Hovingham Walk

Hovingham is a small village on the edge of the Howardian Hills, an area of outstanding natural beauty. It also home to the Worsley family, aka the Duchess and Duke of Kent. So the village is centred on their stately home or rather the understated front entrance of the building. It is a hugely picturesque village full of white stone cottages, a village green, and a stream running through the village with a ford to cross from one side to the other. If you were looking for a poster village for North Yorkshire than it is Hovingham.

It was the start and finish point for this month’s walk. As we set off across the Vale of Pickering, there was a slightly esoteric argument between Ian and Simon as to whether this was the Vale of Pickering or York, Pickering won. The walk was flat, but after recent heavy rain very wet and muddy. The fields were either showing the first signs of the winter barley crop, or were newly ploughed exposing the rich alluvial soil of this area.

We passed through two villages, Barton and Slingsby, both contained beautiful large houses and many of cottages.

In one, all the cottages had name rather than numbers, though not many had strayed from the safe “Rose Cottage” style. In Slingsby we turned south to climb up to the ridge of the Howardian Hills. From here we could look across the vale getting fine views as far as Staxton in the east and almost to Helmsley in the west. Even from a moderate height the villages looked inconsequential, the arable landscape being dominant.

At one point though a gap in the trees Castle Howard came into view, right across the ornamental lake to the front of this magnificent house.

Castle Howard in the distance!!

We were now walking through the estate lands where there was much evidence of forestry work, mainly the thinning of the forest.

Finally we crested a ridge and walked back into Hovingham and the liveliest debate of the day, pub or café for a late lunch. It was the café where we enjoyed lovely homemade sandwiches washed down by coffee and tea not beer!! The weather had been extremely kind to us so we enjoyed a great little walk.