The Grey Panthers

This walk is a relatively gentle amble through farmland, offering some spectacular views, that starts from the historic town of Richmond.
After a walk beside the River Swale, the first stop is the ruins of Easby Abbey and the adjacent Church of St. Agatha with its mediaeval frescoes.
The walk continues using farm tracks and farm footpaths to return past Aske Hall.
Ascents and descents are gentle, and navigation is relatively straightforward.

For a Memory Map overlay of the walk described, please select the above link.
(Overlay made with Version 5 of Memory Map)

Some new mapping software is now available which you may want to try, - QUO mapping. You can download the software for free from the link below, complete with demonstration maps. Having installed QUO, you can import and export Memory Map overlays. Thus YOU DON'T NEED Memory Map to use any of the overlays provided on the Grey Panthers web site, - just use QUO!!

Start from the Nun's Close car park in Richmond, - fee payable. (NZ16788 01096).
Make your way to Richmond's Market Square via Finkle Street, and cross over past Trinity Church to the other side of the square. Head down Millgate and Riverside Road to the car park by Richmond Falls.
Here there is a footpath beside the River Swale that takes you to the Mercury Bridge. Cross under the bridge and follow the footpath (which can be quite uneven) until you emerge at a lane. Here turn left, and when you come to Easby Low Road turn right.
Follow this road (which is traffic-free) until you come to the Drummer Boy's Stone. Here you can either take the upper track, or the lower footpath which runs beside the River Swale. Both meet up again at the same point.
Continue along the footpath to Easby Abbey and St. Agatha's Church.
From St. Agatha's Church, take the road up to Easby Mews.
Turn left and after as few yards there is a farm track (leading to St. Trinian's Farm). Follow this track all the way Northwards to the A6108 road.
Cross the road to walk on the pavement to the village of Skeeby.
On the outskirts of Skeeby, turn left down Olliver's Lane and follow the farm track almost to Gascoigne Farm.
After passing the gate leading to this farm, turn left and there is a stile in the hedge that leads you to a footpath over fields to Low Pastures Farm.
Continue along the farm road to the Richmond-Gilling road.
Cross the road and take the farm track until you come to a kissing gate. Here turn left onto the footpath that takes you to Aske Hall.
Continue on the road that goes past Aske Hall.
Where the road goes past the gates to Aske Hall, the footpath continues over parkland.
However, an alternative way forward is to continue along the road until you come to some woodland. Here take a forestry track that heads Westwards to meet the footpath.
Turn left and follow the clearly waymarked footpath to Richmond Golf Course.
Cross the Golf Course and take the road towards Richmond.
Just past the old barracks in Gallowgate (now an attractive residential area), turn right into Green Howards Road.
Follow this road until you come to a footpath on your left that descends down into Richmond (Quaker's Lane).
Turn right in Quaker's Lane to return to the Nun's Close car park.