Chop Gate ~ Medium Walk

 

Distance Covered: 7 miles Time to Complete Walk: 3 hours

Suitable for dog walking: Yes

A suitable challenge for an Autumn day. Starting from the village of Chop Gate make your way towards a remote church with amazing views of the surrounding countryside. Then make your way to The Wainstones a formation of rocks that offer incredible views all around. This is a point to point walk, however, on the return you can walk back to Chop Gate on the B road you came in on the grass verge on the B1257. The Buck Inn pub in Chop Gate was closed at the time of the walk, but hopefully will be open moving forward. 

Virus Awareness: The walk was completed in the lockdown and contact with other people was sparse. However social distancing was easy to maintain with a few walkers I encountered on the walk. Please check the tier system before you choose where to walk. 

General Safety Tips:  This is a medium walk and there are some steady climbs. Always ensure you start the walk with plenty of daylight remaining due to the length of the walk. Be careful on crossing the B1257 in the middle of the walk. The paths can get muddy so wear boots and take a walking stick.

The Chop Gate Walk

Getting There

From Middlesbrough head towards Stokesley on the A172. Then head through Great Broughton on the B1257. Stay on this road until you come to Chop Gate. Parking is towards the end of the village to your right and is outside the Village Hall. The parking is free, however there is an honesty box and I put £2.00 in for all day parking.

     Map of the Chop Gate Walk

The Walk

Leave the car park and turn left and walk through Chop Gate passing The Buck Inn.

Pass the Buck Inn

Keep to the pavement and walk through Chop Gate and leave the village. Look for a sign to a road on the right signposted to St Hildas Church. Cross over the road carefully. 

Signpost to St Hildas Church

Cross over a small bridge over a beck and follow the road ahead 

Follow the road ahead

Follow the road which climbs and then swings to the left.

Follow the road as it bends to the left

Keep on the road which offers great views until you come to St Hildas Church

St Hildas Church

Keep on the road as it passes buildings and has brilliant view all around 

Views from the road

Soon the road comes to a T junction which is the road you came in on. Turn left and then cross the road carefully. Look for a hidden sign which points to the right

Turn left at the T Junction

Look for the hidden signpost

Head up the small wooded area which shortly leads up onto a path

Climb up the small wooded area

Emerge onto the path

Turn left and head along the path

Keep on the path to your left

Follow the path through a wall and keep on it as it swings to the right

Keep on the path

As the path forks, keep to the right and continue uphill

Keep to the right at the fork in the path

As you come into Garfitts Farm, walk through the farm and reach a stile to the back of the farm.

Walk through the farm

Head to the stile

Head over the stile and turn left to follow the grassy track

Turn left and follow the grassy track

Keep on the track through a stone wall and then as you come to a gate follow it as it bends right

Follow the path through the gate as it bends to the right

Follow the path until you come to a concrete tank

Keep on the path ahead

Reach the concrete tank

Turn left and follow the lower path which can be muddy. Keep above the path if it is too muddy The Wainstones can be seen to the right.

Follow the track

Views of the Wainstones

Pass through a gate keeping on the path

Pass through the gate

Keep on the path with brilliant views from all angles until you come to another gate

Go through the gate

Turn right and make your way to the Wainstones for great views all around

The Wainstones

After spending time at these fascinating stones, head back and if you choose you can head back to Chop Gate on the B1257.

Chop Gate

Chop Gate (/tʃɒp jæt/ CHOP YAT) is a small village in the Hambleton district of North Yorkshire, England.[1][2] The village lies within the North York Moors National Park. Historically part of the North Riding of Yorkshire, the village is situated 7.5 miles (12 km) south east of Stokesley and 12.5 miles (20 km) north of Helmsley.

The Wainstones

The Wainstones on Hasty Bank A large rocky outcrop known as the Wainstones lies at the western end of Hasty Bank, just below the summit. Exhibiting carvings including cup and ring markings , dating back to the Bronze Age , these rocks may once have held significant importance to prehistoric locals.