GEORGE WILKINSON sniffs beer in the air as he sets out for a lovely walk from Masham

MASHAM was nearly set up for the sheep show the next day, with half the Market Square a grid of wooden pens tied together with red or blue binder twine.

The other half of the square was already occupied by a fun fair, but that wasn’t going yet so we went down Church Street and followed the signs and the scent to the Theakston brewery.

This is a strong little town with two market days, Wednesday and Saturday. Then we were on to the countryside, on the edge of the Dales, across the grass. A sign read ‘be aware of golfers’, which is easily misread as ‘beware of golfers’.

The River Burn, a substantial tributary, led us away and into the woods, the first visitors that morning to judge by the sticky cobwebs.

And then back lanes took us, in quick succession, to Low Swinton, Swinton and nearly to High Swinton, each a handful of houses. The biggest, the hall, now a hotel, has a tall cylindrical tower that glowed red to its battlements with Virginia creeper.

Through the gates drove two ladies in an open sports car, for lunch perhaps or for the bird of prey centre. On cue, four buzzards cruised over. We nibbled sandwiches near a stump rotting with three species of fungi. A crow trap was tucked in a wood edge.

Sheep were gathered on certain fields, perhaps, for some, their last afternoon on the pastures. It was sunny for them and shirt sleeves for us in the land of plenty.

Along back roads with a crust of farmyard, the most frequent traffic was made up of huge yellow-wheeled John Deere tractors.

On a common is the muted, grassed shape of an enclosure. Nutwith Cote is a charming 17th /18th century gentleman’s house with a horsey history, a ruined dovecote and its own, lottery-funded heritage walk. The farmer seemed a show fan and his eyes lit up when I explained ferret roulette.

We settled on a boulder beach by the great River Ure. South ran sparkling rapids, north the water was a mirror. A trout broke the surface with a splash and a kingfisher arrowed.

We had two lovely miles of riverside on the Ripon Rowel walk. Back in Masham, a sign read ‘Fat Lambs’.

DIRECTIONS

When in doubt look at the map. Check your position at each point. Keep straight on unless otherwise directed (wm=waymark).

1. From the square, road signed ‘Brewery Visitor Centre’ (Church Street), 200 yards, dead-end road on right (sign Brewery), alley on left, pass brewery, right to road, pass more brewery, curve left through housing estate.

2. Road on left with old stone bridge (bumpy road sign), pass feed mill, join track (fingerpost Ripon Rowel), 30 yards.

3. Stile/gate (wm) on left into field, uphill by hedge to its corner then right diagonally across field, left at large tree near fence, 50 yards, pass gate, stile/gate on right, diagonally downhill via leaf sculpture, stile (wm) near house, steps, left to track though golf course, take care.

4. Right to road, bridge, 30 yards, stile (fingerpost) on right, 30 yards, fork to riverside path. Stile into wood, stile out (wm), diagonally across field, metal gate, right, above hedge, stile.

5. Left to road uphill, left at junction.

6. At junction by main hotel entrance, cross road, 50 yards across grass, (fingerpost), ladderstile, path and right to field-edge, some rough ground, 150 yards, footbridge on right (yellow taped post), stile (wm), 11 o’clock, stile (wm), 11 o’clock, stile, ford stream (bridge 100 yards upstream if needed), cross field, stile, cross field, stile (wm), uphill 100 yards, stile on right (fingerpost).

7. Left to road. Just before junction, track on right uphill, through scrub to parking area by wood.

8. Cross road, left to grassy track (sign) by side of common, downhill. Drive on right to Nutwith. Pass house and gardens, angle downhill across grass, fieldgate (wm), down to river.

9. Left at River Ure, riverside. Snickelgate, stile (wm), stile, steps, two footbridges. Take care. Steep drops to side of path which is narrow in places.

10. Right to road, bridge then path on right (fingerpost), wood, steps (wm post), right to field-edge path/track. Fieldgate, track uphill, join Millgate Road and into square.

FACT FILE

Distance: Seven miles.

General location: Yorkshire Dales.

Start: Masham.

Car parking: Market Square with honesty box, and park on edge of town.

Right of way: Public.

Date walked: September 2013.

Lavatories: Masham.

Refreshments: Masham.

Tourist information: Masham TIC 01765 680200. Map: OS Explorers 298 and 302, Northallerton and Nidderdale.

Terrain: Riverside and farmland.

Difficulty: Moderate.

• Please observe the Country Code and park sensibly. While every effort is made to provide accurate information, walkers set out at their own risk.