Ripon to Pateley Bridge – 13 May 2023
The last time we finished in Pateley Bridge was in 2019 and the best part of the three routes was that they all walked past the interesting rocks. Not just any rocks but really interesting rocks. The rocks are actually called Brigham Rocks which were formed some 300 million years ago and since then have formed some weird and wonderful shapes. This time all three routes will once more walk through the Brigham Rocks site. But before those interesting rocks, the three routes have to start somewhere.
The 12-mile route is starting just to the west of Ripon and walks through Studley Royal Park which contains among other things Fountains Abbey and Studley Royal Water Gardens. The estate has had many owners but is now managed by English Heritage and is a World Heritage Site. This route passes by St Mary’s Church on the grounds of Studley Royal which is a memorial church with an unusual historical background. In the 1870s, Studley Royal was owned by George Robinson, Earl de Grey, and his wife, Henrietta, whose widowed mother, Lady Mary Vyner, lived at neighbouring Newby Hall.
In April 1870 Henrietta’s youngest brother, Frederick who was 23 years old and was touring through Europe, arrived in Athens. On Monday 11 April, he joined a group of other tourists on a day trip to the site of the Battle of Marathon, some 25 miles from Athens. On their way back through the mountains, Frederick together with 5 other tourists was captured by a group of Greek bandits. One of the hostages, Lord Muncaster was released and tasked with raising the ransom money for the hostages’ release.
Tourists had been captured before in Greece, but such incidents had been concluded peacefully on payment of a ransom. But this time troops surrounded the place where the hostages were being held, and the bandits panicked. In the confusion that followed Frederick Vyner and his companions were shot dead. To commemorate Frederick’s death, Lady Mary Vyner and the de Greys decided to put the money they had set aside to pay the ransom towards building two churches on their lands: Christ the Consoler, near Newby Hall, and St Mary’s, Studley Royal.
After passing through Sawley, the 12-mile route heads through Brigham Rocks and then follows the Nidderdale Way to Pateley Bridge. The 11-mile route starts on the B6265 road and goes south through Spa Gill Wood and then turns west through Sawley and Brigham Rocks. From there the route goes south through Smelthouses and comes into Pateley Bridge along the River Nidd.
The 9.5-mile route also starts on the B6265 road just past the Sawley turnoff and generally heads southwest to Brigham Rocks and then also follows the Nidderdale Way to Pateley Bridge.
If you would like to join us for a walk and the chance to see some interesting rocks you can get n touch with us from our contact page and you can download the walk descriptions below and the GPX routes here.
The image for this post was taken the last time we did these routes in 2019 and shows one of the groups walking towards St Mary’s Church in Studley Royal.
