England - Rural North Yorkshire

Wykeham Forest

Towards East Ayton Moor

‘thence let me wander mid the pathless wilds of Raincliff, who, with intertwisted leaves, arches the bowers of silence’ Foster, M. 1770. Scarborough. A Poem in Three Cantos. York: Publisher Ann Ward The woods form a continuous belt of trees extending for a distance of nearly five miles from East Ayton in the west to the A170 Racecourse Road at Stepney Hill in the east, around the steep west, north and north-east sides of East Ayton, Irton and Seamer Moors. The woods have been in public ownership since they were purchased by Scarborough Corporation in 1926. The Domesday Survey (1086) records areas of woodland in the entries for East Ayton, Seamer and the lost settlement of Hillgrips. In the Survey, the area of woodland belonging to East Ayton is 9 furlongs by 9 furlongs (just over a mile by a mile) which is approximately the same as the length of the woods in Forge Valley and Raincliffe that fall within the historic boundary of East Ayton township.

Raincliffe Wood/East Ayton Moor - North Yorkshire

The track ascends 117 mtrs from Troutsdale through the trees on the escarpment to the higher ground of the Tabular Hills*, and Wykeham Forest. The middle shot from the track shows a glimpse of farm buildings in Troutsdale. Only in winter is this view easily visible. *The Tabular Hills mark the southern boundary of the North York Moors National Park. Their name comes from their distinctive table top shape, they rise up gently from the south and end abruptly in a series of steep north facing headlands.

Wykeham Forest - North Yorkshire

Forge Valley - North Yorkshire, winter as it used to be - taken 13th January 2013

HFF 31st December 2021 The gate gives access to the field and the public right of way that crosses it.

Wykeham Forest - North Yorkshire