Saturday, 24 March 2018
Yorkshire Wolds Way
Goodmanham → Thixendale
Distance: 20.27 miles
Ascent: 798 metres
Duration: 6 hours 51 minutes
Folds and dales
« Not walked | Not walked »
Our B&B hosts - both seasoned Wolds Way walkers - warned us that the route would dramatically change at Millington, so we set off with a degree of foreboding. The path from Goodmanham to Millington was much the same as yesterday: all arable fields and chalk downs. But once we'd climbed above Millington village we crossed a succession of winding, deep and empty dales.
The sensation was rather claustrophobic. Alone apart from the sheep, there was nowhere to run, and no civilisation for comfort. The grassy hillsides towered over us and the only escape was to walk to the end of the dale, rather like being trapped in a tunnel. The villages in these undulating hills often get cut off after heavy snow; it's not hard to see why.
In Thixendale we passed the halfway mark for the Yorkshire Wolds Way. It's come about so quickly; a product of this being the shortest National Trail and the fact that we've taken on a pretty long day today.
Tonight we're staying in the Cross Keys in Thixendale. There's no mobile reception, no television and no Wi-Fi. The comforts and securities of our modern lives are absent, but sat next to the open fire, listening to the chatter of locals and visitors, waiting for a hearty pie, we couldn't be more content.