Woods & Maltongate

Directions

1. From the car park, follow the entrance road with the playing field on your left.
2. Slip into the woods just before the small bridge, two minutes from the car and already under trees.
3. Follow the stream, passing a field with sheep, chickens and a horse in it, until you reach a five-bar gate.
4. Turn right and cross two footbridges. The stretch between them is the best paddling in the village, and there is a dog-waste bin between the two. Look down from the bridges for brown trout holding in the shade.
5. Head north on Maltongate back to the start.

Before you set off

• Muddy from November to March: not a route for clean shoes.
• Livestock in the field beside the stream, including chickens and a horse.
• Check the beck is not in spate before paddling.
• Close every gate behind you. Several routes cross land with sheep, and a few have chickens and a horse alongside the path.
• Keep dogs under close control everywhere, and on a lead near livestock, in the churchyards and through the village.
• After heavy rain, check that Thornton Beck is not in spate before using the low beckside stretches or paddling.
• Distances, total ascent, gate and stile counts and current path conditions are not published in this guide, so carry OS Explorer map coverage or a mapping app.