Hutton-le-Hole, Spaunton, Lastingham and Appleton-le-Moors

The walk begins in Hutton-le-Hole and follows the edge of the moorland, where upland birds include curlew, red grouse and lapwing; along with insects such as the northern eggar moth and green hairstreak butterfly.

You soon come to the tiny hamlet of Spaunton. The Domesday Book tells us that Spaunton was a large manor. It was presented by King William I to St Mary's Abbey, York, and became even more extensive. The dissolution of the monasteries in 1534 saw the manor pass into private hands. Parts were subsequently sold off to freeholders, and nothing remains above ground to speak of Spauntons former glory, though archaeologists have unearthed the foundations of a large medieval hall.

As you leave Spaunton, there is a good view of Lastingham in the valley below. This village was chosen by St Cedd, a monk from Lindisfarne, as the site of a monastery begun in 654 AD, though St Cedd never saw it finished. He caught the plague when attending the Synod of Whitby in 664 AD and died soon afterwards. His brother, St Chad, became the first Abbot and the monastery flourished. The Venerable Bede, who visited it in 731 AD described it as being "among steep and solitary hills where you would rather look for a hiding place of robbers or the layers of wild animals than the abodes of man".

The monastery was destroyed by the Danes in the 9th century, but was refounded in 1078 by Stephen of Whitby. However, before work on it was completed, Stephen and his monks were moved to York, where they founded St Mary's Abbey. The magnificent crypt built by Stephen remains perfectly preserved beneath the present church, St Mary's. The crypt is supposedly on the site of St Cedd's grave and has become a shrine. St Mary's contains several ancient crosses, some of them Anglo-Saxon, and a rare 'bear hogback' gravestone, shaped like a roof and supported by a carved figure of a bear at each end.

Opposite the church is the Blacksmith's Arms, built in 1640, as a smithy. Licensed as a pub in 1750, it has remained so ever since. A former landlord was a vicar of St Mary's, who took on the second job to support his 13 children. He was reprimanded for playing his fiddle to accompany dancing between church services and for serving food and ale to the parishioners. The Blacksmith's Arms is an unspoilt village pub with Yorkshire sash windows, low beam ceilings and an old range. Log fires blaze on winter weekends.

The route takes to the lanes that run between the rectangular fields south of the moor. These lead to Appleton-le-Moors, whose wide main street is flanked by handsome houses and beautiful gardens. At the turn of the century there were two public houses on the main street. One, the New Inn is now a private house with the date 1733 and the initials TG on the door lintel. The other, the Oddfellows Inn is still a pub, now known as the Moors Inn.

One of the village houses has three faces carved in stone over a doorway. The faces are known as the 'Three Bloodsuckers' and were intended to represent the Lawyer, the Doctor and the Clergyman.

Christ Church, on the edge of Appleton-le-Moors was completed in 1865, at a cost of 10,000 pounds. It was paid for by a Mrs Joseph Shepherd as a memorial to her husband who died in 1862, having made a fortune in shipping.

The return to Hutton-le-Hole follows old farm tracks and lanes. Along the sides of the lanes are huge stands of rosebay willowherb, which is the food plant of a large Elephant Hawk-Moth. Masses of stingy nettles provide food for the caterpillars of the Red Admiral. In early spring, the lanes are filled with various white butterflies, including the delicate Orange Tip.

Perhaps the most interesting plants there to be found along the way are common twayblade, a green flowered orchid, and the numerous wild herbs that grow by the path, including thyme, basil, marjoram and sweet cicely.

Hutton-le-Hole itself is one of the prettiest villages in the north of England. Wide greens run along both sides of Hutton Beck, which is crossed by delightful bridges. At the edges of the greens are charming cottages with colourful gardens.

A great attraction is the Ryedale Folk Museum, which has a collection of fascinating old buildings that have been removed from their original sites in the surrounding villages and rebuilt here. Many of the exhibits concern witchcraft, which was greatly feared on the moors until well into the 19th century. Famous local witches included Peggy Devell of Hutton-le-Hole, Nan Scaife of Stuanton Moor, and Mother Migg of Lastingham.