St. Hilda's Church, Ellerburn

Week 13  St. Hilda's Church, Ellerburn

This the first time I had walked from Thornton le Dale to the Forestry Commission visitor centre at Low Dalby and back. I was quite surprised by the large number of mountain bikers, which did not make for a nice peaceful walk. It reminded me of the thousands (yes thousands) of mountain bikers from the Glasgow & Edinburgh catchment area that descend on the Glentress Forest every weekend and the constant sound of sirens as the ambulance service pick up the pieces. How long before Dalby echoes to the same?
We walked up one side of the Dalby beck and back down the other. One of the highlights was the Church at Ellerburn, founded in 1050, it has some traces of a Viking cross in-laid in the stonework to the right of the porch. A little gem, set in a beautiful steep wooded valley.