{"id":2329,"date":"2021-09-25T01:57:16","date_gmt":"2021-09-25T00:57:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.christophersomerville.co.uk\/?p=2329"},"modified":"2021-09-27T09:04:29","modified_gmt":"2021-09-27T08:04:29","slug":"swinton-druids-temple-river-burn-n-yorks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.christophersomerville.co.uk\/?p=2329","title":{"rendered":"Swinton Druid\u2019s Temple &#038; River Burn, N. Yorks"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><script type=\"text\/javascript\">function popwalk(walk) {var url = \"\/Walks\/amap.php?f=\"+walk; varwalkwindow=window.open(url,\"walkwin\",\"height=740,width=1230,resizable=yes,scrollbars=yes\"); if (window.focus) {walkwindow.focus()}}<\/script><br \/> First published in: The Times <a href=\"javascript:popwalk('Swinton.jpg');\" rel=\"nozoom\" title=\"Click here to view a map for this walk in a new window\">Click here to view a map for this walk in a new window<\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/farm66.static.flickr.com\/65535\/51322623084_543bb4872f_z.jpg\" title= \"51322623084 Druid&#039;s Temple 1\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/farm66.static.flickr.com\/65535\/51322623084_543bb4872f_s.jpg\" alt=\"picture\" \/><\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/farm66.static.flickr.com\/65535\/51321167672_053343c225_z.jpg\" title= \"51321167672 Druid&#039;s Temple 2\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/farm66.static.flickr.com\/65535\/51321167672_053343c225_s.jpg\" alt=\"picture\" \/><\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/farm66.static.flickr.com\/65535\/51322864735_1b6cdb1aed_z.jpg\" title= \"51322864735 path back to Swinton\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/farm66.static.flickr.com\/65535\/51322864735_1b6cdb1aed_s.jpg\" alt=\"picture\" \/><\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/farm66.static.flickr.com\/65535\/51321130222_edd8f1598c_z.jpg\" title= \"51321130222 Lobley Hall 1\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/farm66.static.flickr.com\/65535\/51321130222_edd8f1598c_s.jpg\" alt=\"picture\" \/><\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/farm66.static.flickr.com\/65535\/51322864480_c65e5df469_z.jpg\" title= \"51322864480 Sole Beck\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/farm66.static.flickr.com\/65535\/51322864480_c65e5df469_s.jpg\" alt=\"picture\" \/><\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/farm66.static.flickr.com\/65535\/51322066163_623a9f09f5_z.jpg\" title= \"51322066163 old farm buildings between Lobley Hall and Swinton\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/farm66.static.flickr.com\/65535\/51322066163_623a9f09f5_s.jpg\" alt=\"picture\" \/><\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/farm66.static.flickr.com\/65535\/51321129612_c79ca491e1_z.jpg\" title= \"51321129612 path to Swinton\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/farm66.static.flickr.com\/65535\/51321129612_c79ca491e1_s.jpg\" alt=\"picture\" \/><\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/farm66.static.flickr.com\/65535\/51322065753_050bcd547f_z.jpg\" title= \"51322065753 saddle fungus\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/farm66.static.flickr.com\/65535\/51322065753_050bcd547f_s.jpg\" alt=\"picture\" \/><\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/farm66.static.flickr.com\/65535\/51322584534_1fdb2eb21e_z.jpg\" title= \"51322584534 path to Swinton 2\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/farm66.static.flickr.com\/65535\/51322584534_1fdb2eb21e_s.jpg\" alt=\"picture\" \/><\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/farm66.static.flickr.com\/65535\/51321129177_e536a85658_z.jpg\" title= \"51321129177 \"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/farm66.static.flickr.com\/65535\/51321129177_e536a85658_s.jpg\" alt=\"picture\" \/><\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/farm66.static.flickr.com\/65535\/51322583694_14b21776cc_z.jpg\" title= \"51322583694 Lobley Hall 2\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/farm66.static.flickr.com\/65535\/51322583694_14b21776cc_s.jpg\" alt=\"picture\" \/><\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/farm66.static.flickr.com\/65535\/51322862805_148d63ed16_z.jpg\" title= \"51322862805 Ripon Rowel path near Lobley Hall\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/farm66.static.flickr.com\/65535\/51322862805_148d63ed16_s.jpg\" alt=\"picture\" \/><\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/farm66.static.flickr.com\/65535\/51322862195_59f0a003ba_z.jpg\" title= \"51322862195 Lobley Hall 4\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/farm66.static.flickr.com\/65535\/51322862195_59f0a003ba_s.jpg\" alt=\"picture\" \/><\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/farm66.static.flickr.com\/65535\/51321128027_2bc92e20ec_z.jpg\" title= \"51321128027 Steep country on the way back to Swinton\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/farm66.static.flickr.com\/65535\/51321128027_2bc92e20ec_s.jpg\" alt=\"picture\" \/><\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/farm66.static.flickr.com\/65535\/51321126112_ed3f0853cb_z.jpg\" title= \"51321126112 Sole Beck ford below Lobley Hall\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/farm66.static.flickr.com\/65535\/51321126112_ed3f0853cb_s.jpg\" alt=\"picture\" \/><\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/farm66.static.flickr.com\/65535\/51322580544_ae67baea66_z.jpg\" title= \"51322580544 view from Burgess Bank over Leighton Reservoir\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/farm66.static.flickr.com\/65535\/51322580544_ae67baea66_s.jpg\" alt=\"picture\" \/><\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"javascript:pwindow=window.open('\/Walks\/prn.php?f=2329','pwin','height=700,width=1000,resizable=yes,scrollbars=yes');\" title=\"Click for printable version\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"\/Walks\/print.gif\" align=\"right\"><\/a><br \/>\nWhen Squire William Danby of Swinton Park saw his tenants go hungry during a farming slump in the early 19th century, he did something about it \u2013 namely, he paid them a shilling a day to construct a scaled-down Stonehenge in the wilds of his North Yorkshire estate.<\/p>\n<p>In the woods above the yurts, treehouses and tepees of Swinton Bivouac\u2019s glamping grounds we found the henge, an oval of massive blocky stones enclosing a ring of trilithons or stone portals. If there\u2019s something conscience-tweaking about the back story of the Druid\u2019s Temple, there\u2019s also something laughable about the structure in a Spinal Tap sort of way. Squire Danby tried to recruit a hermit to live on site, speak to no-one and let hair and beard grow free \u2013 but none of the candidates, however hungry, proved willing to tackle that job.<\/p>\n<p>A cold wind blew from the sombre moors to the west as we followed the Ripon Rowel long distance path down into the valley of Pott Beck. Behind in the east the long ridge of the North York Moors, twenty miles off, lay pink and grey under a cloudy sky.<\/p>\n<p>The path ran round a rim of forestry above Low Knowle Farm house, barns and byres all stone-built, old and tight-knit against the weather in their hollow.<\/p>\n<p>With the spillway from the dam at Leighton Reservoir twinkling near at hand, we turned away along a path through rough pastures of rushes and clumps of harebells where blunt-faced rams stared us out as we passed. Healey village lay along its hillside beyond the River Burn, the coffee-coloured stone houses running east to the church\u2019s tall spire.<\/p>\n<p>At Broadmires Farm the house stood all of a piece with the byre, a tradition of architecture hereabouts stretching back to the longhouses that the Norse settlers built in these dales a thousand years ago.<\/p>\n<p>By the chattering Sole Beck a grey wagtail bobbed on a stone, its yellow belly catching a glint of sun through the leaves. Climbing the homeward path through the birch woods above the chattering Sole Beck, we came to Lobley Hall, a grand name for a ruinous house three hundred years old. Elders choked the living room, buddleia reached out of the chimneys. <\/p>\n<p>\u2018KW 1698\u2019 was carved into the lintel above the doorway. Whoever KW was, the builder of Lobley Hall certainly commanded a beautiful view of beck, hillside and woodland in this lonely daleside cleft.<\/p>\n<p>How hard is it? 5 miles; field and woodland paths, muddy in places<\/p>\n<p>Start: Swinton Bivouac car park, High Knowle Farm, Knowle Lane, Ripon HG4 4JZ (OS ref SE 180787) &#8211; \u00a33<\/p>\n<p>Getting there: From Masham (A6108) follow \u2018Fearby\u2019. On far side of village, sharp left to cross River Burn. Right, and follow \u2018Swinton Bivouac, Druid\u2019s Temple\u2019 to car park.<\/p>\n<p>Walk (OS Explorers 298, 302): Walk to Druid\u2019s Temple (175787, signed), and return to top of Bivouac drive. Left (\u2018Burgess Bank\u2019, \u2018Ripon Rowel\u2019\/RR); follow well waymarked RR clockwise for 2 miles via Knowle Plantation (175791), Burgess Bank (168793), Broadmires Farm (178798) to road (183798). Ahead; in \u00bc mile RR turns left (187801, \u2018Healey\u2019), but keep ahead (\u2018Swinton\u2019). In 500m ford Sole beck (192799); in 150m, right (kissing gate, yellow arrow\/YA). Follow YAs for \u00bd mile to pass Lobley Hall ruin (191793). In another 150m ignore YA on right; continue on left bank of Sole Beck to cross road (186787). From here follow RR waymarks back to car park.<\/p>\n<p>Lunch\/Accommodation: Swinton Bivouac caf\u00e9 and lodges (closed January) \u2013 01765-680900; <a href=\"http:\/\/swintonestate.com\">swintonestate.com<\/a>)<\/p>\n<p>Info: Harrogate TIC (01423-537300): <a href=\"http:\/\/yorkshire.com\">yorkshire.com<\/a><\/p>\n<p>@somerville_c<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>When Squire William Danby of Swinton Park saw his tenants go hungry during a farming slump in the early 19th century, he did something about it \u2013 namely, he paid them a shilling a day to construct a scaled-down Stonehenge in the wilds of his North Yorkshire estate.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2331,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2329","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-walks","category-3-id","post-seq-1","post-parity-odd","meta-position-corners","fix"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.christophersomerville.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2329","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.christophersomerville.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.christophersomerville.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.christophersomerville.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.christophersomerville.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2329"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/www.christophersomerville.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2329\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.christophersomerville.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2331"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.christophersomerville.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2329"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.christophersomerville.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2329"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.christophersomerville.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2329"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}