Via Sharow Cross (the only original surviving sanctuary stone, and a Grade-II listed building!), the Ure Bridge, Ripon Racecourse, and of course the Water Rat pub.
Directions below.
Directions
Head out of Ripon and turn right off the bypass towards Sharow.
After about a quarter of a mile, turn right down Sharow Lane – noting Sharow Cross on the left-hand corner as you turn.
Head downhill and after a few hundred yards, park up where the road flattens and widens between two fields. You’ll see a big black bin and a slight fork in the track (Lowfield Lane) on your right. Head down the track bear and follow it round to the left.
Stay on the track – it will narrow, but keep going. You will soon pass Sharow Hall and its estate on the left, leading to the edge of fields and woods, eventually bearing right into a field adjacent to the B6265 (which is the ‘windmill’ road to Boroughbridge). At the right time of the year, this field is often full of poppies.
Bear right along that field, skirting the right-hand edge, and emerge onto the B6265 near the Blackamoor pub. Turn right and – watching for traffic – head over the bridge over the River Ure towards the Racecourse. Just before you cross the bridge, look out for the replacement santuary market on your right.
After a few hundred yards, turn right before the allotments down Fisher Green Road. Bear left past the water-treatment works and follow the path through the trees along the banks of the River Skell. Look out for kingfishers and bears.
Make your way along the river for a well-deserved drink at the pub.
Then home to process your 700 images…