‘A’ David Killens  ‘B’ Brian Drabble

53 members set out in the rain to the North York Moors stopping for coffee in Guisborough.  At Goathland, 22 members set out on the ‘A’ walk and after lunch 21 went on the ‘B’. It was  overcast, dry and very still and it didn’t rain during the walks even though at home there was heavy rain. The ‘B’ walk set off through the village to the footpath leading to the Mallyan Spout waterfall. After a descent on a stony track with awkward steps we slowly picked our way over the rocks alongside West Beck to reach the waterfall – a spectacular sight with an impressive drop of 60 feet, making it the highest waterfall in the North York Moors. We continued on through Scar Wood, gingerly picking our  route through mud and over rocks for a good 2 miles. The going was slow but everyone managed to negotiate the obstacles safely. We followed a bridlepath over fields to reach higher ground where the views were shrouded in mist and thunder could be heard in the distance. We passed Hazel Head Farm (1908), a handsome farmhouse building with fine stonework above the doorway. In a walled lane we came across huge clumps of flowering harebells, including a few white harebells, quite an unusual sight.  We descended through fields  and spotted lots of hazelnuts lying on the ground, probably blown off the trees by high winds. We crossed a stream to Gill View then ascended onto Howl Moor meandering through the flowering heather to pass 2 cairns. A long gradual descent brought us back to Goathland. The ‘A’ party had beaten us back by 10 minutes.  An evening stop was spent in Guisborough.

Flowers:betony, convolvulus, feverfew, foxglove, green alkanet, harebell, white harebell, hawkbit, heather, herb bennet, ragwort, tormentil, tufted vetch, woundwort.

Other: hazelnuts, rowan berries.