Want to know the details of the walk? (Ok, how to find the teeth….)

Directions

1. Starting at the Nought Moor information board at the car parking lay by, head through the metal gate in the wall. There is a sign post, pointing to footpaths, to your right, left and straight on. Take the path that heads straight on across Nought Moor. It is grassy, and admittedly, is not a massive path but it is there. Take a look at Google Earth. You can see the path on the satellite imagery on there. You will see that it crosses the moor, to meet the dry stone wall on your right, before descending alongside the wall to the stream. In a general sense, it’s a just keep walking straight on from the metal gate affair, but I’ll admit, we did lose it at one point! There were some boggy parts too to note, so be aware!

2. If you made it past the first paragraph without being put off….. head down the bank to the large wooden footbridge crossing the stream, then head up the other bank. The path briefly heads left before then winding steeply up in a rightwards direction to the large ladder stile crossing the wall into the woodland at the top of the bank.

3. Cross over the ladder stile. You will see signs here to advise you to stick to the path. Skrikes Wood is a protected nature reserve, and also there are some steep drops, so you absolutely need to stick to the path, which is fortunately, regularly waymarked along the way. It heads through bracken (which when we walked it, was still not regrown after winter) roughly following the boundary line wall on your left, and the steep bank on your right. There are some wooden wind chimes in the trees, a little way along (adding the Blair Witch vibe to this walk - as if the teeth weren’t enough!) and then the path follows the line of the boundary wall closely to your left.

4. After around half a mile, you will reach a stone stile/ gap through the wall on your left, which briefly takes you onto the extremely quiet road. Turn right onto it. It curves left and then right, and then reaches a concrete bridge over a stream (at a farm). Here my friends, is where you’ll find the bridge with a smile! Concreted into the bridge is a set of false teeth. Find out more about those later on! They are on the road bridge, but the path back into Skrikes Wood is just before the bridge, to your right.

5. Head back into the woodland, over the metal bridge and follow the path until it forks to the left and right. At this point, take the right fork that heads upwards through the woodland. It is wide and easily seen. After around half a mile, the path meets the dry stone wall to your left, and there are amazing views out towards Nidderdale. At this point, there is an option to turn left, or either keep heading up through the woodland to your right. turn right. You will eventually head back out the woodland, through an old quarry, and back up to the parking lay-by.

6. You will notice that we haven’t yet see Yorke’s Folly. This bit, is a short there and back again to tag onto either the end of the walk, or the beginning. Cross the road to the footpath on the other side. Head up a short distance until you see the two columns of Yorke’s Folly. Then head back to the car!

Last walked May 2022