Author Topic: Cottam Circular 05/08/07  (Read 4922 times)

Mr. Blister

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Cottam Circular 05/08/07
« on: 18:23:11, 06/08/07 »
Cottam Circular

I’ve been itching to do this walk ever since reading about it on www.walkingenglishman.com.  It’s been at the back of my mind for some time, and I’d been looking for the opportunity to put a tick next to it and cross it off my list; when my friend offered to take me, I seized on it.

My friend arrived to pick me up at 8:30am, and we drove the 25 miles or so to the walk’s start at Tatton Sykes’ monument, half way between Driffield and Sledmere.  For those of you interested in such things, the monument (a classic folly) was built in 1865 to commemorate the late Tatton Sykes, who from what I have learned was little more than a good landlord.

This circular walk would link the monument with the abandoned medieval chapel of Cottam, and so we parked the car at the monument and set off along a fairly long country lane.  I’m not a big fan of walking down country lanes, but as far as this one went it was fairly quiet and forgotten.  The tarmac soon turned to chalk, and after a mile or so it joined a road, where we were forced to walk 600 yards or so in ‘verge hogging’ style until we found the stile that led to Cottam Well Dale – a veritable maze of dale after dale.  This was where the land ceased to have any baring to the map, as we walked in a generally northerly direction, leaving one dale and entering another. 

I found some of the notices on the stiles a little confusing; one sign would have the familiar “Public Bridleway”, while another sign directly beneath it would have a figure of a person crossed out with the words “No Access Land”.  I just went ahead into the field anyway.  It may have had something to do with a sign saying “Bull in field” which I found hidden in the grass beyond the gate.  (I’ve started another thread on this subject for your opinions).

My friend was seized with a paranoia attack at the thought of being gauged by angry bulls, and started seeing bulls everywhere, even at one point seeing a bull hidden amongst some rolled up fencing.  And it wasn’t long before I grew tired of the sport of ‘how fresh is that cowpat’, and tried to convince that there wasn’t anything to be scared of and that if we didn’t show fear, or annoy the bull in anyway.  She answered that she wasn’t scared of spiders, bees or creepy crawlies, but was scared of things that could trample her at its whim (I had to concede to her point).

I realised we had come the wrong way when we approached the derelict chapel from the West, when we should have come from the north, and stood examining the map in minute detail trying to figure where we had gone wrong – we hadn’t, it was the land that was wrong, grown another couple of hills since the map was made.

Cottam chapel is a marvel, almost nothing is known about it.  Once the centre of a little medieval community, it was abandoned sometime in the 10th century, and though there are extensive earthworks, the only thing still standing is the Chapel, which more than likely was continued to be used for some time after.  I love this little place with its mysteries and was sad to leave.

We left by the way we should have come, via Cottam Grange, and picked our way carefully through some nettles, before entering a field of lavender and descended back into the network of hills and dales.  As we descended, we startled some cows and a solitary, lone bull and I scoffed manly at it as it ran away like … well like a skittish bull, but was soon silenced when we found it waiting for us further up, all snorting and stamping.  This involved a bit of tricky walking along slopes, and the unnecessary panicking of numerous sheep.  Eventually, though, the bull became distracted by a large clump of grass and we slid away unnoticed.

We found the way we should have taken before, where we had ‘gone wrong’, and was flummoxed by its complete absence from the map.  This is the first time I have been let down by my map and I was left most unsettled.  The rest of the walk was merely a matter of retracing our steps to Tatton Sykes monument and our car.


Dazza

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Re: Cottam Circular 05/08/07
« Reply #1 on: 21:30:09, 06/08/07 »
Excellent report and some good pictures there Mr Blister. Much more artistic than my creations :-)

I have a fondness for old, abandoned buildings as well, too many to visit and not enough time.

Dazza
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These boots were made for walking so that's just what I'll do. After I've re-proofed them of course...

Feriol

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Re: Cottam Circular 05/08/07
« Reply #2 on: 23:42:00, 06/08/07 »
Nice!

Lovely pictures, Postcard perfect! Particularly the 3rd (excluding map)
sun dogs fire on the horizon
meteor rain stars across the night
this moment may be brief
but it can be so bright
(Rush - Chain Lightning)

 

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