The Hole of Horcum Walk

Some might say that the nicest thing about Hull is leaving it. Ignoring the cynical undertone I can find a lot of truth in this statement. The great thing about living in Hull is that you have the North Yorkshire Moors, where dramatic, wild landscapes meet quaint, sleepy villages, right at your doorstep. One of my favourite walks in North Yorkshire takes you through the Hole of Horcum. We did this walk a few times during different seasons and there are a few interesting landmarks worth pointing out.

The Hole of Horcum

The Hole of Horcum

The Hole of Horcum ranks 11th among the 100 Rudest Place Names in Britain (heh). The hole is part of Levisham Beck and Newton Dale Valley. It’s 400ft deep and stretches 3/4 of a mile across. It has the shape of a fist and is also known as the Devil's Punchbowl. Local legend has it that the hole was formed when the giant Wade, a Saxon Chief mentioned by Chaucer and Thomas Malory, had an argument with his wife Bell. He picked up a fist full of soil and threw it at her (leaving the Hole of Horcum). He missed his wife and the soil landed about a mile to the East, forming a hill now known as Blakey Topping.

Skelton Tower

Skelton Tower

Skelton Tower is not far from Levisham. It was built as a shooting lodge in 1850 for the Vicar of Levisham Reverend Robert Skelton. Apparently the vicar wrote his sermons there but rumour has it that he also used the tower to indulge in the rather worldly consumption of alcohol. Today it is nothing more but a ruin.

North Yorkshire Moors Railway

One of the most fantastic features is the steam and diesel trains running through the very heart of the North Yorkshire Moors (http://www.nymr.co.uk/). The trains start at Pickering and call at:

• Levisham

• Newton Dale (You will have to ask the guard to stop here for you. It’s great for starting a hike in the middle of nature. When you want to get back onto the train, just wave at the next massive steam train and it’ll stop.)

• Goathland (Heartbeat, anyone? Also, some might recognise the station as Hogsmeade station from the Harry Potter films.)

• Grosmont

• Whitby (Count Dracula landed there in Bram Stoker’s novel.)

It’s a great way of exploring the Moors. The railway track from Pickering to Grosmont is 18 miles long, and it is an additional 6 miles from Grosmont along the coast to beautiful Whitby. The idea of a horse worked rail connection between Whitby and Pickering goes back as far as 1832. Whitby’s shipbuilding and whaling industry had become stagnant and the railway was built in the hope of connecting Whitby to other cities. Anyone who has ever tried to get from Hull to Whitby by public transport will know how far away Whitby can suddenly seem.