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A little bit of imagination may be needed on this 10 mile circuit in the shadow of Castle Howard stately home, near Malton.

Because the walk, which begins just outside the village of Coneysthorpe, includes a ramble across a ridge overlooking the Vale of Pickering.

Now it’s reckoned that at the end of the Ice Age the Vale was one gigantic lake. It’s an idea put forward more than a hundred years ago by Professor Percy Kendall.

Bluebells on East Moor Banks

With that in mind former geography teacher John Eckersley has compiled a series of walks around the Vale which he’s published under the title: "Exploring Lake Pickering". Profits from the sale of the book go to Christian Aid.

I joined him on one of these walks (walk number two in the book).

We parked our cars just outside Coneysthorpe and headed towards Ray Wood, following the path around the edge of the estate wall to the Temple of the Four Winds.

Before us was a grand bridge crossing what’s called New River. Tree surgeons were busy felling trees on the banks as we passed by.

The walk took us up to woodland on East Moor Banks which in Spring enjoys a magnificent spread of bluebells.

We made one surprise discovery while in the wood: a fungus about the size of a football on the side of a tree trunk.

The walk passes by a weathered tree which John has nicknamed King Oak.

King Oak

The walk leaves the wood offering a view of the village of Welburn nestling in the valley just below and joins two farms, Hutton Hill and High Gaterley.

It’s not long before we have to head up a steep track to the top of a ridge. A short walk on and the Vale of Pickering opens up before us.

Could this really have been filled with water millions of years ago? Perhaps it’s not so hard to imagine especially among those of us who lived through the awful floods of autumn, 2000.

From the ridge we return to the village of Coneysthorpe and its Georgian-style chapel, simple in style but very beautiful. And a fitting end to a delightful walk.