Millington Pastures is an area much used by walkers and its designation in 2005 under the Countryside and Rights of Way act as open country has opened up new dales to which there has been no access for about 50 years. This high-level route, which follows the rims of seven dales as far as is practicable, offers extended views over undulating countryside and along steep-sided valleys.
- From the car park start turn left and almost immediately go through the bridleway gate on your left and climb the slope to another gate that leads out of open access land. Don't go through the gate but turn right and contour parallel to the fence along the edge of Millington Dale to Alison Nab. Leaving the main dale, turn into Scoar Dale and keep to the dale edge until you reach a wire fence 1
Millington Pastures cover an exceptionally fine system of deeply incised dry valleys in the chalk karst of the Yorkshire Wolds. The system is a Site of Special Scientific interest and is described as the finest in England being deeply cut, branching, undisturbed and complete in a small area. Much of the valley system is occupied by unimproved chalk grassland exhibiting a range of plant community types on the varying slopes and aspects.
- Here 1 you have two options, either
- turn right and descend steeply to the the track and gate 3. This omits the upper part of Scoar Dale and avoids climbing fences, or
- Climb over the fence (using your pipe lagging) and continue along the edge of the dale until the fence turns sharply left and then descend diagonally across rough ground to the track at the bottom corner of the plantation ahead 2. Take the track down the bottom of the dale through the trees to the gate 3. Although this is an access point it may be locked, in which case you will have to climb over the gate.
A habitat survey covering the whole site except for Sylvan Dale carried out in the early 1980s recorded 25 grasses and 98 other herbs. Data collected by RA volunteers, as part of the evidence presented by them at the CRoW hearings, shows that the composition of the sward has not changed significantly since that time. Tor-grass is dominant over much of the site, although this is generally held in check by grazing, and is accompanied by finer grasses such as sheep’s fescue and quaking grass. Common grassland herbs are widespread, with local abundance of characteristic chalk species such as salad burnet, dropwort, fairy flax, lady’s bedstraw, bloody crane’s-bill, rock-rose, burnet saxifrage, small scabious, devil’s-bit scabious and thyme.
- Climb the grassy slope on your left to gain the dale edge. Follow the edge of the dale, crossing two fences, to meet a track coming diagonally up from the road 4. Where the track leaves access land climb over the fence and continue along the edge of Frendal Dale to reach a fallen tree. Go through a gap in the fence and keep to the edge of the dale until it forks left into Tun Dale. Drop down to the RoW 5. Turn left along the RoW pass through the gate and follow the track along the edge of the plantation until it enters the wood 6. On your right is an access point, go through the gate, climb up to the eastern edge of Tun Dale, follow the fence round into the upper part of Frendal Dale to reach the access point and gate at the earthworks of Huggate Dykes 7.
Lying close to an ancient trackway on the western side of the Wolds, the surviving part of which forms the present-day Wolds Way, these earthworks are part of a particularly elaborate complex of multiple dykes on Huggate Pasture, single components of which run either along the top of the escarpment, or part the way down the sides of the intervening dry valley systems of Frendal Dale and Tun Dale, in the direction of Pasture Dale, Millington Dale and Cow Moor, linking up with the system of boundary dykes in those areas. (These notes are based on extracts from English Heritage's record of Scheduled Monuments No. 26575.) These dykes were used to enhance the natural topographical barriers of spurs and escarpments between valleys, with additional physical barriers of banks and ditches. Natural conduits along the floors of dry valleys were then `blocked' by other bank and ditch systems to control access. This elaborate complex of Wolds boundary earthworks is probably one of the best preserved remnants of the original more extensive systems recorded and mapped by early antiquarians such as J R Mortimer in the 19th century. Excavations and observation of spatial relationships with other earthworks of known date demonstrate this Wolds complex of earthworks to have originated in the later Bronze Age, with several subsequent phases of elaboration and augmentation.
- Walk south along the earthworks, continuing along the edge of Frendal Dale to an access point and gate 8. At this point you need to make a decision.
- If you wish to continue the high level route and are prepared either to climb two awkward fences or to take a short cut that is not on access land or a RoW, then continue eastwards along the northern edge of Pasture Dale to a gate at the edge of a plantation 9. Beyond the gate a track, which is not on access land or a RoW, leads around the top of the plantation to a gate that opens into the access land at the other side of the plantation. If you don't want to go through the gate then you will have to descend steeply down the side of the plantation to the fence at the road, climb over the fence, pass the plantation by road, and re-enter access land by climbing another fence. In either case, now follow the dale edge to the next plantation and descend to an access point at a gate onto the road 10. Turn left and follow the road to the access point where the Wolds Way crosses Cobdale Lane. Otherwise
- If you wish to miss out the next two sections drop down to the access point at the road X. Cross the road, go through a kissing gate into the southern side of Pasture Dale, turn left and contour along the valley side to join the Wolds Way 11 at the head of the dale.
Although Millington Pastures comprises the largest area of contiguous open access land in the Yorkshire Wolds, it is sub-divided into several compartments by post and wire fences. These fences are usually at least waist-high, topped with barbed wire and often on very steep ground, making them difficult to climb over. DEFRA guidance to local authorities is that “reasonable access” should provided to access land and the local authority has provided an access point to most compartments, either by a gate or a style, usually in the dale bottoms. A walker following a high level route along the edges of the dales, however, will encounter many internal fences, with access land on both sides of the fence. The RA take the view that in these circumstances it is permissible to climb over the fence provided the fence is not damaged.
- Follow the Wolds Way 11 to Jessop's Plantation 12, go through the plantation and, on coming out, follow the track along the eastern edge of Nettle Dale to the Minster Way 13. Turn right and continue along the dale edge to meet the Wolds Way 14.
At the appeal stage of CRoW local landowners tried to prevent a large part of this complex of dales being mapped as open country. A total of 116 ha was appealed against, including Millington Dale, Scoar Dale and the eastern side of Frendal Dale and Tun Dale. The Countryside Agency and the Ramblers’ Association contested these appeals, submitting detailed evidence to show that the land was predominantly unimproved chalk grassland. As a result only one appeal, relating to a small compartment of 5.2 ha south of the road between start and 18 was upheld by the inspector.
- Because the going is very rough along the edge of Millington Dale, it is easier to follow the Wolds Way to Sylvan Dale 15. Turn left along the edge to the head of the dale 16, turn right along the edge to the where the Wolds Way crosses the dale 17. Drop down into the dale and follow the track to the road 18. Turn left to arrive shortly at the start.