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8 Miles from The Forresters Arms, Kilburn to Gormire, Sutton Bank, The White Horse and back
A 4 hour walk through fields and woodland to secluded Lake Gormire then up onto the Sutton Bank escarpment for wide open views of the Vale of York and a chance to get up close to the famous White Horse of Kilburn.
Directions:
1) At the Forresters Arms turn right and head up the road towards the White Horse, ignoring the first turning on the left that would take you to Thirsk.
2) Where the road forks, take the turning on the left, signposted to the white horse. Shortly you come to a gate and a tarmac farm track that leads to Acre Farm. Take this track which leads you past the farm drive and into woodland.
3) Step over the low gate onto a wide forestry track and continue ahead through “Happy Valley” with Hood Hill on your left.
4) Leave the forestry track as it swings to the left and take a footpath through bushes takes you into the fields of Hood Grange.
5) Follow the field edge until you reach the farm. Bear left in front of the farm along a small stream then right over a wooden footbridge. It can get very muddy here. From here cross the edge of the field to a gate that opens onto the tarmac farm drive. Bear left and the drive will take you to the A170.
6) Carefully cross the A170 which can get quite busy. Slightly to the left is the driveway to High Cleaves Farm. Go through the side gate and head up the drive. The path has been diverted and clearly signposted here and takes you away from the house, then along a field edge and right, onto a path that is fenced on both sides. The buildings of High Cleaves are to the left of the fenced path. On your right, depending on how thick the foliage is, you may catch a glimpse of some narrow lakes.
7) At the end of the fenced path take the right hand path down into the woods. Bear right and uphill. After this any one of several not very clearly defined paths will take you to Lake Gormire.
8) Once on the shore of the lake you can choose to head either left or right around the edge of the lake.
9) Once on the other side of the lake look out for a sign-posted “permissive path” that takes you onto a steep uphill section through the forest to Sutton Bank and the Cleveland Way.
10) At the top of the escarpment there is a handy bench and you are now on the Cleveland Way. Go right and follow the path to the car park and buildings of the Sutton Bank Visitors Centre. Cross the A170 again and continue following the broad, clear path along the edge of the escarpment past the Yorkshire Gliding Club on your left and round the edge of the runway until you reach the White Horse.
At the White Horse, steps lead down to a car park. At the bottom of the steps head left out of the car park where you have the choice of following the road right downhill or a woodland track that skirts the edge of the road. Both options lead you back to point 2 of the walk where you retrace your steps back into Kilburn village and The Forresters Arms.