Picloc two

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I walked Picloc two from Lockton to Pickering as part of the National Parks Trail Challenge. It was a day of mixed weather.

The small village of Lockton is very well equipped with benches, and boasts a church, a chapel, a small YHA and a teashop. There are bus stops in the village but I’d arrived by the fast Coastliner service that plies between Leeds, York and Whitby. This bus route has its stops on the main road at Lockton Lane End, adding a third of a mile to my walk.

The first third of the route from Lockton to Farwath was an absolute delight, descending gently on a sloping wooded path then on a wide farmers’ track. The tower of Levisham's ruined church could just be spotted above the treetops on the right. Just after this some distant cows were grazing but the promised bull was nowhere to be seen.

At Farwath farm I found an honesty fridge/freezer with welcome drinks, chocolate bars and ice lollies. The route then crosses the North Yorks Moors Railway line (stop look listen, beware of trains!) where a mighty Leviathan roared past me.

The next section between the level crossing and the ruined barn at High Blansby was tricky as this steep, narrow and sloping footpath is clearly not maintained. I missed it at first through taking the clearer left-hand path, and had to retrace my steps to the junction (which is in fact waymarked, I just didn’t spot it in the rain and the vegetation). I never quite lost the path as it ascended but it was a close thing, and there was a lot of stepping over (or under) fallen branches and pushing through brambles and bracken which in places was as tall as me! Maps show other routes through this woodland which may provide a more comfortable alternative, but I cannot vouch for any of them having not walked them.

From High Blansby, from where I enjoyed expansive views over the Vale of Pickering, the terrain underfoot thankfully improved, the route using farm access tracks, field edges and a pleasant wooded bridleway. I finally emerged onto tarmac just before Newbridge where the route crossed the heritage railway line twice more, then continued parallel to the railway through fields and alongside a little beck (this delightful short section may well flood after heavy rain). I emerged from a shady byway at the Beck Isle Museum of Rural Life – well worth a visit – before reaching tarmac again at Pickering’s start and end point.

Along the way I negotiated stone and wooden stiles, gates and kissing gates. The route only drops a star because of the short unmaintained section; I’d gladly walk it again though perhaps not at the height of summer’s vegetation!.

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