Lyke Wake Walk
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The Lyke Wake Walk is a challenge walk across the highest and widest part of the
North York Moors National Park North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography. Etymology The word ''north' ...
in
North Yorkshire North Yorkshire is the largest ceremonial county (lieutenancy area) in England, covering an area of . Around 40% of the county is covered by national parks, including most of the Yorkshire Dales and the North York Moors. It is one of four co ...
, England. The route remembers the many corpses carried over the moors on old coffin routes and the ancient burial mounds encountered on the way; the name derives from a lyke, the corpse and the wake - watching over the deceased. Its associated club has a social structure, culture and rituals based on the walk and Christian and folklore traditions from the area through which it passes.


History

The idea of a walk originated from an article in the ''
Dalesman ''Dalesman'' is a British monthly regional magazine, based in Skipton, and serving the English county of Yorkshire. Its first edition was published in March 1939, under the original title of ''The Yorkshire Dalesman: A Monthly Magazine of Dales ...
'' magazine in August 1955. Its author, Bill Cowley, described a walk across the North York Moors from east to west (or vice versa) on heather all the way except for when crossing one or two roads. Given the remoteness of the area, a lone walker might not encounter another during the one to two day journey. Cowley issued a challenge to see if anyone could walk from Scarth Wood Moor at the western extremity of the moors to Ravenscar on the coast, keeping on or close to the main
watershed Watershed is a hydrological term, which has been adopted in other fields in a more or less figurative sense. It may refer to: Hydrology * Drainage divide, the line that separates neighbouring drainage basins * Drainage basin, called a "watershe ...
of the
moorland Moorland or moor is a type of habitat found in upland areas in temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands and montane grasslands and shrublands biomes, characterised by low-growing vegetation on acidic soils. Moorland, nowadays, generall ...
, in a twenty-four-hour period. The first crossing was completed shortly afterwards on 1 and 2 October 1955. Cowley was in the party that made the crossing in 23 hours and he wrote a book, ''Lyke Wake Walk'', which he kept up to date by frequent revision. The book ran to twelve editions in the author's lifetime and sold many thousands of copies. It was revised in 2001 by Paul Sherwood. Cowley's idea developed over the years before he issued the challenge in 1955. He wrote a poem in 1935/6, ''Storming Along'', describing traversing the moors and mentions a number of the walk's landmarks. His early contributions to the ''Dalesman'', appear in retrospect, to hint at the idea of the walk drawing on his appreciation of the works of the archaeologist Frank Elgee, antiquarian and folklore expert Canon
John Christopher Atkinson John Christopher Atkinson (1814–1900) was an English author, antiquary, and priest. Life Born on 9 May 1814 at Goldhanger in Essex, where his father was then curate, he was the son of John Atkinson and the grandson of Christopher Atkinson (d. 18 ...
and author and rambler Alfred J. Brown.


Route

The walk is usually done from west to east although it can be done in either direction. A successful crossing must be completed within 24 hours (a ski crossing in 24 hours daylight is also acceptable). There is no exact route but the Lyke Wake Club and its successor have rules regarding what can be considered a successful crossing. For record purposes the walk starts at its original departure point, the
Ordnance Survey Ordnance Survey (OS) is the national mapping agency for Great Britain. The agency's name indicates its original military purpose (see ordnance and surveying), which was to map Scotland in the wake of the Jacobite rising of 1745. There was a ...
Trig point A triangulation station, also known as a trigonometrical point, and sometimes informally as a trig, is a fixed surveying station, used in geodetic surveying and other surveying projects in its vicinity. The nomenclature varies regionally: they a ...
on Scarth Wood Moor, near Osmotherley, (NGR: SE 459 997) and finishes in the bar of the Raven Hall Hotel in Ravenscar. (NGR: NZ 981 018). For practical purposes the acceptable end points are the Lyke Wake Stone adjacent to Sheep Wash car park at Osmotherley Reservoir at the western end and Beacon Howes car park where there is a second Lyke Wake Stone at the eastern end. Successful crossings must stick to the moorland summits as far as practicable and walkers straying into Eskdale are disqualified. The route crosses the
Stokesley Stokesley is a market town and civil parish in the Hambleton District of North Yorkshire, England, formerly a part of the historic North Riding of Yorkshire. It lies on the River Leven. An electoral ward, of the same name, stretches north to ...
-
Helmsley Helmsley is a market town and civil parish in the Ryedale district of North Yorkshire, England. Historically part of the North Riding of Yorkshire, the town is located at the point where Ryedale leaves the moorland and joins the flat Vale o ...
road (B1257) between Point 842 (Clay Bank Top) and Point 503 (Orterley Lane end), the
Whitby Whitby is a seaside town, port and civil parish in the Scarborough borough of North Yorkshire, England. Situated on the east coast of Yorkshire at the mouth of the River Esk, Whitby has a maritime, mineral and tourist heritage. Its East Cl ...
- Pickering road (
A169 The A169 is an A road (UK), A road in North Yorkshire, England. It runs from the A64 road, A64 at Malton, North Yorkshire, Malton on the edge of the Yorkshire Wolds through the Vale of Pickering and across the North York Moors to join the A171 ...
) between Point 945 (Sil Howe) and Point 701 (near Saltergate) and the Scarborough-Whitby road ( A171) between Point 538 (Evan Howe) and Point 579 (Falcon Inn). Point numbers are the height in feet above sea level as given on the one inch Ordnance Survey Tourist Map of the North York Moors (1970 edition); the metric equivalents are identified on the Landranger and Explorer Series maps. The original route began at Scarth Wood Moor trig point, followed the Alum/Jet Miners Track from Live Moor to
Hasty Bank Hasty Bank is a hill in the Cleveland Hills range of the North York Moors, in north-east England. The Cleveland Way National Trail crosses Hasty Bank and is part of Wainwright's Coast to Coast Walk. The north face of Hasty Bank has heavily erod ...
, then to Smuggler's Trod, Bloworth, Ironstone Railway, Esklets, White Cross (Fat Betty), Shunner Howe, Hamer,
Blue Man-i'-th'-Moss Blue Man-i'-th'-Moss is a standing stone in the North York Moors in northern England. It lies on Wheeldale Moor on the route of the Lyke Wake Walk. It is a parish boundary stone, but is believed to have been standing since pre-Roman times. It ...
, Wheeldale Stepping Stones, Fen House, Tom Cross Rigg, Snod Hill, Lilla Howe, Jugger Howe ravine, Helwath, Pye Howe Rigg, to Ravenscar (Raven Hall Hotel). This route is no longer possible as a section is within the Ministry of Defence controlled area at
RAF Fylingdales Royal Air Force Fylingdales or more simply RAF Fylingdales is a Royal Air Force station on Snod Hill in the North York Moors, England. Its motto is "Vigilamus" (translates to "We are watching"). It is a radar base and is also part of the Ball ...
Early Warning Radar Station. Most crossings now follow the classic route, a variation of the original. It begins at Scarth Wood Moor trig point or the western Lyke Wake Stone in Sheepwash car park, follows the summit track from Live Moor over Carlton Moor, Cringle Moor, Cold Moor and Hasty Bank, Smuggler's Trod, Bloworth, Ironstone Railway, Esklets or South Flat Howe or Lion Inn, White Cross (Fat Betty), Shunner Howe, Hamer, Blue Man-i'-th'-Moss, Wheeldale Stepping Stones, Fen Bogs, Eller Beck, Lilla Howe, Jugger Howe ravine, Stony Marl Moor, to the eastern Lyke Wake Stone at Beacon Howes or Ravenscar. A summary description of the classic route with photographs is described by Richard Gilbert in his book, ''The Big Walks'' and a guidebook is available. A detailed illustrated description of the western half of the walk is given in
Alfred Wainwright Alfred Wainwright MBE (17 January 1907 – 20 January 1991), who preferred to be known as A. Wainwright or A.W., was a British fellwalker, guidebook author and illustrator. His seven-volume '' Pictorial Guide to the Lakeland Fells'', publis ...
's '' A Coast to Coast Walk''. Most crossings are done west to east. The original challenge, crossing towards the sea in an easterly direction is thought to be easier because of the
prevailing wind In meteorology, prevailing wind in a region of the Earth's surface is a surface wind that blows predominantly from a particular direction. The dominant winds are the trends in direction of wind with the highest speed over a particular point o ...
from the west making it easier to walk with the wind on one's back and with the heather lying away from the walker. On a west to east crossing, the major ascents and descents occur in the first ten miles when the walker is relatively fresh. A traverse of the Lyke Wake Walk route is referred to as a crossing and the act of participating in the walk is known as dirging. In the first few years, the walk followed a difficult route requiring endeavour and physical endurance as there was no track over most of its length. From the mid-1970s the walk was re-thought because the numbers of people attempting it had, in places, eroded the ground surface, and disturbance to game birds, sheep and wildlife by walkers and their support parties at all times of day and night, particularly in Osmotherley, Ravenscar and at remote farms. Footpath erosion was compounded by the walk sharing long stretches of its route with the
Cleveland Way The Cleveland Way is a National Trail in the historic area of Cleveland in North Yorkshire, northern England. It runs between Helmsley and the Brigg at Filey, skirting the North York Moors National Park. History Development of the Clev ...
and Wainwright's
Coast to Coast Walk The Coast to Coast Walk is a long-distance footpath between the west and east coasts of Northern England, nominally long. Devised by Alfred Wainwright, it passes through three contrasting national parks: the Lake District National Park, the ...
. Other users, some legal, some illegal, including mountain bikes, motor cycles, quad bikes and agricultural and moorland management vehicles exacerbated the problem. Alternative routes are possible and the walk club works with the
National Park A national park is a natural park in use for conservation purposes, created and protected by national governments. Often it is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state declares or owns. Although individual ...
authority to try to limit environmental damage. The Ordnance Survey no longer marks the walk route on maps at the recommendation of the National Park Authority, as a measure to discourage large numbers undertaking a crossing and the walk was not mentioned in National Park Authority publication for a number of years.


Other long-distance walks in the area

Alternative challenge walks and trails include the Hambleton Hobble, the Shepherd's Round, the White Rose Walk, the Lyke Wake Way, the Monk's Trod, the Rail Trail, Hambleton Drove Road, the Crosses Walk and the long distance trails. A walk from west to east across the North York Moors around ten miles south of the Lyke Wake Walk from
Gormire Lake Gormire Lake is a natural lowland lake that lies at the foot of Whitestone Cliff, a western escarpment of the Hambleton Hills in the North York Moors National Park. The lake is east of the village of Sutton-under-Whitestonecliffe in North Yo ...
to Cloughton Wyke termed, in a play on words, the Lake Wyke Walk has been suggested. The Lyke Wake Way is a non-challenge alternative from Osmotherley to Ravenscar on public rights of way via locations where accommodation and other facilities are available. It entails of walking depending on the route taken and can be completed over two or three days. Alfred Wainwright suggested the walk could form an acceptable finish to his Coast to Coast Walk but did not specify if he recommends doing the in a single push. There is no record of Wainwright completing the walk. There are no constraints on doing the walk in a more leisurely manner and a guide to doing the walk over four days has been published.


Lyke Wake Clubs

The first Lyke Wake Club was formed immediately on completion of the first crossing. Those completing the first crossing were its foundation members. The walk takes its name from the "
Lyke-Wake Dirge The "Lyke-Wake Dirge" is a traditional English folk song and dirge listed as number List of folk songs by Roud number, 8194 in the Roud Folk Song Index. The song tells of the soul's travel, and the hazards it faces, on its way from earth to pur ...
", probably Yorkshire's oldest surviving
dialect The term dialect (from Latin , , from the Ancient Greek word , 'discourse', from , 'through' and , 'I speak') can refer to either of two distinctly different types of linguistic phenomena: One usage refers to a variety of a language that is ...
verse, which is about watching over the wake of the corpse ''(lyke)''. Cowley proposed linking the walk and the dirge before the first crossing had been completed. The song tells of the soul's passage through the afterlife. The walk does not follow a
corpse road Corpse roads provided a practical means for transporting corpses, often from remote communities, to cemeteries that had burial rights, such as parish churches and chapels of ease. In Britain, such routes can also be known by a number of other names ...
, although it has been suggested it does, though there is no historical or archaeological evidence for it. The physical challenge, possibility of bad weather and difficult conditions make the dirge an appropriate club song. The club established its own culture and developed traditions based around the dirge, aspects of Cleveland history, superstitions and folklore, and rituals associated with suffering, death, funerals and the after-life that are broadly Yorkshire, northern English and Christian in character, with an acknowledgement of local folklore and the pagan forebears who originally inhabited the moorlands. Club meetings were termed "wakes" and the club badge was coffin shaped and decorated with the Ordnance Survey symbol for a
tumulus A tumulus (plural tumuli) is a mound of earth and stones raised over a grave or graves. Tumuli are also known as barrows, burial mounds or '' kurgans'', and may be found throughout much of the world. A cairn, which is a mound of stones ...
(burial mound), many of which are found along the route. Its culture is of solemnity regarding issues of ritual, folklore and mortality but with light-hearted aspects relating to the self-inflicted suffering of participants undertaking the walk. Club membership was/is granted on submission of a written report of a successful crossing and entitles successful walkers to a membership card in the form of a black-edged condolence card bearing the club crest, a black coffin. Many crossing reports are humorous and in various forms including prose, poetry, maps, post-mortem reports, last wills and testaments, plays, etc., some of which are quoted in the many editions of Cowley's ''Lyke Wake Walk'' book and in a separate volume devoted to literature and artwork contributed by members. Female members are termed "Witches", males are "Dirgers". The walk emerged when outdoor challenges and sponsored fund-raising events were becoming a feature of national life. It became popular and was considered a "rite of passage" for outdoor enthusiasts in Yorkshire in particular and across the north of England. It became a challenge for fundraisers for good causes. Reliable estimates, based on club records, put the number of people having completed a crossing at more than 250,000. Possibly more than 30,000 made more than one crossing, a significant number have completed it more than ten times and a handful have made more than a hundred. One estimate put the total number of crossings up to 1994 at one million, but this is not supported by records. The club celebrates walkers who have undertaken multiple crossings with awards called degrees acknowledging knowledge the route, the moorland and its culture. The club designated Cowley as "Chief Dirger" and other officers included a Melancholy Mace Bearer, Harassed Archivists, Melodious Minstrels, a Cheerless Chaplain, a Horrible Horn-blower and an Anxious Almoner. Degrees conferred include Master/Mistress of Misery, Doctor of Dolefulness and Past Master/Mistress. Walkers who completed more than one hundred crossings are referred to as Senile Centenarians and as of March 2016, four people have achieved this landmark.) The requirements for degrees are: The New Lyke Wake Club has instituted the degree of "Purveyor of Purgatory" for leaders who have successfully, and without mishap, conducted three (or more) parties on the walk. It can be awarded ''in absentia'' but the other degrees are only awarded when the recipient is in attendance at a wake. The walk's popularity owes much to Cowley's book which gives insights into the history, archaeology, geography, natural history, and folklore of the moors. The book describes the club and its culture in a tongue-in-cheek humorous style. Its first edition contained a list of the successful crossings up to October 1958. The possibility of inclusion in future editions together with the use of quotes from some crossing reports became an incentive to those taking on the challenge and inspired correspondents to be inventive and "attain literary heights". Cowley died on 14 August 1994. The Lyke Wake Club, he founded, closed in October 2005, the walk's 50th anniversary. A new club has been established – not without controversy – to preserve the traditions established by Cowley and take over the old club's functions of recording crossings, holding wakes and liaising with public authorities. The New Lyke Wake Club's activities have included donating funds to the North York Moors National Park young explorers conservation group, Cleveland Search and Rescue Team, and a short story competition for schools within the National Park. The new club maintains up-to-date route information on its website, funds footpath repairs and removes litter along the route, and gives grants to young club members for educational and outdoor pursuits purposes. Both the original and new clubs' criterion for membership is the completion of a crossing within 24 hours, and there are no honorary, associate or corporate members. A concession is that anyone can claim an extra 12 hours for every five years over the age of 65 but, although there have been crossings by older walkers, some over eighty years old, there is no record of any of them claiming the concession. In earlier years signing in/out books were kept at the Queen Catherine Hotel in Osmotherley and at Pollard Cafe in Ravenscar. The Lyke Wake Clubs have not monitored individual crossings for compliance with the rules, as Cowley stated "No one who is going to do this Walk is going to cheat, the satisfactions of crossing successfully are entirely for the individual".


Lyke Wake Race

Once the route became established as a clear track, the Lyke Wake Club considered the possibility of holding a race. The first Lyke Wake Race was held in 1964 and was held annually on the nearest Saturday to 10 July (except 2001 when it was cancelled because of an outbreak of
foot-and-mouth disease Foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) or hoof-and-mouth disease (HMD) is an infectious and sometimes fatal viral disease that affects cloven-hoofed animals, including domestic and wild bovids. The virus causes a high fever lasting two to six days, follo ...
) until 2014, its 50th anniversary when the organisers ceased to be involved. In 2015, the race continued with the organisation undertaken by the Quakers Running Club. It has been held every July since, until the 2020 edition was cancelled due to the
Covid-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...
. The first race was organised to coincide with the Osmotherley Summer Games. It started at Beacon Howes with the finishing line in Osmotherley. Both events were organised on the same date for a number of years. In the early years the Puckrin brothers, Arthur, Philip and Richard, were prominent amongst the leading runners with the first two brothers winning nine of the first ten races between them. Other winners have included prominent athletes/fell runners such as
Joss Naylor Joss Naylor, MBE (born 10 February 1936 at Wasdale Head) is an English fell runner who set many long-distance records, and a sheep farmer, living in the English Lake District. As his achievements increased he became better known as the King of t ...
. A history of the race up to 1981 has been given by Bill Smith. Since the Quakers took over the race, it has been held in an eastern direction, starting at Sheepwash and finishing in Ravenscar. The tradition of the Lyke Wake Walk and Lyke Wake Race is that crossing times are rounded to next whole minute; seconds are not recorded. The race is held under a handicap basis, with runners estimating their time beforehand and being given a different starting time on the estimation that all runners finish at the same time. Prizes are awarded for first male and female finishers and fastest male and female runners. The race was first held in 1964, running from Ravenscar Beacon to Osmotherley. In 1976, due to moorland fires, the race was run out-and-back, starting in Osmotherley and taking in the first half of the traditional route. By 1998, the race was run from Sheepwash to Ravenscar, and in 2001 was cancelled entirely due to foot-and-mouth disease.


Additional information

The walk has attracted media interest with television coverage, radio programmes and print articles. In its 60th anniversary year, 2015, the BBC Radio 4 feature ''Ramblings'', hosted by
Clare Balding Clare Victoria Balding (born 29 January 1971) is an English broadcaster, journalist, and author. She currently presents for BBC Sport, Channel 4, BT Sport, is the current president of the Rugby Football League (RFL) and formerly presented the ...
, dedicated an episode to the Lyke Wake Walk with broadcast dates 4 June and 6 June 2015. The archives, records and artefacts of the original Lyke Wake Club have been deposited in the North Yorkshire County Archives in Northallerton and Ryedale Folk Museum, Hutton-le-Hole. The ''Lyke Wake Dirge'' has been set to music. One notable setting is part of the ''
Serenade for Tenor, Horn and Strings The ''Serenade for Tenor, Horn and Strings'', Op. 31, is a song cycle written in 1943 by Benjamin Britten for tenor, solo horn and a string orchestra. Composed during the Second World War at the request of the horn player Dennis Brain, it is a ...
'' by
Benjamin Britten Edward Benjamin Britten, Baron Britten (22 November 1913 – 4 December 1976, aged 63) was an English composer, conductor, and pianist. He was a central figure of 20th-century British music, with a range of works including opera, other ...
.


References

{{Reflist


External links


New Lyke Wake Club

Old Lyke Wake walk site
- still open Challenge walks Footpaths in North Yorkshire Long-distance footpaths in England 1955 establishments in the United Kingdom North York Moors