Thursday, 27th May 2021
The calf is feeling normal again so I set off on the only sunny afternoon of the week to do my favourite hilly circuit of Drewton Wold and I was looking forward to seeing how I got on after such a long lay-off.
I got parked up at Beverley Clump - a small parking area with space for about 6 cars and headed down Swinescaif Track:
 |
| Swinescaif Track |
 |
| Looking down Comber Dale |
I decided to follow the "high" route along the right hand side fence line for a change:
 |
| ..and again from the hillside |
Looking down on the livestock gate where I was headed:
 |
| The "cheesecake wedge" livestock gate |
The path heads steadily back uphill again through scrubby woodland and curves around the valley before joining what I think was once a driveway/carriageway to the estate farmhouse, marked by two wonderful old, gnarly trees. The one on the right looks like it's been struck by lightning at some point:
 |
| Wonderful old, gnarly trees |
Instead though, I curve around to the left on the narrower track which heads steeply uphill at the headwall of the valley:
 |
| Just before the steep climb |
The birdsong along here was absolutely magnificent and I think it was a Song Thrush which was stealing the show. Struggling to upload the vid/recording I took though. Wonderful to listen to.
Eventually I popped out onto the open hillside - the breeze and sunshine both welcomed!:
 |
| One of several comms masts dotted around these higher points |
The last time I walked here, this area had been fenced off to prevent people from avoiding the horribly busy road by cutting across the field. Thankfully, somebody has decided to reinstate the unofficial (and much safer) field edge path:
 |
| Whoever did this? - Thank you! |
View from the trig that I shouldn't be walking past:
 |
| Chalky/flinty field view from the trig |
Just round the corner is a bench where I was planning on sitting and having my cuppa and snacks. Except my legs weren't ready for a rest yet. So I decided to extend my walk around the top of the woodland, rather than walk through it. This did mean a short stretch on that horrible road after all, but it is only a short stretch and there is a narrow verge-side path.
Before long, I was back on the fields again and heading downhill towards the woodland:
 |
| Lovely countryside walking |
It was at this point I wondered... St. Austin's Stone is in there somewhere... I wonder if I can find it. The other access to this woodland is near the bench I decided not to sit on, and you definitely can't access it from that side! I started looking for a way into the woodland (which is fenced off). Sure enough, hidden in the corner of the field is a trodden down grass path "clue" that other people have had the same idea.
I reached a barbed wire fence which had clearly been tampered with to allow those with a longer inside leg length than me to step over it. Nevertheless, I decided to give it a go.... ripppp. Caught my trousers on the barbs! Oh dear!
Over the fence now and the path continues more clearly steeply down hill through a wonderful ancient patch of woodland. Eyes peeled for .. I wasn't sure what, I rounded a corner and....
 |
| St. Austin's Stone |
... a strangely out of place lump of rock, slowly being gobbled up by nature.
My initial thought, as I stood and looked at it, was that it was part of a river once. The picture isn't very clear but there is a rocky floor (now covered in mosses and lichens) and the "rockface" has that carved out appearance that only water can do.
I got closer and had a bit of a poke around. You can't get up onto the top of it now due to the brambles but closer inspection of the rock itself showed a somewhat "pebble-dashed" appearance which at first got me wondering if it was man-made. Looking even closer though, it was clear that this was a natural thing - conglomerate rock - which was allowing water to seep through it and out through the swiss-cheese holes in it. It felt like pumice stone. Away from the smoothed out part there are big chunks of flint stuck in it, although flint and chalk are literally the "bedrock" of this area:
 |
| Lumps of flint stuck in the rock |
Further pokings around and I discovered this cleft in the rock. Either two rocks close together or one rock which has been dissolved in half by water. A mini Lud's Church, and it would give Fat Man's Agony a run for its money! I never attempted it:
 |
| Cleft in the rock |
Towards the back/uphill the rock seems to bury itself in the earth:
 |
| Other side of the rock |
I still had the overwhelming feeling this was once a river system. Further reading at home claims this is an erratic boulder. Kind of ties in with the "watery" theme of my musings. The Wolds are glaciated valleys after all and my thought is this rock was dumped here by ice, then over geological time the ice turned to river and the water continued to make it's mark, smoothing out parts of the rock as it flowed downhill.
I love the folklore too. It's claimed that the stone breaks every seven years then grows back! And that the area (Drewton Wold) got it's name from it's pre-Christian pagan/druid activity (Druid Town - Drewton). God, I love this sort of stuff 😊
Anyway, after a short break for a sacrificial eating of crisps to appease the Trouser-Ripping Gods, I headed on my way, retracing my steps back up (and over that barbed wire again) to the sunny hillside.
I followed it as it curved around the hillside, occasionally getting far-reaching views through the trees:
 |
| Wonderful "surprise views" |
Although not in the above pic, I could see my car from hereabouts - reassuringly miles away.
All that remained was the final stretch back up Swinescaif Track to the car.
 |
| And a little patch of bloobies too |
What a wonderful, wonderful walk.
Thanks for reading 😊
