The last time I did this walk the ground was really wet and
in some parts it felt as if I was walking along a stream rather than a
footpath.
I parked up in the small car park in Earby, at least this
time I knew which way to go in the village.
Most of the shops are closed on a Saturday afternoon so nothing to
linger for. I walked up through the
village alongside a small stream and turned off by the Youth Hostel.
A few yards in and I turned down through the woods to cross a small bridge over the stream. From here it was a long pull up towards a sunken path – here I came across a woman laid on the grass with a hat and dust mask on (first thought was I’d come across a dead person) then she said Hi as if everyone laid in the sun with masks on – I guess it must have been to do with grass pollen. Up at the top of the path was a stone seat where I stopped had a drink and took in the views.
From here I went through a gate alongside a wall to pop out on an access road – from here I was just going to cross and take the access road down to Oak Slack when a mini pulled up by me and said there was no right of way down there and I should continue up the road to a stile. I walked up the road – no stile. I read the directions again. It definitely said take the Oak Slack access road. Back down the road I went. When I got to the farm and the small stile to go down the field I knew I was right. Last time the bulrush part of field was sodden. Today bone-dry. At the bottom I turned right through the gate and up the side of a clough. From here I came to a beautiful old derelict farmhouse.
The location reminds me of the old house I stayed in at Northumberland – its very similar isolated and next to a stream. Following the track I came out onto Dodgson Lane – last time I’d gone up and down here a few times trying to find the right gate – this time was no problem – up the hill near the top and through the gate – eventually appearing on heathery ground – passing the ruins of Higher Verjuice Bank.
From here it was a case of following tracks and sunken ways all the way back down to Earby. A really good walk and back in time to listen to the World Cup on the radio.
A few yards in and I turned down through the woods to cross a small bridge over the stream. From here it was a long pull up towards a sunken path – here I came across a woman laid on the grass with a hat and dust mask on (first thought was I’d come across a dead person) then she said Hi as if everyone laid in the sun with masks on – I guess it must have been to do with grass pollen. Up at the top of the path was a stone seat where I stopped had a drink and took in the views.
From here I went through a gate alongside a wall to pop out on an access road – from here I was just going to cross and take the access road down to Oak Slack when a mini pulled up by me and said there was no right of way down there and I should continue up the road to a stile. I walked up the road – no stile. I read the directions again. It definitely said take the Oak Slack access road. Back down the road I went. When I got to the farm and the small stile to go down the field I knew I was right. Last time the bulrush part of field was sodden. Today bone-dry. At the bottom I turned right through the gate and up the side of a clough. From here I came to a beautiful old derelict farmhouse.
The location reminds me of the old house I stayed in at Northumberland – its very similar isolated and next to a stream. Following the track I came out onto Dodgson Lane – last time I’d gone up and down here a few times trying to find the right gate – this time was no problem – up the hill near the top and through the gate – eventually appearing on heathery ground – passing the ruins of Higher Verjuice Bank.
From here it was a case of following tracks and sunken ways all the way back down to Earby. A really good walk and back in time to listen to the World Cup on the radio.
Below is an excerpt I found about Higher Verjuice Farm – I think
the moorland would make it unstable, last time the ground was so wet and boggy
all around it.
The last occupier was a Gwen
Garrity (possibly a relative of Freddie Garrity of Freddie and the Dreamers!)
and she had, I think two sons. She moved to Lower Verjuice. The reason was that
the house had become unstable and also that she had a bad experience with some
bikers who came down the lane. I remember my parents chatting to her on the
doorstep of the house after a family picnic quite nearby. She left around 1962
and the main part of the house collapsed around 1964 or 1965. The barn remained
standing for a long time afterwards. I remember going into the house and it was
still fully furnished, with a settee and chairs and a TV set, but the upstairs
floor was bouncy and a bit scary, but there was still a made-up bed up there.
It must have collapsed shortly after our visit.
Me and my brother and a couple of other kids spent the summer holidays of 1966 in the barn. We were visited by an owl and a rat. I'm not sure when the barn collapsed.
Me and my brother and a couple of other kids spent the summer holidays of 1966 in the barn. We were visited by an owl and a rat. I'm not sure when the barn collapsed.
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