YCG - Events - Outing to Ryedale

Outing to Ryedale - 4th March 2006

Group photo outside Kirkbymoorside church
(l-r) Charlotte Elkington, Karen Owen, David Bryant, Daisy Davies, Matthew Greenaway, Arthur Reeves, Kevin Atkinson, James Knowles, Allen Eccles, Lizzy Usher, Michael Harrison, David Denbigh

'Twas a bright winter morning, with a sky of azure blue and the yellow rays of the brilliant sun sparkling off of the previous days' snowfall which still lay on the hard, ringing ground.

At the University of York, in the stillness generally associated with the early hours of a Saturday morning - especially at the university where the weekend somnolence usually lasts at least until lunch time - a group of students and ex-students gathered in a car park.

The car park in question, that in front of Costcutter, was the designated meeting-point for those availing themselves of the golden opportunity to go and ring on a carefully hand-picked selection of the finest bells which Ryedale has to offer. Unusually, nobody had to be roused from their slumber, and thus it was that at the appointed hour a convoy of three cars set off northwards on the A64 towards Malton.

The journey passing without mishap, and less than an hour later the occupants the the vehicular trio were standing in the churchyard at Norton-juxta-Malton. The keys to the large Victorian edifice which serves the liturgical needs to Norton's faithful were duly procured, and the assembled company ascended to the large, low-ceilinged ringing chamber. The bells, a contender for the best eight in Yorkshire (by Messrs Taylor, naturally), were raised in peal and a variety of six and eight bell touches rung. At the allotted time, the bells were rung down and the short journey to the next tower was undertaken. St Leonard's, Malton, stands proudly on a hill at the highest point of the little town. It was formerly one of two Church of England places of worship in Malton, but having become redundant was acquired by the local Roman Catholic congregation.

The atmospheric ringing chamber is situated on a gallery, with the arch into the church filled by a huge stained glass window. The bells presented some difficulty to those in the party used to the easy-going rings of York, but despite this some reasonable ringing was achieved.

Pressing onwards, the vehicular procession passed though the pretty little town of Pickering, and halted beside the church in the nearby village of Middleton. The slender tower of the church, standing amongst trees at the back of its large graveyard, contains one of Yorkshire's most recent rings of six, augmented from four in 2003. The bells, easy-going and pleasant-sounding, proved popular with all. Once ringing has ended, your scribe ventured into the higher reaches of the tower to view the bells themselves - viewing at least one ring of bells being an essential part of any ringing outing.

The landlady of local hostelry, The Middleton Arms, had kinds agreed open specially in order to provide sustenance for the group of weary travellers, and several large plates of sandwiches and bowls of home-made chips were dispatched with undue haste. Any travellers passing along this route would be well advised to visit this most excellent of public houses.

Several pints later, and steps were retraced to Pickering. The church on the hill contains a very fine series of medieval wall paintings, but of more immediate interest was the ring of eight bells contained within its tower. As is often the case, post-lunch lethargy resulted in some of the ringing being not as good as it perhaps could have been, but that notwithstanding the bells proved very enjoyable.

Departing from Pickering, and onwards to Kirkbymoorside. This, the final church of the day, contains another complete ring, this time of six, by Messrs Taylor. Lassitude had diminished somewhat, and the ringing was rather better than that at Pickering.

It was now several hours since lunch was consumed in Middleton, and accordingly further sustenance was required. Thomas the Baker in Helmsley's Market Place provided the necessary edibles, and the trio of cars then headed back towards the city in the vale, as dusk began to settle over the rolling countryside.

Back in York, what could prove a more fitting continuation of the day than a quarter peal? Nothing, surely. Keys to Spurriergate were therefore collected, and a quarter duly rung. To conclude the day, some risked the liquid fare on offer in the university bars, whilst others headed for home.

To conclude, thanks are due to Arthur Reeves for organising the outing; to David Potter, Lizzy Usher and Karen Owen for driving; to the local ringers and church authorities who allowed us to use their bells, and last but definitely not least to the landlady of the Middleton Arms for an excellent lunch.

David Bryant