Kirkham Priory ~ Medium Walk

Distance Covered: 4.5 miles Time to complete walk:  2.5 hours

Suitable for dog walking: Yes - check for livestock in fields though

Discover the remains of a monastery at Kirkham Priory. Nestled near the River Derwent, explore the Priory and discover why Winston Churchill paid it a visit. Then make your way through woods onto open pastures passing a railway. Make your way back alongside the River Derwent. A great walk with bags to offer. Book your tickets to the Priory ahead which is £5.00. Parking is outside the Priory and free to visitors. The Priory has a gift shop and toilets.

Virus Awareness: Wear a mask on entering the Priory for your ticket. On the walk itself social distancing is easy to maintain.

General Safety Tips: Try and do this walk after a dry period of weather as every walkers dread- mud- will make the riverside return precarious. Take a walking stick and remember to use branches off the beaten path to avoid the mud. The last field before the river can be marshy. Negotiate the field by looking for other routes which are easy to spot. There is an initial steep climb into the woods. Take care at the level crossings.

The Kirkham Priory Walk

Getting There

From Middlesbrough follow the A19 to York. Approaching York take a left turn on the A1237. Follow this to a roundabout and turn left onto the A64. Follow this until you come to a right turning to Kirkham Abbey which is the name of the village. Follow this down over a bridge and Kirkham Priory is on your right and the car park is small but is directly outside the Priory.

Map of the Kirkham Priory walk

The Walk

Explore the Priory first - the ruins have information panels dotted around the site - in particular look for the Winston Churchill panel. Give yourself enough time to explore it. It is a tranquil setting which is fitting for a monastery.

Entrance to the Priory

Look for the panel about Winston Churchill

Exploring the Priory

Begin the walk by turning left and cross over the bridge you came in over and pass the railway line.

Cross over the railway crossing

Look for a path on your left which is a steep climb through the woods.

Turn left into the woods

Keep to the right at a fork in the path. The climb is steep but is fairly short. 

Keep right at the fork in the path

Turn right when you come to a fence as you exit the woods.

Turn right when you come to the fence

The path then comes to a road. Turn left onto the road.

Follow the road to the left

Shortly you come to a gate on the left. Go onto the path through the gap to the left of the gate.

Go through the gap in the left of the gate

The path skirts the edge of the woods for a while until it enters into the woods.

Follow the path into the woods

Follow the path through the woods.

Follow the path through the woods

Soon you come out into a pasture and a gate.

Arrive at the gate

Go onto the field and immediately turn right to follow the field edge which then bends to the left.

Follow the field edge to the right

Follow the field to the left

Head down to the road at the bottom and follow it out as it goes over a cattle grid.

Head down to the road

Go over the stile at the cattle grid

Go over another stile at another cattle grid just before you reach a junction. Turn left and follow the road. 

Turn left at the road junction

Go over another level crossing on the road.

Go over the level crossing

Follow the road out and keep your eyes peeled for a sharp left turn onto a field signalled by a signpost.

Look for the signpost 

Follow the path through the field

Go through a small gate and through another field and over a footbridge.

Go through the gate

Go over the footbridge

In the next field the gate is another straight walk over. If the field is waterlogged look for another way over by following the field edge to your left and towards the gate.

Follow the path through the field

Go through the gate

Turn left and follow the path which sticks to the river. There are a variety of terrains and this is a pleasant walk beside the River Derwent.

Follow the riverside path

Platform on the riverside path

Eventually you will enter back into the woods. If the path is muddy, use your stick for support and look out  for any branches in the path to avoid the muddiest areas. Keep on the path until you enter a small clearing before the bridge.

Turn right and cross the bridge and follow the road back to the Priory.

Kirkham Priory

The ruins of Kirkham Priory are situated on the banks of the River Derwent, at Kirkham, North Yorkshire, England. The Augustinian priory was founded in the 1120s by Walter l'Espec, lord of nearby Helmsley, who also built Rievaulx Abbey. The priory was surrendered in 8 December 1539 during the Dissolution of the Monasteries. Legend has it that Kirkham was founded in remembrance of l'Espec's only son who had died nearby as a consequence of his horse being startled by a boar. The area was later used to test the D-Day landing vehicles, and was visited by Winston Churchill.[2] The ruins are now Grade I listed and in the care of English Heritage.

The Gatehouse of Kirkham Priory, built c. 1290–95, is a specimen of English Gothic medieval architecture. It is a rare survival of such a gatehouse, comparable to that of Butley Priory in Suffolk. It has a wide arch of continuous mouldings with a crocketed gable running up to the windows, with sculptures of S.George and the Dragon on the left, and David and Goliath to the right. Above the arch is Christ in a pointed oval recess, plus two figures below of St. Bartholomew and St. Philip, in niches. There are also many escutcheons with the armorials of the various benefactors of the Priory, including the arms of de Ros, Scrope, de Forz, Vaux, FitzRalph & Espec (3 cart-wheels, each with 6 spokes).

During the Second World War, the priory was used by the military in training for what became the largest seaborne invasion in history, the D-Day landings which took place on 6 June 1944. Amongst units moved to Kirkham were the British 11th armoured division, the aim being to give drivers experience of manoeuvring and to test various waterproofing compounds and to gain experience with equipment to be used in the landings. Tanks, jeeps and other military vehicles destined for the landings were put through their paces at the priory and on the banks of the River Derwent. Troops made use of the high wall of the Western Cloister in training with scrambling nets, which they would subsequently use to make their way from the main transport ships into the smaller landing craft during the invasion. Prime Minister Winston Churchill and King George VI visited the priory in secret to monitor preparations, an indication of Kirkham’s significance as a training ground.