Eight of us set off from Newgate Bank on a dullish day and wearing numerous layers to stave off the minus five degrees temperature.  Our anticlockwise route took us up and over the bottom end of Easterside Hill, before sweeping round and scaling Hawnby Hill from north to south.  We took our coffee stop near the summit in a sun drenched sunken "bowl" whilst admiring the mist clinging to the valley below!

Heading broadly south from Hawnby we made our way up and down (several times) to Cold Kirby where we took our lunch outside the Village Hall.

We then headed down into and through Flassen Dale, sharing a short stretch with the Kilburn Kanter route, before continuing eastwards to Ashberry Hill and then circling around its right hand side with views overlooking Rievaulx Abbey below.  Leaving Ashberry Hill we picked up the Kilburn Kanter again via Tylas Farm and until Barnclose Farm.  The final leg of our journey saw us zigzagging our way up and through the steep-sided Newgate Plantation and back to the lay-by where we were parked.

My thanks to Albert Bowes who devised this walk several years ago and shared the route with me.  The terrific route combined with the outstanding weather conditions made for a truly memorable day which was thoroughly enjoyed by all - and the cold start long since forgotten.

The photos below show the different weather conditions that we were fortunate enough to enjoy on this outing.

Photos by Tony Jenner

Photos by Robert Cope

Photos by Christine Stopford