The Mile to Millington

When you park at The Mile please just pop in and let them know that you are walking, and then when you come back you can sample their lovely food and drink - as well as use their facilities.

1. Starting from the car park at the Mile, cross the road and turn left, following the footpath along the hedge line to the turn off right, which is signposted.

2. The footpath heads up a fairly steep slope into the woods, however, just before the woods at the right-hand turn, take the path left that cuts up to the golf course and turn left. You then follow the outer edge of the golf course to the left following the line of white posts. This is the nature trail and it will bring you around to the road inside the Club where you will walk past some lodges.

3. Just follow this road around past the club house as though you were heading for the entrance at the main road, however, before you reach there you will spot a sign post taking you left and through a gap in the hedge and onto the road, then turn left.

4. Follow the road as it bends right through the small hamlet of Kilnwick Percy and up to where the road bends left, ahead you will see the signpost to the Yorkshire Wolds & Wilberforce Ways. Carry on straight ahead up this footpath.

7. Once rested, and having enjoyed a tasty snack, carry on walking along this route above Millington until you reach a sign post on your left taking you downhill. Don't let your dogs run on ahead here as there are likely to be loose chickens at the next farm

8. The route heads straight down here, but just watch for horses at the top and then when you pass through the kissing gate

9. Then follow the fence line on your right, look out for cows or sheep or both at the bottom. You are heading for some wooden duck boards leading to a kissing gate at the bottom. (you can follow the marked path swinging to the right and then back left or just head straight down) Go through the gate onto more duck boards.

10. At the end of this pathway you will come to an impressive Minster Way carved wooden sign where you might want to take photos. Then just follow the gravelled path up into the village.

11. At the road you may want to turn left and take a detour to the fab dog-friendly Gait Inn which can be found here. Or if you have brought your own sandwiches and cheese, turn right and head up the road.

19. You will go through a swing gate as you walk up out of the Dale, and pass b one of 3 ponds. 

These ponds were originally dug out from the marshlands by the Vikings in AD800 as carp fishing lakes. Beyond the pond is a steep hillside topped by a hedge which marks the route of a defensive ditch of Grimthorpe Iron Age Hill Fort – where the Iron Age Grimthorpe Sword was found (which is now in the British Museum)  

20. You will then see the tiny church of St Ethelburga's hidden in the trees. I would suggest that you go up into the graveyard and spend some time looking around this lovely little church - plus they always leave out a dog bowl and water next the bench outside where you can take a short rest.  

St Ethelburga's was rebuilt in 1849 (by John Singleton) using original material although some of the medieval stone from the first church was used to build roads. John Singleton was the son of another John Singleton, regarded as England’s first professional jockey and horse breeder who was born in Melbourne, East Yorkshire and who purchased the major part of Great Givendale and lived here from 1774. John Singleton Junior became a land agent and lived in the family home (There was also a nephew John Singleton and his son John Singleton – who were both successful jockeys). There are 13 headstones with Singleton name in the churchyard.

29. At the end of this section, however, is another stile, which is not so easy. So, if your dog cannot manage this one, just turn right before the hedge in the ploughed tracks and just before the edge of the field you will be able to walk through a gap in the hedge on the left and onto a quiet road. If you have gone over the stile you just cross the road straight ahead into the next field, and if you have bypassed it turn left on the road to make your way back to the stile. 

If you look to your left here you should just see Ousethorpe Farm, beyond which there are the remains of the medieval settlement of Ousethorpe with a moated site and watermill at Mill Farm. There was a fulling mill on this site in 1241, which was designed to process woollen cloth. Earthwork mounds around the wheel pit are thought to be the remains of the mill building, which would have contained the water-powered machinery used to beat woollen cloth in water to thicken and improve it. The mill would have been fed by an artificial mill pond. Excavations in 1962 here found evidence of a chalk walled house which remained in use until the 16th century, Saxon-Norman pottery and a pit from the Iron Age. Aerial photographs show the layout of Ousethorpe Village -  two rows of houses facing each other across a small central green.

30. You can easily walk through this next field in between any crops that are growing and pass over the field edge onto your final field. 

31. This path has a hedge on your right and a field on your left and it continues right up the The Mile road, where you can cross over and turn right. Please be careful of fast-moving traffic here.

32. Follow the first part of the road along the edge keeping to the verge and you will soon meet up with the footpath you came out of the Mile on. Follow this back, cross the road and you are home and dry back at the Mile - Hooray!!