Friday, 24th May 2019
After a really weird week at work I decided that a nice mooch in the sunshiney countryside was the order of the day after work to "re-wild" my senses ready for the bank holiday weekend.
I decided to head to Raywell and see if the bluebells and wild garlic were still out in Nut Wood, and to visit "my" tree. I'm not sure why it's "my" tree, but there's something peaceful and calming about sitting under it's leafy branches and looking down the dale.
Before leaving work I filled my flask and stuffed my little backpack with some snacks. It may only be a short walk but I'd not eaten since lunchtime and that was all the excuse I needed for a mini picnic in the woods.
After getting parked up I meandered along the right hand side of Nut Wood, along the dale bottom, walking into the bright sunshine:
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| Start of my walk along Wauldby Scroggs (ace name!) |
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| Away from the traffic and I'm heading around the other side of those trees |
I paused for a while under "my" tree and just enjoyed the views, the sounds, the smells, the feel of the wind on my face.and the sun on my back .... Breathe deeply ......aaaaand relax.....
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Looking down Waudby Green towards Wauldby Scroggs
from underneath "my" tree |
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| View back towards "my" tree |
I continued along what is now the Yorkshire Wolds Way. Thankfully the hard chalk path has been bedded in somewhat now and is no longer loose rocks, pausing briefly at Wauldby Dam to take a pic:
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| Wauldby Dam |
There was a family of ducks pootling around on the water but my (phone) camera wasn't up to the zoom in to get anything better than a grainy splotch.
Turning left off the YWW I followed the bridleway gently uphill to enjoy views of the rolling patchwork of arable countryside. Our green and pleasant land.
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| Naff attempt at an arty-farty pic |
On cresting the hill you are greeted with a vast view over the flat expanse of most of Hull. The dominant feature is the Stoneferry "needle" and the remaining high rise flats. Luckily, my phone's camera is too crap to also show the forest of wind turbines on the horizon:
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| Looking over Hull from bridleway towards Little Wauldby Farm |
The path from here is a bit boring as it drops down towards the farm so I went on a flora and fauna snapping frenzy. I've no idea what most of these are but it kept me occupied:
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| I do know this is Hawthorn blossom |
I had a brief break in the flowery frenzy as the views opened out to the side and I snapped a pic of the Humber Bridge:
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| Zoom in of the Humber Bridge towers |
Nearly at the farm now and I spotted Saltend's cooling towers in the distance. As the crow flies, I'm probably not that far away from them (and my home just beyond) but, due to a dog-leg in the Humber, it's a fair few miles by road:
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| Zoom in of view towards Saltend cooling towers |
Back on with the flowery frenzy again!:
Eventually I reached the edge of the woodland. Sadly, the sun had gone in so I would be robbed of my dappled sunshine woodland walk:
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| Heading into Nut Wood and Wauldby Scroggs |
Oops, another flowery moment:
Although the bluebells had long gone the wild garlic was still in abundance, and it smelt wonderful (tasted wonderful too):
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| Wild garlic |
Since the thinning out of the trees, the paths are wide and easy to follow, although there are lots of little mini-trails forking off them to explore:
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| Easy woodland paths |
I can never remember which path to follow to get to the bench. My recollection is something like "it's not the very top path but keep to the high path". Anyway, it worked and here is my picnic bench where I enjoyed a bag of Lidl's finest snak-a-jacks and a protein cocoa ball (honestly, it all tastes much nicer than it sounds):
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| My picnic bench |
I washed it all down with a fluffy coffee (had to take my mug from work 'cos I forgot my hiking mug):
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| Brew with a view |
I sat in the woodland listening to the birdsong as they forgot I was there and their silence and intermittent warning chirrups changed back to a cacophony of general joie de vivre.
Fed and watered I headed the short distance downhill and back to my car. At least the rush hour traffic had gone for the journey home.
.. and yes, it's set me up just right for the weekend.
Parking: roadside on main Raywell road near Nut Wood (free)
Distance: 3.9 miles
Max height: 369 ft
Thanks for looking 😊
