Five Dales

1. In your car, head towards Millington Wood and then carry on past the car park up Pasture Lane. Your starting point is on the third bend in the road where you will spot a bridleway footpath sign pointing over to Nettle Dale on your right. Park up here off the road and head through the gate next to the signpost.

2. Your path heads left and straight up the hill along the grassy path. Looking down into the Dale you will see our old friend the 'strange round agricultural thing' as well as gorgeous views up Nettle Dale, which you will come back down at the end.

3. At the end of this first climb, which will wake you up for the day, go through the gate and at the 4-way signpost turn left through another gate and follow the Chalkland Way path. This path goes up a little further through a few trees until you emerge with views over Millington Dale. Go through another gate on this path until you come to a point where it heads down towards the road again. 

7. Go straight ahead at the cross roads (don't be tempted to go up the easier looking road on the right as at the other end it says it is private). Our path goes through the trees to a gate at a sheep field, where dogs should be on a lead. Walk around the right-hand edge of the sheep field and after the bend left there is another gate which you go through. Walk up through the trees on the stony path and eventually you come to the road at Waterman Hole with a sign to Greenwick Farm pointing left.

8. Turn right and follow the road which is signposted YORKSHIRE WOLDS cycleway 167 and follow it up a short way to the sign and driveway for Wold House Farm Huggate. From here you can carry on up the road if you would prefer and pick up the walk at point 12 but as I wanted to do more off-roading I turned left and headed down the driveway.

12. This is point at which you can re-join the route if you took the road from point 8. Follow the Yorkshire Wolds Way up the field to the point where it branches left at the signpost, then continue to follow the path all the way along the edge of the fields. Part way down this path you will come across a rather nice Yorkshire Wolds Way way-marker in the shape of an acorn. The path eventually comes to a gate to Pocklington Lane at the turning for Millington Woods.

13. Cross over the road leading to Millington Woods and continue to follow the Yorkshire Wolds Way signage right up Cobdale Lane along the second fork. At the first bend in the road you will spot the footpath sign on your right which takes you through a gate and off the road into Pasture Dale. 

Note - if you do not like cows you can bypass this whole next section to the end and just walk down the first road towards Millington Wood as this will bring you back to where you parked on the road. It is quite a long on-road section but it's very quiet and still very scenic.  

 You can go for a drink or a bite to eat in Huggate, if you continue following the road ahead, at the Wolds Inn or Rachel’s Walnut Cottage Tearooms, or, if you turn around and head back past Millington Woods car park, you will end up back in Millington, where you can try the Gait Inn or the Ramblers Rest. Alternatively, if you are heading east, drive up to Huggate and then 3 miles along Driffield Road to Field House Camping Coffee Shop near Tibthorpe (where you can also stay!). 

Or, like Bill, just have a cheestring!