Fridaythorpe through Brubber Dale
Start / End: Fridaythorpe Duck Pond
Distance: 2.83 miles
Time: 1.5 hours
Map: OS 300
This is a great walk if you've just got an hour or so to spare as it takes in one of the most beautiful valleys in the Wolds - Brubber Dale - with wide sweeping views and a lovely descent into pure tranquillity.
The Walk
Start at: Fridaythorpe Duck Pond: YO25 9RX - ///savings.surpasses.surprised)
1. Start at the duck pond opposite the church, in Fridaythorpe, the highest village on the Yorkshire Wolds - Park off the road without blocking access. Look out for the beautifully carved Wolds Way wooden sign, a welcoming marker for walkers on the National Trail- great for photo opportunities!
Just across the road, the Fridaythorpe bus shelter is part of the WANDER Art Trail — a series of site-specific artworks scattered across the Wolds. The shelter has been transformed into a poetic space, inviting walkers to pause, reflect, and engage with the landscape in new ways. The WANDER trail also includes Poetry Benches, which you can find when doing our walks around Huggate, Millington and South Cave.
2. Follow the Yorkshire Wolds Way south out of the village, passing the beacon on your left. Continue until you reach the Cranswick factory, where you turn left. This will bring you to a small road which you cross (this is just the access to the factory. Then just walk along the field edge (hedgerow on your left)
3. You will come to a a kissing gate which leads you into the top of Brubber Dale (with a sign to say so), a stunning dry valley typical of the Wolds. The views here are wide and sweeping — on our visit, sheep dotted the slopes and Bill (on a lead!) enjoyed the descent and I took lots of photos!
4. The path drops gently away to your right into the valley bottom, where you keep following it round to the right. If you were doing our walk to Thixendale you'd cross just as the path swings right to one of the acorn Wolds Way markers to go through the gate and up Cowdale Leys. But you just keep to the valley bottom through open wooden gates continuing through Brubber Dale, which is designated Open Access Land.
Open Access Land means walkers have the legal right to roam freely across the land for recreation — not just on marked paths. Open Access is part of the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000, and it allows you to explore, picnic, birdwatch, and enjoy nature without needing permission.
Please do follow these rules though:
- Keep dogs on a short lead near livestock
- No camping, cycling, or horse riding unless specifically permitted
- Do not disturb wildlife or damage vegetation
- Respect farm operations and avoid entering buildings or gardens
- Leave no trace — take litter home and avoid lighting fires
Brubber Dale is a peaceful, open landscape where you can truly immerse yourself in the natural beauty of the Wolds.
5. Continue along the valley floor, where the path curves right again and passes through a gate onto the Thixendale–Fridaythorpe road. Turn right and follow the quiet lane uphill.
6. On your right, just before the hill rises, you’ll see a memorial stone set into the grass verge. Directly opposite, in the stone valley wall, is a sort of crater — not the crash site, but a reference point in the landscape.
The memorial marks the loss of Halifax NR179, which left RAF Driffield at 18:23 hrs on 3 March 1945 as part of a bombing raid on Kamen, Germany. After successfully dropping its payload, the aircraft returned due to reports of German night-fighter activity, RAF Driffield kept its runways dark, forcing returning aircraft to circle or divert. At around 01:10 hrs on 4 March, NR179 was intercepted by a Junkers Ju-88 intruder, caught fire, and broke apart before crashing into farmland near Fridaythorpe. Four crew members were killed:
- Flying Officer Alan Percy William Shelton (Pilot, RAAF) – aged 21
- Sergeant Walter Edward Welsh (Flight Engineer, RAFVR) – aged 20
- Flight Sergeant Roger Robert Johnson (Bomb Aimer, RAAF) – aged 24
- Flight Sergeant Gregory Wills Dixon (Wireless Operator, RAAF) – aged 21
Three survived, though two were injured:
- Flight Sergeant Patrick Joseph Hogan (Navigator, RAAF)
- Flight Sergeant Graham Dodge Laing (Air Gunner, RAAF) – broke his ankle bailing out
- Flight Sergeant Vivian Donald “Bill” Bullen (Air Gunner, RAAF)
The memorial stone stands as a poignant reminder that the quiet fields of the Wolds were once part of a much larger and more dangerous world.
7. Now just follow the road up and down until you re-enter Fridaythorpe past the Cranswick Factory on your right, once again.
8. Once you return to your car you can visit St Mary’s Church, a Grade II listed building with Norman origins and a peaceful churchyard. The church has served the village for centuries and offers a quiet moment of reflection to end your walk.
9. Alternatively or then, reward yourself with a stop at the very friendly Seaways Café, where you and your dog will receive a warm welcome and if you are a Bill & Mrs M Club Member a free cup of tea or similar. This café is a favourite among walkers, cyclists and bikers)- and can be found by travelling back up onto the main road and turning right past the garage, where you will find Seaways on the corner of the Bridlington Road. We recommend the cheese toasties and a large mug of Yorkshire tea to refuel. There are also toilets here!
Photo Gallery
