Richmond ~ Easy Walk

Distance Covered: 6 miles   Time to complete walk: 2h 20m

Safety Tips: Be prepared for a steep walk back into Richmond

An easy walk round Richmond which passes by Easby Abbey and ends up at the spectacular Richmond Castle - Richmond itself is steep but this walk avoids steep inclines until the very end. The walk can be completed in a few hours and extra time can be spent exploring the Abbey and Castle.

Getting There

From Middlesbrough and Stockton take the A66 to Darlington and then follow the A1 to Scotch Corner. Then look for the A1608 which will take you to Richmond town centre.

The Walk

 

Richmond Castle

 

 

Richmond Walk route

 

 

There's ample parking spaces at the Nuns Close car park which is situated past the cricket club as you follow the A1608 and turn right into Hurgill Road signposted as a long stay car park.

 

Leave the car park and turn right and then left to follow the road you just drove down until you reach the first roundabout. At the roundabout go straight ahead down Ryders Wynd.

 

Ryders Wynd

 

At the bottom of Ryders Wynd turn left then go right into Station Road. Just past the church take a left into Lombards Wynd.

 

 

Lombards Wynd

 

Turn right at the next junction and follow the track until you eventually pass the Drummer Boy Stone on your right.

 

                                          Drummer Boy Stone

At the end of the18th century, the story says, soldiers in Richmond Castle discovered a tunnel that was thought to lead to Easby Abbey. They sent their drummer boy down it, beating his drum so they could follow him from above ground. His route is beside the river towards the Abbey. At the spot now marked by the Drummer Boy Stone, the drumming stopped and he was never seen again.

Bear right after the gate, still parallel with the river, bearing right again to a gate, then alongside the Abbey in the village of Easby.

 

You can now see the full splendour of Easby Abbey to your left. You can make a detour here to explore the Abbey through the gate to your left.

 

 

 

Easby Abbey

 

In 1152 Roald, the Constable of Richmond Castle, granted land to a group of Premonstratensian canons to build an abbey on the banks of the River Swale, within sight of the soaring towers of his castle. Roald did not own the castle, but administered it on behalf of his patron, Conan, Earl of Richmond. But Roald was certainly a wealthy man, probably through marriage to Garsia, widow of Enisan Murdac, who held large estates around Richmond after the Norman Conquest.

The new abbey may not have been the first religious foundation at Easby; circumstantial evidence suggets that there was a community of priests here in the Saxon period, perhaps associated with a minster church. It is unusual that Roald chose to establish a Premonstratensian house, though.

 

Beyond the car park in the Abbey turn right along the track and follow the track with the wall to your left to Love Lane House.

 

 

                                                               Love Lane House

Turn right over the old railway bridge.

 

View from railway bridge

 

Follow the track bed for a while until you come to The Station. The Station is a leisure and shopping complex with its own bakery, cinema, some shops and a café. Ideal for a pitstop!.

 

 

The Station

 

Turn left up the road and then turn right into Priory Villas and bear right to go in front of the houses.

 

 

Priory Villas

 

Go through three waymarked gates keeping parallel to the river. you should have a great view of Richmond Castle to your left.

 

                                                           View of Richmond Castle

Continue passing some playing fields and a clubhouse. This will then bring you onto a road- turn left and go over Richmond Bridge. Then look for the Castle Hill turning to your left- this is very steep and will take you to the town square. From here you can then enter Richmond Castle and explore its remains.

 

Views from Richmond Castle

 After you have left Richmond Castle make your way back to the car park by leaving the main town square and ending up on Ryders Wynd and re trace your steps to the car park.

Richmond Castle

In 1069 William the Conqueror had put down a rebellion at York which was followed by his "harrying of the North" - an act of ethnic cleansing which depopulated large areas for a generation or more. As a further punishment, he divided up the lands of north Yorkshire among his most loyal followers. Alan Rufus, of Brittany, received the borough of Richmond and began constructing the castle to defend against further rebellions and to establish a personal power base. His holdings, called the Honour of Richmond, covered parts of eight counties and amounted to one of the most extensive Norman estates in England. The Dukes of Brittany became the owners of the castle as Earls of Richmond though it was often confiscated for various periods by English Kings.
A 100-foot (30 m)-high keep of honey-coloured sandstone was constructed at the end of the 12th century by Duke Conan IV of Brittany. The Earldom of Richmond was seized in 1158 by Henry II of England. It was King Henry II who probably completed the keep which had 11-foot (3.4 m)-thick walls. Modern visitors can climb to the top of the keep for magnificent views of the town of Richmond. At the same time that the keep was probably completed, Henry II considerably strengthened the castle by adding towers and a barbican. Henry III and King Edward I spent more money on the site including Edward's improvements to the keep interior.
In addition to the main circuit of the wall, there was the barbican in front of the main gate which functioned as a sealed entry space, allowing visitors and wagons to be checked before they gained entry to the castle itself. On the other side of the castle, overlooking the river, was another enclosure or bailey called the Cockpit, which may have functioned as a garden and was overlooked by a balcony. A drawing of 1674 suggests there was another longer balcony overlooking the river side of Scolland's Hall, the Great Hall.

 

 

Richmond Castle had fallen out of use as a fortress by the end of the 14th century and it did not receive major improvements after that date. A survey of 1538 shows it was partly in ruins, but paintings by Turner and others, together with the rise of tourism and an interest in antiquities, led to repairs to the keep in the early 19th century.
In 1855 the castle became the headquarters of the North Yorkshire Militia, and a military barracks block was constructed in the great courtyard. For two years, from 1908 to 1910, the castle was the home of Robert Baden-Powell, later founder of the Boy Scouts, while he commanded the Northern Territorial Army but the barracks building was demolished in 1931.
The castle was used during the First World War as the base of the Non-Combatant Corps made up of conscientious objectors - conscripts who refused to fight. It was also used to imprison some conscientious objectors who refused to accept army discipline and participate in the war in any way. These included the "Richmond Sixteen" who were taken to France from the castle, charged under Field Regulations, and then sentenced to death, but their death sentences were commuted to ten years' hard labour.

 

As presented today Richmond Castle has one of the finest examples of Norman buildings in Britain including Scollands Hall, the Great Hall of the castle. The keep has a restored roof and floors but is shown with the original 11th century main gate arch unblocked. This arch is now in the basement of the later 12th century keep which was built in front of it, the main gate then being moved to its present position which was dominated by the adjacent keep while the original arch we see today was filled-in to secure the keep.
The castle is a Scheduled Monument, a "nationally important" historic building and archaeological site which has been given protection against unauthorised change. It is also a Grade I listed building and therefore recognised as an internationally important structure. Today the castle is in the care of English Heritage which publishes a guidebook written by John Goodall PhD FSA. English Heritage provides a visitor centre for the castle with an informative exhibition containing artefacts form the castles history, they also hold regular events there throughout the year.
According to legend, King Arthur and his knights are sleeping in a cave underneath the castle. It is said that they were once discovered by a potter named Thompson, who ran away when they began to awake. Another legend tells that a drummer boy was lost while investigating an underground tunnel, and that his ghostly drumming is sometimes heard around the castle.