Little Fryup Dale, Coast to Coast
Historical and Educational Articles for Lion Inn to Grosmont
Round Hill and Stanch Bullen at the head of Little Fryup Dale
Little Fryup Dale, Glaisdale, Coast to Coast
At the mouth of Little Fryup Dale sit the remains of Danby Castle, now part of Danby Castle Farm. The Castle is built at the stub end foot of Danby Rigg. The Rigg makes up the west wall of Little Fryup Dale, while The Heads makes up the east wall. Little Fryup Beck issues at Stanch Bullen, a rugged cliff cornice forming a large south east nab projecting into Little Fryup Dale. A little to the east of Stanch Bullen is Round Hill, a large round hillock on Fairy Cross Plain. To the east of the Hill is a col separating it from Heads. This is the area known as Fairy Cross Plain, a name carried forward from days of yore when the magic of fairies was still remembered. Stanch Bullen, Round Hill and South End on Heads, manifest a commanding threesome of feral uplands which almost bar the passage into Great Fryup Dale.
Little Fryup Beck adopts the central position in the valley, flowing from Stanch Bullen along the valley to unite with the River Esk near Crag Farm opposite the valley mouth. Heads divides Little Fryup Dale from Great Fryup Dale and Glaisdale Rigg.
Eskdale and Little Fryup Dale
Castle Lane runs into Little Fryup Dale, and allows a vast panormic view of Eskdale and Little Fryup Dale. In the early morning it is not uncommon to see mist hovering over the River Esk. Crag Wood on the north end of Heads climbs to the ridge top path, where it gives way to moorland.
Danby Castle Danby Cairnfield
On the approach to Little Fryup Dale you proceed up Castle Lane, crossing the River Esk on a ford adjacent to the ancient Duck Bridge. As you do so there is a panoramic view uphill to the south and to the remains of Danby Castle. The ascending hill is the beginning of Danby Rigg, and the fields to the east of the Castle are part of the mouth to Little Fryup Dale. Beyond the Castle is a dense covert of trees, which populate the steeper north rise of the Rigg. Behind the trees is the Danby Rigg Ring Cairn, a detchaed part of a much larger Bronze Age Cairnfield. The Cairnfield is a Scheduled Monument.
Up Valley View of Little Fryup Dale
Early monring valley mist often hugs the valley bottoms around the Fryup Dales. Forester's Lodge is a spacious farming complex close to Little Fryup Beck and in the centre of the Dale.
Crag Wood and Heads
For two thirds of the length of the Fryup Dales there is a 308m central ridge, separating Little Fryup Dale from Great Fryup Dale, together with their associated becks. The Ridge is known as Heads. The north west crook of Heads is colonized by Crag Wood, which stops short of Danby Crag at the apex of the scarp.
Forester's Lodge Little Fryup Dale
Forester's Lodge is located almost in the dead centre of Little Fryup Dale, on the east bank of Little Fryup Beck. It is a working farm with the dual use of self-catering holiday accommodation.
Fairy Cross Plain Cottage
Fairy Cross Plain Cottage is located at the foot of South End, the steep nobby end of Heads. The Plain occupies the low ground between Round Hill and Heads.
Round Hill Little Fryup Dale
Round Hill rises to 250m. It is located on the Fairy Cross Plain near to Stanch Bullen, making up part of the head wall to Little Fryup Dale. Round Hill is a notable feature due to its uniquely compact domed shape, setting it apart from other surrounding features.
Stanch Bullen Little Fryup Dale
Stanch Bullen is the east nab end of the section of Danby Rigg thaat forms the backwall to Little Fryup Dale. From Fairy Cross Plain most views of Round Hill have Stanch Bullen in the background. Stanch Bullen rises to 320m and is preciiptous on. its north and east faces. Where Castle Lane bends to the east at Slate Hill Houses, the road also forks forward as New Way and rises over Stanch Bullen to the Danby Rigg ridge, merging with the Rosedale Road at Seavey Hill.
Coast to Coast Trail Guide
Hiking the Coast to Coast
"Hiking the Coast to Coast" is a digitally enhanced eBook available from Apple Books for all people who have either a Mac, an iPhone or an iPad, and is designed to accompany you on your walk of the Coast to Coast path. The trail guide contains Ordnance Survey maps and other advanced mapping features, step by step directions, hundreds of colour photographs, details of the route, its conditions in different weather and research snippets relating to places of interest along the way.
