Kirkdale Minster, Sleightholme Dale and Robin Hood’s Howl.
Table of Contents
The Route
- what3words for start point: ////proof.survey.perused
- Start Point: Kirkdale, nr Kirkbymoorside
- Finish Point: Kirkdale, nr Kirkbymoorside
- Distance: 5.5 Miles
GPX Route Map
Download file for GPSWalk Description
Kirkdale cuts a deep wooded valley through the Tabular Hills of the southern North York Moors.
Here you will find hidden away one of England’s ecclesiastical gems – St Gregory’s Minster. Founded in the 7th Century as a monastic mission house, the church was attacked by Danes and Vikings only to be rebuilt in the years just before the Norman Conquest.
It boasts the most complete Saxon inscription in the world on its sundial, which can be dated to around 1055. Nearby is Kirkdale Cave, where bones of various long extinct animals were found in the 19th Century including lion, elephant, tigers and hyenas that date from before the last Ice Age when this area was a swamp.
This walk explores the wooded valleys of Kirkdale, Sleightholme Dale and Robin Hood’s Howl, a beautiful dry valley.
