The North York Moors. Paddy Dillon

left, as signposted, along a public footpath, pass through a gate in a hedge and continue down a field before turning right alongside the River Seven. Go through a gate on to a road and turn left across a bridge. Follow the road away from the river, up past Beckhouse Farm, then down to a junction. Turn right over another bridge and walk up the road towards Cropton. Either walk all the way up the road to reach the village and its pub, or omit the village and turn right along a clear track signposted as the Tabular Hills Walk.

      CROPTON

      A motte and bailey was built at Cropton in the 12th century, but it was in ruins by the end of the 14th century. St Gregory’s Church may have been built on a Norman chapel site, but while it retains its 12th-century font, the building is essentially a 19th-century restoration. The New Inn offers accommodation, food and drink and a campsite, as well as tours of its micro-brewery. Other lodgings are available around the village.

      The Tabular Hills Walk follows a clear track, but when this track suddenly turns right, leave it by walking straight ahead to enjoy a fine, garlic-scented woodland path, passing through a number of gateways. Eventually, at a junction of paths turn right down to the River Seven and cross it using a footbridge. Rise to a small gate, then follow a farm access road uphill, away from Appleton Mill Farm and continue along Hamley Lane. Turn left at a road junction beside the stump of an old stone cross to approach Appleton-le-Moors. The route turns right just as it reaches the substantial Dweldapilton Hall on the outskirts of the village.

      APPLETON-LE-MOORS

      Appleton-le-Moors is a typical Yorkshire ‘croft and toft’ village. The crofts are the little cottages arranged on either side of the long main street; the tofts are the pieces of land extending from the back of each dwelling, where householders would grow their own vegetables. The imposing Dweldapilton Hall was built by a wealthy whaler, Dweldapilton being an earlier name for the village. The Moors Inn offers food, drink and accommodation.

      Follow the track away from the hall, eventually reaching a prominent junction of tracks. Walk through a gate and approach a wood where you will see two gates ahead – be sure to go through the gate on the right into the wood. Turn right to walk around the inside edge of the wood, then continue through fields. Turn right along another clear track, Bottomfields Lane, which rises gently. Turn left at the top and continue along a grassy track through more fields. The track then becomes narrow and drops steeply, passing through a gate and down to a road. Turn right to walk back up into the charming village of Hutton-le-Hole.

      Hutton-le-Hole has a long history of settlement dating back to Neolithic times. The village was mentioned in the Domesday Book as ‘Hoton’, but throughout the ages it has also been known as as ‘Hege-Hoton’, ‘Hoton under Heg’ and ‘Hewton’. As a placename Hutton-le-Hole dates only from the 19th century. The village features the Ryedale Folk Museum, Crown Inn, tearooms, accommodation and gift shops.

      Sheep regularly graze the extensive green in the middle of Hutton-le-Hole

      RYEDALE FOLK MUSEUM

      Trace the history of Yorkshire folk from 4000BC to 1953, with plenty of hands-on exhibits, as you wander from one part of the museum site to another. Over a dozen buildings have been erected since 1964, some with roofs supported by enormous cruck frames (pairs of curved wooden timbers supporting the ends of the roof), some standing in isolation, while others are arranged as a row of small shops. Vintage vehicles, including motorised and horse-drawn carriages, are preserved, and land around the site sprouts vegetables and flowers, including many varieties of cornfield flowers. Local folk often give demonstrations of traditional crafts while wearing period dress. There is an entrance charge, and the museum incorporates a shop and toilets, tel [phone] www.ryedalefolkmuseum.co.uk.

WALK 7

      Gillamoor, Boonhill Common and Fadmoor

Start/finish	Royal Oak, Gillamoor, SE 682 899
Distance	8km (5 miles)
Total ascent/descent	140m (460ft)
Time	2hrs 30mins
Terrain	Easy walking along woodland and field paths with linking roads.
Maps	OS Landranger 94 or 100; OS Explorer OL26 South
Refreshments	Royal Oak at Gillamoor
Transport	Monday-only Ryecat buses serve Gillamoor and Fadmoor from Pickering

      Gillamoor and Fadmoor are quiet, charming little villages with neat, spacious greens, several stone farms and cottages. Both villages are surrounded by fields that rise gradually to Boonhill Common, which is another of the nabs on the Tabular Hills, beyond which stretch extensive heather moorlands. Despite being flanked by the River Dove and Hodge Beck, Gillamoor and Fadmoor, in most respects, lacked a constant supply of water. This problem was overcome when lengthy leats were constructed to channel water to both villages from distant sources.

      Start from the Royal Oak in Gillamoor and walk through the village to reach St Aidan’s Church. The road runs left of the church and reaches the Surprise View that overlooks the River Dove and Spaunton Moor. As the road bends left, immediately branch left along a signposted footpath that runs along the inside edge of a woodland at the top of a steep brow. The path continues alongside a field, then heads straight for a minor road. Turn right to follow the road past a junction, as signposted for Bransdale, beside Dial Farm. Walk down a wooded road that levels out among fields and passes Grays Farm. Turn left along a narrow road marked ‘no through road’ and follow it around the lower slopes of Boonhill Common, heading downhill a short way.

      The pleasant valley of the River Dove below Gillamoor

      Head left from the road to follow a signposted bridleway that starts out as a grassy track running down past a gate. Walk up through another gate to enter fields and look back to admire the fine house at Stonely Woods. Walk alongside fields and fences, passing through gates as marked, to land on another narrow road above Cherry Tree Farm. Turn left to cross a cattle grid and walk past a farm at Aumery Park. Just as you leave the last building, turn left up through a gate and walk alongside a fence as signposted for Fadmoor. The fence leads up across a wooded slope, and the path continues across a higher wooded slope with tangled brambly ground cover. Watch out for a gate on the left, at the top of The Brow, leading out into fields.

      A little cottage standing beside the broad central green in the village of Fadmoor

      Walk diagonally across the fields, and if no trodden path can be discerned, look ahead to spot the required step-stiles and take note of the direction given by marker arrows at each one. When you reach a road at some farm buildings, turn right to walk into the village of Fadmoor, then turn left to cross the central green to leave the village. The road continues straight ahead to return to Gillamoor.

      GILLAMOOR AND FADMOOR