THIS month let us take a stroll through vibrant countryside along the edge of the Tabular Hills between Scarborough and Brompton.

Then, as we descend from Sawdon perhaps we might catch a glimpse of Brompton Dale where an historic event took place more than 150 years ago.

Imagine what it would have been like in 1853 when a flimsy glider, piloted by a coachman, floated across the dale to attempt to make the first manned flight.

Sir George Cayley was born in 1773. He was a brilliant engineer and throughout his life he developed and designed many engineering gems which were well in advance of his time.

Among the many things he invented were caterpillar tracks, a self-righting boat, a helicopter and an internal combustion engine which was fuelled by gunpowder.

Sir George was fascinated with flight and studied the local crows when designing a machine which was intended to have flapping wings. But it was when he observed seagulls gliding and soaring above and staying aloft without effort that stimulated he was to design and build a glider.

Through his experiments, he identified the forces involved in flying which are still respected today as the essentials of flight.

Sir George discovered four things which, combined together, are still to be considered in aircraft design today. They were drag, lift, weight and thrust.

He also realised that if he was going to succeed, one other very important factor of flight was to be mastered: stability, without which the glider would be impossible to control. This he resolved by introducing a dihedral to the wings.

He used the staircase at his home, Brompton Hall, to test small models of gliders in a controlled environment before moving on to larger models.

He experimented with many different shapes and sizes as he struggled to control elements of wing and stability. He was determined to succeed and at last, in the year 1853, his man-carrying glider was ready to test his theories.

It was taken to Brompton Dale, opposite his home in the village, where the delicate machine was prepared for this historic moment. But who was to pilot this machine? Sir George was 79 and unable to take on the task so he volunteered his coachman, John Appleby, to have the glory.

Ropes were attached to the glider and held by farmhands as the footman took up his position in the cockpit. The signal was given, and the farmhands pulled the ropes running down the slope towing the glider behind them.

Everyone watched in awe as the glider took off, flying on a cushion of air across the dale with the white-faced coachman grimly holding on until it came to rest on the opposite side. The coachman jumped out and ran across to Sir George and is reputed to have said, “I wish to give notice sir; I was hired to drive, not fly”.

However, the brave coachman, John Appleby had his name recorded as the first person to achieve manned flight in a glider, at the same time celebrating the work of a brilliant engineer and designer, Sir George Cayley.


Your route

Leave the car park, turning right to walk to the traffic lights. Cross the road here, then turn left at Tesco to walk along Cross Lane.

Keep straight ahead at the roundabout, then just after the pedestrian crossing, take the narrow footpath on your right descending to the old railway track.

Turn right onto the track, and when you reach a road at the housing estate keep straight ahead continuing along the railway track. A little further along you arrive at another estate road. Leave the railway track here, turning left through the estate to the main road, the A171. Go right here, then at the bridge, cross the road to go through a small gate onto the bank of the Sea Cut.

Walk along the bank until you reach another road. Cross the road here at the bridge, then continue along the Sea Cut footpath for about two miles which terminates at the road at Mowthorpe.

Go right here, across the bridge and follow the road along to and past the old Everley pub, currently closed, and continue downhill.

At the bottom, turn left at the sign for Wrench Green Only, continue over a bridge. Just past a couple of houses, bear right to walk to the village of Wrench Green. Follow the road round to the left here. This sometimes muddy road soon deteriorates and climbs as it takes you into Wykeham Forest.

At the forest, turn right onto a wide forest road and in about one mile, you reach the viewpoint at High Wood Brow. Enjoy the grand view over Troutsdale across to the distant moors, then continue straight ahead on the forest road.

Keep on the main forest road, past the woodland nursery, and in a little over two miles, opposite the manicured grass at the entrance to Granary Farm, turn right onto a grassy, sometimes muddy, lane.

In one mile, you reach a crossroad of lanes. If you would like some refreshment at the Anvil Inn, go left here, then right into Sawdon village to the inn. Leaving the inn, turn left, then left again to return to this point.

If no refreshment is required, keep straight ahead at the crossroads and continue along the lane to eventually reach the Tarmac road. Keep straight ahead here towards the village of Brompton and the A170.

Go right now into Brompton village where you have a choice of refreshment across the road at either the Forge Tea Rooms or the Cayley Arms, or pop along to Glaves Butchers shop for a delicious pie while waiting for your number 128 bus to take you back to Scarborough.


The facts

Distance – 12½ miles20/km
Terrain – Easy with one muddy ascent
Best map – OS Landranger 101
Start/grid ref – Scarborough, grid ref 032901
Parking – Burniston Road car park on the A165. For the return journey, catch the 128 bus from Brompton to the railway station bus stop in Scarborough. Then walk down Westborough to York Place on the right to catch the number 3 bus to Burniston Road car park to alight from the bus at the stop immediately after the Tesco traffic lights.
Refreshments – Anvil Inn, Sawdon, Forge Tea Rooms Brompton, Cayley Arms Brompton, Glaves Butchers Brompton
Public toilets – None