Descend the steps from the south terrace of Kilnwick Percy Hall and follow the path past the disused church to pick up the waymarked footpath leading over the hill to the B 1246. Cross into Featherbed Lane, passing Glebe House on the right (with its memorial to a famous English lady alongside its back garden gate). Go down the lane to the first field gate on the left and cross in to the field. This is a permissive path for this walk only, so please keep all gates closed.
Follow the field edge to a second gate and continue ahead up the sheep pasture with the fence on your left. At the third gate pass the entrance to Wold Farm and turn right on to the Yorkshire Wolds Way. As the tarmac farm road turns through disused farm buildings the Wolds Way bears slightly right on to a track leading to a gate and stile into a large field. Continue downhill to a footpath on the left (Hessy Barn). Turn left off the YWW here and follow the track to where, just after a turning left, the footpath continues, less distinctly, through the centre of a narrow wood heading north to the B 1246.
Cross the B 1246 to the lane ahead and continue uphill past the limestone quarry on the left. Shortly after reaching the plantation on the right look for the track going left to Warren Farm (FP sign on the wood edge on your right). At Warren Farm Checkpoint 1 (GR841520) turn right on to the Yorkshire Wolds Way. Follow this as it crosses Sylvan Dale and Nettle Dale (steep ascents and descents, so take care). Where the YWW turns right on the other side of Nettle Dale continue ahead to the road through Pasture Dale.
Cross to two sets of new gates to the new open access areas. Ignore the wooden gates and go through the twin metal gates on the right. Go ahead up the steep hillside, bearing left towards the top to a new wooden gate at the left of a plantation. Go through the gate and continue along the top, parallel to the fence, along the ancient earthworks.
You are now approaching one of the little-known mysteries of the Wolds as the ridge top becomes a Bronze Age earthwork leading to Huggate Dikes (purpose unknown, but possibly carved out with deer antlers by prehistoric man). Turn right up the Dikes to a steel gate with a "No Access" sign. We have permissive access for this walk, so cross and turn left along the chalk farm track.
Where the track reaches the road (York Lane) cross right then left to a track (another permissive access) on the right of the hedge leading down to a gate into Horse Dale. Climb over into the dale and, keeping above the nettle beds, look for the footpath and wooden gate at the end of the bushes on the left. Go left through the gate and follow the footpath (Chalklands Way) uphill to a gate and the fieldside path to Checkpoint 2 (GR862569) on the entrance road to Wold House Farm.
SHORT ROUTE: The short route turns left here to York Lane and then right along the lane to the Wayrham Picnic Site where it rejoins the long route).
From the checkpoint continue ahead on the fieldside path on the left of the hedge to where the path exits to the lane at the junction with the A166. This road is likely to be busy with traffic to the coast so cross with care to the lane opposite and continue to the entrance track to Riggs Farm on the right.
This is another permissive access for this walk. Follow the track through the farmyard to the gate to the right of the corrugated iron barn. Take the track through the copse for a good view of Horse Dale before turning left down the dale. At the gate at the dale bottom turn left and curve round into Brubber Dale where the Wolds Way crosses en route from Thixendale to Fridaythorpe. As the whole of Brubber Dale is now open access continue through the new wooden gate ahead to the end of the dale where new gates in the right hand corner give access to Thixendale Road.
Turn left up the road and near the top of the hill, opposite Gritts Farm, take the unmarked County road on the right. Where the tarmac ends at Paradise Cottages continue ahead through an old wooden gate to where, a few yards into the field, the old County road curves downhill to the left as a clearly marked chalk track.
Where the track ends turn left along the field for 100 metres to a stepover gap on to the road into Thixendale. Turn left for a few metres and then right at a wide entrance to the meadows. After 50 metres turn left along the right of way into the village passing the cricket field and white-painted pub. Turn right along the village street to Checkpoint 3 (GR842611) at the Village Hall.
From the Village Hall turn right to return along the village street to the T-junction at the end. Turn right and you are now back on the Yorkshire Wolds Way which continues along the lane ahead before turning off on to a track into Thixendale on the left.
Halfway along Thixendale the Wolds Way does a U-turn to go steeply up the dale side to the crossing of Brubber Dale, passed earlier. Ignore this. The Tranquility Trail continues ahead on the waymarked path through Bradeham Dale. Follow the path through to Wayrham Dale, taking care to make the waymarked turn into this dale after the wooded section of Bradeham Dale.
At the A166 cross into the Wayrham Picnic Site and Checkpoint 4 (GR835567 - Checkpoint 3 for the Short Route which rejoins at this point). From the checkpoint cross the slip road into the lane to Huggate Look for the footpath and sign immediately on the right. Go through the small spinney to the stile. Ahead to the next stile, cross and turn right along the hedge side and follow the path through to the Roman Road. Turn left along the road to the FP sign on the right (GR828559).
Go right along the track through two farm gates. Curve off the track to go steeply downhill to the left of a line of bushes on the right to the stile at the bottom of Deepdale. The foopath continues ahead up steps on the steep hillside but, through another permissive access only for this walk, turn left along the Dale bottom to join the track coming parallel down the hillside from the right. Continue ahead through Deepdale as a stream develops on the right of the track.
Before the track starts to turn left uphill look carefully for a crossways planked bridge over the stream on the right with a wooden farm gate beyond. Go through the gate and turn left following the old track parallel to the stream, passing lakes and springs, to a farm gate. Go through and take care crossing a stream running down the hillside and across the track to reach a gate (faded no entry sign on the other side) into Givendale and a return to well-known footpaths (Minster Way).
Turn left through another farm gate and follow the waymarked path steeply uphill to another gate. Ignore the field side path continuing uphill to the left and turn right along the footpath/track to Little Givendale Farm and the road beyond.
Cross into the lane to Checkpoint 5 (CP4 for the short route, GR827525) then continue ahead to the village of Millington. After crossing the road into the village look for the Minster Way footpath sign on the left. Follow the path alongside the stream to the stile and (often muddy) crossing on to the wold and continue steeply up to the stile on to the Yorkshire Wolds Way near Warren Farm.
Turn right along the Wolds Way and follow it all the way through to the road. The Wolds Way turns left but continue ahead along the lane, passing the two entrances to Home Farm and houses on the left, to take the third turning leading to Kilnwick Percy village and the Madhyamata Centre.
Congratulations on completing The Tranquility Trail. We hope it has captured for you the beauty and peace of the Wolds countryside.
Our thanks to the following farmers and landowners whose co-operation on access has made this walk possible: