Hutton le Hole and Lastingham Walk

Enjoy quiet fields, country lanes and moorland tracks on a charming 4-mile circular walk connecting the two moorland villages of Hutton le Hole and Lastingham. You return across the Spaunton escarpment for some lovely sweeping views. This walk can easily become a full day out since each village also has an inspiring attraction – namely the fascinating open-air Ryedale Folk Museum in Hutton and Lastingham’s St Mary’s church, with its atmospheric eleventh-century crypt. Great for: history buffs, family walks, big-sky views Length:4 miles (6.4km) Time: 2 hours 30 minutes Start/Finish: Hutton le Hole car park Grid Ref: SE 705 902 OS Map: Ordnance Survey OL26 Refreshments: Hutton le Hole and Lastingham Toilets: Start/Finish of walk About this walk Walk The walk follows field paths and moorland tracks, and also has some woodland sections (one with a fairly steep ascent) which can be muddy and slippery after rain. A short section of the route follows the minor moorland road to Lastingham – please be aware of traffic on this road. There are gates on the route but no stiles. Dogs: Please keep your dog under control at all times, and always on a short lead near livestock and game birds, including pheasants. In the moorland sections of the walk dogs must stay on the public right of way and be kept on a short lead or to heel at all times. Hutton le Hole "An ill-planned and untidy village" was how the Victorians described Hutton le Hole. How times change – today it's regarded as one of the most attractive villages in the National Park. That said, earlier complaints were probably justified. The attractive stone cottages in the village were once the overcrowded homes of weavers, smallholders and labourers, who grazed their geese, ducks, hens, horses and donkeys on the green. Manure was piled everywhere and the beck was the common sewer for all the village waste. Nowadays, wandering sheep on the pristine green are the only reminder of more pungent, unkempt days – and the clear waters of the beck, the little bridges and the white fences all form the backdrop to picturesque photographs. Ryedale Folk Museum For a closer look at the local history, heritage and culture, step into the open-air grounds of the Ryedale Folk Museum, which you pass on the way to or from Hutton le Hole car park. Authentic buildings from across the region have been re-erected here – from Iron Age roundhouse to Tudor manor house, and village shop to working smithy. Tools, furniture and contents bring to life the lives of ordinary people – a theme that's also explored in the amazing Harrison Collection of everyday antiques and rare curiosities. St Mary's, Lastingham Any walk through Lastingham should include the short detour to see the beautiful church of St Mary's – standing on the site of an important early Christian outpost. As far back as the seventh century AD there was a monastery here, whose first abbott, the Anglo-Saxon monk Cedd of Lindisfarne (later St Cedd), died of the plague in 664. The wooden monastery was replaced by a stone one and Cedd was laid to rest inside, while in 1078 the monastery was rebuilt again – the crypt probably dates from the same year. There's a palpable sense of history as you descend the stone steps into the half-light beneath the present-day church. St Cedd is still remembered here, amid the crypt's ancient carved stone crosses. Did you know? There was no piped water supply to Hutton le Hole until 1892. And electricity didn't arrive until 1949.