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Little Wold, near South Cave/photo by Arnold Underwood, Jan 2009

Walking through Ellerker village/from a photo by Arnold Underwood, Jan 2009

EAST YORKSHIRE - South Cave

'South Cave & Brantingham' - 14.5km/9 miles

A walk of two halves – first across flat farmland by way of the pretty village of Ellerker, then after passing through Brantingham you reach the southern edge of the Yorkshire Wolds. Here the route becomes quite undulating with some steep, albeit short, ups and downs before levelling out again near South Cave.

As featured in Country Walking magazine - Aug 2009

Fact File

Distance 14.5km (9 miles)
Time 4½ hours
Map OS Explorer 293 (Kingston-upon-Hull & Beverley)
Start/Parking South Cave Main Street (Market Place, Grid Ref: SE 923 312) or small car park in Church Street
Terrain Field paths, tracks & minor roads with some short ascents and descents but otherwise suitable for all
Grading **
nearest Town Brough or Beverley
Refreshments Pubs at Brantingham and South Cave, and the Gallery tearoom in South Cave.
Toilets None
Public Transport South Cave is served by frequent buses 152 and 155 from Hull (daily) and also 143 from Beverley (Mon, Wed, & Sat only)
Stiles 4


Image reproduced with kind permission of Ordnance Survey and Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland.

  1. (Start) From the Market Place follow the main road south out of the village – you may have to switch sides to keep to the pavement, but make sure you are on the right-hand side when you approach the A63 intersection. Cross the junctions with care, and once over the bridge and the second junction you need to be behind the crash-barrier where indicated by a footpath sign. Here you will find a flight of steps leading down the embankment into an area of scrubby trees and bushes. The path continues straight almost as if in a tunnel through the undergrowth, which slightly helps obscure industrial eyesores beyond. Press on and things improve after taking a left turn and you soon reach the delightful Ellerker village.

  2. (2.0km/1¼miles) Continue ahead along the attractive main street with its attendant stream. At the end bear left and follow the road round and out of the village. At the edge of the village take a bridleway on the right on a broad tractor track down the side of an unusual crop – a variety of giant grass being grown as bio-fuel. Once past this crop the path swings left alongside a belt of woodland, near the site of Brantingham Roman Villa. The track reaches a road junction at the corner of the wood. Cross over and walk straight along the road opposite, back over the A63, into Brantingham village. The Triton Inn is to your left, but our route heads straight into the village passing the village hall to reach the green with its duck pond

  3. (5.2km/3¼miles) Head round past the pond and Brantingham Hall and walk along Dale Road to the church in its picturesque setting. Continue past the church into the wooded Brantingham Dale and take the Wolds Way footpath on the left. This path climbs steadily up the hillside to emerge from the trees on Ellerker North Wold. Here there are views west towards the River Humber. From hereon the route becomes something of a roller-coaster. Having just attained the heights of Ellerker Wold, the path now plunges down towards Woodale Farm and then its up again along the edge of Woodale Plantation to reach the plateau of Great Wold at Mount Airy Farm. The woodland here provides a sheltered spot for a break, again with views to the west.

  4. (8.0km/ 5miles) The path now cuts through the trees to meet a farm track at the rear of Mount Airy Farm where there is a choice of routes. The Wolds Way turns left, but this route goes right, onto Great Wold, where appropriately for somewhere known as Mount Airy there is an air-strip. Follow the footpath left past the end of the air-strip where light aircraft and hangers are sheltered by a belt of woodland. Take another left turn at the corner and head back downhill passing through Great Wold Plantation to join the lane from Mount Airy Farm. At the bottom you meet the Beverley road on the edge of South Cave. You can shorten the walk now but simply walking down the road to the centre of South Cave.

  5. (9.0km/5¾miles) Otherwise, a little way down the road, cross over to re-join the Wolds Way as it climbs up onto Little Wold. Turn right and continue the steady climb through Little Wold Plantation to meet a track at the top. Here turn sharp left, leaving the Wolds Way, and follow the track, which can be muddy, past the edge of a large chalk quarry. Beyond the quarry the track becomes a metalled access road, so the walking improves and you can stride out down to the junction with the A1034. Cross to the pavement and walk towards South Cave.

  6. (12.0km/7½miles) Again, you could continue straight back to the village, but an interesting option is take the footpath right, by the cemetery and head across the golf course. The path is waymarked across the course but do keep a good lookout for golfers and make sure they are aware of you! The path appears to follow an old field boundary past some mature trees before swinging left to come alongside the former Castle Farm, now converted into an exclusive housing development. You emerge in South Cave by the parish church and the gatehouse for Cave Castle, now a luxury hotel. Turn left and walk along the pavement, with views across the lake towards Cave Castle, back to the Market Place crossroads

    Cave Castle/from a photo by Arnold Underwood/Jan 2009

    Along the Way

    Brantingham Roman Villa – at Grid Ref: SE 931 288 is the site of a 4th century Roman villa where archaeologists uncovered two mosaics and some 4th century coins. The villa overlays Iron Age ditched enclosures. The mosaics can be seen in the Roman Gallery at the Hull and East Riding Museum

    Arnold Underwood (Jan 2009)

This page was created by
Arnold Underwood

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