Welcome to Wicstun
The mediaeval town now known as
Market Weighton - The Heart of East Yorkshire
750 Years a Market Town, 1251 - 2001

Walking, Rambling and Cycling in The Market Weighton Area

Because of Market Weighton's position at the edge of the Wolds, it is within easy reach of the many public footpaths and rights of way to be found in East Yorkshire.  These include two long distance footpaths, the Yorkshire Wolds Way and the Minster Way, and the shorter Hudson Way.  The North Sea Cycle Route - Route 66 also passes through the town.

The Hudson Way

This footpath traces the route of the former railway line between Market Weighton and Beverley, which was opened on 1st May1865 and, sadly, closed to passenger services with the last train on 29th November 1965, following closure by Dr Beeching in that year.  The path, which covers a distance of 11 miles is named after George Hudson, the 19th century railway pioneer.  The history of the line is graphically covered in a publication by Stephen Chapman, see Hudson's Way.

Kiplingcotes Railway Station

The route passes through Kiplingcotes, where the railway station and the recently restored station box still remain.  The signal box is now an information centre run by The Yorkshire Wolds Heritage Trust in partnership with the East Riding of Yorkshire Council.  The project was initiated as a result of a grant from the Millennium Awards for All Scheme to the Yorkshire Wolds Heritage Trust.  The signal box is equipped with basic information about Kiplingcotes, the George Hudson Way, Market Weighton, Beverley, local villages, the geology, archaeology, flora and fauna of the surrounding area and its place in the story of the Yorkshire Wolds.

The old Signal Box, Kiplingcotes Railway Station

The station was built in 1864 especially for Lord Hotham who lived at nearby Dalton Hall, and to serve a few remote farms.  It had little to offer dismounting passengers, being out in remote countryside, apart from a few cottages and the beauty of the Wolds.

Much of the path is designated as a linear nature reserve, and the keen observer will see a wide variety of flora and fauna on the route.

Image produced from the Ordnance Survey Get-a-map service.
Image reproduced with kind permission of Ordnance Survey and Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland

After leaving Market Weighton towards Beverley and passing beneath a road bridge the footpath passes St Helen's Well, one of Yorkshire's sacred wells.  The well is in a wooded grotto, between Hudson's Way and the road passing through Spring Dale.
About 2 miles from the town is the Kiplingcotes Chalk Pit nature reserve, administered by the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust, and much favoured by local bird watchers.
Before reaching Beverley the route passes close to the villages of Goodmanham, Etton, South Dalton and Cherry Burton, all of which are picturesque Wolds villages and well worth a visit.

South Dalton especially is worth a slight detour, where the beautiful church of St Mary with its tall steeple is visible for miles around.


Ordnance Survey maps:-  Ordnance Survey Explorer 293 and 294

Useful Links

The Ramblers Association
Walking on the Web - Walking in England

Last revision : 26 February, 2004

For those wishing to read more on the various topics covered, the following publications are recommended....

The Hudson Way

Hudson's Way, The story of the York-Beverley railway.
Author, Stephen Chapman
Published by York Railpress, 1986
ISBN 0 946371 01 6

Lost Railways of East Yorkshire, 2nd Edn.
P G Mason
Wolds Publications, Driffield, 1992

See also: ............
Yorkshire Wolds Wanderings
A guide to walking, cycling and touring in the Yorkshire Wolds
David F Walford
Santona Publications, Hull, 1997
ISBN 0 9507960 4 2