York

Walk Details:
Date: 4/12/2005
Total ascent: 12m/ 39ft
Total distance walked: 0.58 miles
Walk difficulty: 2/10
Enjoyment rating: 3.5/10
Best bits: Cool water tower
Worst bits: Not bothering to put on my walking boots and getting my shoes muddy; worryingly awkward parking in gateway
Walkers: Anth, Jim
Car Parking: Tricky one this. We just about managed to squeeze a car onto the verge at the road junction at SE 541 472, but I wouldn’t want to park there for too long. Perhaps the best option is to park at the pub at SE 542 469

Top details:
Name: Stock Hill
County top number: 112 of 205
Grid reference: SE 54240 47220 at the water tower (a possible alternative is the slight rise in the nearby field at SE 54388 47319) Map
Height above sea level: 44m/ 144ft
How nice was the top? 3.5/10
Views: 2.5/10
Description/Notes: The highest point in the unitary authority of York is on the small mound forming the foundations for a water tower. A slight rise in a nearby field is approximately the same height, whilst the nearby trig point is marginally lower.

The Walk:

This was the final top today that I had down as vital to bag – if we missed it today we would have to go some distance out of our way to bag it in the future. From the map it looked like it would be very easy, albeit unspectacular. A minor road ran right past the trig point; Simon Edwardes said that the highest point was a bump in the field just to the northwest. Unfortunately we came to the western entrance to the minor road to find it was actually a private track (it was impossible to tell the difference on a black-and-white print of an OS map!) and was secured by a gate. Undaunted we pulled the car up to one side of the gate and clambered swiftly over.

It was a very muddy track and as we walked past an old water tower I started to wish I’d changed into walking boots. It wasn’t long before we came to the trig point, set at the side of the path. It was easy to see the rise in the previous field that Simon had referred to; it was also easy to get to.

From the rise we could see that the water tower we’d passed earlier was also set on a mound, and to our eyes it looked like it could be marginally higher than where we stood. However, we were very wary – we’d learnt from previous tops that the near distance could look higher than it really was. We went to investigate.

The water tower was fenced off, but some planks had been removed from the fence – whether by a previous bagger or by an acquisitive student from the nearby college was anybody’s guess. We wouldn’t have taken them ourselves, but were happy to make use of the hole now afforded to us.

The water tower was rather splendid – an ancient looking sturdy brown-brick structure, with a great girth. The GPS recorded the ground on the north-eastern side as being marginally higher than the rise in the field. And to be quite honest, it was a far better site for the county top anyway.

It had been a trickier but also more interesting top than we expected, and as we vaulted the gate to get back to the car we felt quite satisfied. Nine tops in one day, and we still had a slight chance of breaking our record of ten county tops in a day. On to the next one then…