOW DEVISED ROUTE TO PICK UP THE DESCRIBED ROUTE AT (‘B’).
25. Continue down the road turning right off it down to BRIMHALL FARM, keeping to the left of the farm building and through a gate by the house.
26. Turn right and go through a gate into a field and over a bridge continuing diagonally left to the top of the field where there is a stile (of sorts).
27. Go up this next field with the wall on your left, and cross the stile at the end onto a road.
28. Turn left on the road and walk down to HIGH FIELD FARM. The footpath sign is opposite the second gate of the farm.
29. Turn right into drive and right again through the farm buildings bearing left.
30. Follow up to gate and continue up track taking the left fork to reach a metal gate.
31. Through gate and go straight ahead to stile keeping wall on left.
32. Over stile continue through field to another stile, cross over another stile and through wooden gate.
33. Continue along a walled lane down hill to gate and continue along path.
34. Pass through another gate to Summerbridge Reservoir.
35. Take the left path, continue and go through a wooden gate and follow path to the main road.
36.
Turn left into the
37.
Cross road down Dobson Bank at
the
38. Follow the path along river through two new kissing gates and continue over two more stiles and a kissing gate.
39. After kissing gate go through field with fence on left to stile keeping to the left on path along river.
40. Continue over stile and follow path along river and over two more stiles.
41. At the large footbridge over the river take the footpath straight ahead (not over the bridge). And continue over an old railway bridge.
42. At this bear right up the bank to follow path above woodland to stile.
43. Follow track diagonally right across field, over stile and on to road, turn left.
44. Just past the old Darley Thatched Laundry and some bungalows turn right onto NW footpath to SWARCLIFFE.
45. This path goes diagonally through field through steel gate and straight on at the next field to stile.
46. Look for the waymark on tree in next field and follow NW signs and go over another stile.
47. Go through bracken until you turn right on paved path, up into the woods up hill through wooden gate and straight on.
48. Past houses walk about 200 yards up access road turn left opposite farm on to the NW following path downhill to road.
49. Turn right on to road and turn left off road at the NW sign.
50. Through gate at end and continue on NW, at fork turn right onto river bank.
51. Go over next stile and continue keeping to right of hedge.
52. At end of the field cross two stiles and continue straight on.
53. We enter into BIRSTWITH at the sports ground near the mill.
54. Cross the road and turn left over the footbridge to skirt the mill buildings.
55. Keep right around the boundary (do not go down the field) and turn left up the next field with the wall on your left-hand side.
56. You are now walking above the River Nidd.
57. Continue along the river path until you see a barn to your right – make for the gate (at the right of the barn) by the road at the barn.
58. Cross road and turn left. At the bench and stone sign of HAMPSTHWAITE take the path on the left via the churchyard to the road beyond.
59. Turn left here and go over the bridge, up to the sharp bend and through the gate immediately in front of you.
60.
Follow the path around to the
tiny
61. The path comes out on to the road at the Parish Council Notice Board.
62.
Cross over the road and down
63. Follow this track past a house, through a gate and into wood, takes you on the well trodden path into Ripley, passing the weir and castle buildings into the main street.
64. Turn left, and keep left, on the footpath back to the ‘START’.