The most usual route taken when walking from the Hole of Horcum to Pickering would be via Levisham Moor and Levisham but, beautiful as it may be, we will be taking a different route today - as usual, you might say! This walk really is a walk of two halves - the scenery and landscape differs tremendously in the afternoon from what we experience in the morning, the morning is superb!!!At the start of this walk we will still get a lovely view of the 'Hole' but, at its most northerly point, we leave the well-beaten track to take a lesser-used path below the head of Levisham Moor and follow the course of Newton Dale. Unusually, for an 'A' walk of mine, the route has an ever-descending nature for the first four miles before the only serious climb of the day - up to Newton-upon-Rawcliffe (our lunch-stop) - no pub stop today though as it doesn’t open until 2pm at this time of year :(Up to this point, fabulous views are to be had on this side and below Levisham Moor as we look across and along Newton Dale and if their timetable is in our favour we may get to see, or at least in places, hear, a steam train chuffing it's way up to Newtondale Halt as it travels onwards to Whitby. We get a clear view of Fylingdales Early Warning Tower along here too.... weather permitting
Our first break of the day will be at Skelton's Tower which affords us not only a perfect place at which to eat a snack but it also gives a wonderful viewpoint of the valley below and a privileged view should a steam train pass.
This wonderful natural break (an hour into the walk) is followed by a fairly short walk alongside Yorfalls Wood and the edge of some open grass-land with sheep and possibly grazing cattle in evidence until we take a sharp descent to the bottom of Newton Dale to cross The North Yorks Moors Railway Line and then ascend through through woods and Newton Banks, up to the village of Newton-upon-Rawcliffe for our lunch stop.
After lunch we follow a section of the 'Tabular Hills Walk' track for a while as we walk above the East Brow Banks before leaving the track behind, above Farwath. Continuing along tracks in open farmland we'll reach Newbridge and another rail crossing. From here, we follow a path through a wood with amazing exposed sedimentary rock formations, running parallel to the line of the road, until we turn upwards and walk past the rear of Pickering Castle - impressive, and it serves as another landmark on this interesting walk.
All too soon we arrive back in the middle of Pickering and the welcoming sight of our coach and the choice of refreshment places.
I hope you enjoy the walk.
'B' Walk - Leader - Clive Hickman. Distance - 9.3 miles. Ascent - 890 ft. Grade - mod/hard. Linear.
This linear walk takes us through a beautiful area of the North Yorkshire Moors national park, and is a repeat of the route last done on a fine, sunny day in September, 2017, from the northern edge of the Hole of Horcum to Pickering, giving us splendid views of moorland and wooded valleys via mostly well-defined paths and wide bridleways throughout the day. Barry and I did encounter plenty of mud on the recce from all the recent rain, but hopefully this will have dried out in time for the actual walk. In any event walking boots on this route will be more comfortable than walking shoes, and walking poles will certainly help on uneven ground.
The overall ascent is modest – hence the longer distance than usual – and is mostly covered in one sharp, steep climb approximately two-thirds of the way through the walk, gaining a height of 230 feet diagonally uphill in 0.4 of a mile.
The Hole of Horcum is a grand natural amphitheatre nick-named the ‘Devil’s Punchbowl’, formed, legend has it, when ‘Wade The Giant’ threw a handful of earth at his wife during an argument. However, the geological explanation is that it was created by ‘spring-sapping,’ water gradually undermining the slopes above, eroding the rock strata until over time a once narrow valley widened and deepened into an enormous bowl. 
We head south over Levisham Moor, staying high along the level ‘Tabular Hills Walk’, one of the best moorland tracks of grass I’ve ever encountered, with the amphitheatre nestling below us to the east. Progress is rapid here and we soon join ‘Lindsey Gate Lane’ in our descent into the delightful hamlet of Levisham. Outside the charming and friendly Horseshoe pub are several benches and picnic tables on the village green, and so as long as we all buy some form of refreshment then we are welcome to use their facilities, so this is the ideal spot to take an early lunch.
From Levisham we head steeply downhill on a minor hairpin road for a short distance before following a wide 
track skirting Rowl Wood, continuing on the ‘Tabular Hills Walk’, heading directly south to Farwath. Here we need to cross the North Yorkshire Moors railway line, first opened in 1836. The occasional passing steam train on the rest of our walk is a tribute to the same George Stephenson who invented ‘The Rocket,’ since it was he that planned this line from Pickering to Whitby; little wonder that he is known as the ‘Father of the Railways.’
Having crossed the line safely, we head diagonally uphill on our steepest section of the day, through quite dense woodland to emerge at High Blainsby. We shall take our time here, with plenty of pauses along the way. On the recce we encountered a number of young, spindly trees directly across our path, the obvious damage from the spate of storms we’ve had in past months. I've contacted the North Yorkshire Park Authority and asked them to look into this and they have recently been in touch to say that they have asked the landowner to clear the tree damage in time for our walk.
We continue on mostly level 
ground to Blainsby Park Farm where the bridleway turns sharply south west to descend again towards the railway line at Newbridge. On the recce we encountered plenty of mud along the edge of a field where the farmer had driven his tractor thoughtlessly over the footpath, with gloopy results. However, we did notice a possible alternative route through Blainsby Park Wood, on a much better track. After a quick email to Ryedale Ramblers their Walk Secretary kindly offered to check this path and later confirmed that he had found no issues, so we will follow this alternative route on the day.
From Newbridge we cross over the railway line again to follow a good path all the way back into Pickering for well-earned refreshment.
This is a splendid walk in an area of the North Yorkshire Moors at its best. Our thanks to the North Yorkshire Park Authority and to Ian Gibbs of Ryedale Ramblers.
Enjoy the day.
'C' Walk - Leader- Jane Taylor. Distance - 5.7 miles. Ascent - 346 ft. Grade -easy. Anti-clockwise.
Pickering, founded in 270BC, is one of the oldest towns in the North York Moors National Park.
It is popular with visitors who come to visit the town in order to take a journey on the North Yorkshire Moors Railway, to visit the Motte and Bailey Castle and the many shops and cafés or to enjoy walking in the area. The club was last here in 2017.
Today’s circular C walk is relatively easy save for one short climb out of a wooded valley almost half way in. Most of the paths are good but a bit muddy in areas and we only climb over three, solid stiles.
After waving off the A and B groups from the main car park in the town we will visit the “Caffe Stop”, in the car park, for our morning refreshments. The other two groups will be dropped off near the Hole of Horcum and will be walking back to Pickering.
When we are ready we will leave through an exit at the top end of the car park and turn right past the Infant School to make our way out of the town along Ruffa Lane. Once we reach the open countryside into the lane beyond the houses it could be a bit muddy depending on the weather leading up to our trip. So, if you are used to using a walking pole, it will be advisable to bring it with you. We head towards Howl Dale Wood and walk through it along the bottom of a shallow valley for over a mile. On the recce the woods were silent save for the birds singing, happy in the spring sunshine. Maybe in another few weeks the leaf buds will be opening up and the trees will be fuller.
The only climb of the day is out of this lovely wooded valley as we are more than a third of the way along our walk and so we must turn back in the direction of Pickering. 
There is a stile at either end of this short but quite steep climb and we will want to take our time until the land levels off again and we can all get our breath back. Just ahead of us, in the next small patch of woodland, there are a couple of strategically placed fallen trees to provide us with a chance to sit for a while and it will also be a good spot for our lunch break.
Onward we cross a main road and head towards another wood, Little Park Wood, which is on the edge of a very steep valley through which the North York Moors Railway runs. We won’t be able to see the line at the valley bottom because we stay along the top but we might hear, and maybe see, it if a train comes along while we are walking.
Once we can see the houses of Pickering ahead of us it’s time to turn towards them and head in the direction of the ruins of Pickering Castle, walking through the ditch around it’s outer walls.
There are a few benches here and walls to sit on and there will be time to rest or wander about, if anyone would like, before our final descent down Castle Road into the town.
We will pass the Railway Station with a Tea Room and enter Market Place with more shops and Cafes, fish and chip shops and pubs. Something to suit everyone, I’m sure, and where we can spend the rest of the afternoon doing our own thing.
The coach will be parked a short distance away back in the main car park beyond the far end of Market Place waiting for us for our journey home from what I hope will be an enjoyable day.
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