Anyone coming to Rosedale Abbey after visting Byland Abbey and Rievaulx Abbey will be immediately disappointed by the conspicuous absence of anything resembling an abbey. Apparently there was once here once but ot was demolished with rather great thoroughness than its peers. I gather a few small traces do remain but nothing worth building an English Heritage coffee and gift shop over. The village is legendary among the sort of cyclists who enjoy a challenge for the Rosedale Chimney, a ferocious 1/3 hill that climbs out to the south onto Spaunton Moor. The idyllic pastoral dale around the village was once for a period from 1856 to 1926 a noisy industrial landscape given over to the mining of ironstone. An old works railway line makes a horseshoe round the top of the valley and is now a very walkable track. It is it a public right of way but the whole thing is on access land and popular with walkers. It offers a nice straightforward 12 mile walk from the village with the considerable attraction of a good pub roughly halfway.
The start is the only significant climb. One could just walk up the Rosedale Chimney road but I took the well-signposted public footpath that winds its way up past the golf course a bit further west. The track as far as the Lion Inn is beautifully made and in excellent condition. After that, round the head of the valley, it is a little rougher in places and occasionally boggy. As you approach the end huge ruined limekilns add interest to the walk. The rail track ended at Hill Cottages – a place that was very heavily populated by poultry – where I followed a path through fields towards Low Thorgill Farm, taking a left just before the bridge leading into the farm to follow a riverside footpath back to the caravan site on the edge of Rosedale Village and so home. Found my car and headed off, taking the Chimney road out of the village. By the time I reached the top my car’s little engine was really starting to feel the strain. I don’t think I’ll be trying it on a bicycle anytime soon.
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