Egton Bridge Walk, The Lone Tree & moors full of heather in North Yorkshire

A lone tree on Egton High Moor surrounded by a carpet of flowering heather near Egton Bridge on the North York Moors

A lone tree on Egton High Moor surrounded by a carpet of flowering heather as the sun sets, near Egton Bridge on the North York Moors. What this image doesn't capture is the aroma of heather which just added to the beauty of this place. © Stuart Hodgson 2014

Heather in the North York Moors & The Lone Tree at Egton High Moor

For anyone familiar with the North York Moors, you will know that in late summer when the heather blooms the landscapes here take on another level of beauty.

For this trip I wanted to photograph some of these heather covered landscapes and decided to pay a visit to Egton High Moor as it's coated in the stuff and there is a lovely little wind battered pine tree that sits there all by itself way up high on the moors.

The lone tree on Egton Moor provides a nice little focal point to the heather coated landscape.

You can actually drive right over a lot of the moors - but the roads are very narrow. At certain points going up the steep banks I'm praying another car isn't coming the other way haha

As you can see from above - you can park the car fairly close to this particular lone tree. For any photographers out there this is great as it doesn't involve miles of walking to only find that the conditions aren't great! For me this was perfect as I was hoping to capture a shot of the lone tree just as the sun was setting and didn't fancy a walk back in the dark!

lone tree Egton Moor map, near Egton Bridge, North York Moors

With my blog one of my aims is to inspire people to get out and about and maybe even visit (and photograph) some of the stunning places I have seen. So above you can see the exact location of the lone tree (blue arrow) on Egton High Moor. If you are driving here - it's best to head for Egton Bridge (north of the lone tree), and then follow either of the 2 (very narrow) roads near to where the blue arrow is.

heather north york moors, lone tree egton bridge

Getting up close to the lone tree. On the particular evening I visited the wind was calm and it was very quiet. I love these places that are removed from any hint of civilisation, where there aren't any sounds and all you can here is the blowing wind - very peaceful, and quite rare in this day and age. You could also smell the aroma of heather in the air - which I'd never experienced before - it reminded me a little of pine forests but much more subtle. Such a special & unique location.

heather north york moors. A lone tree on Egton High Moor surrounded by a carpet of flowering heather near Egton Bridge on the North York Moors

A lone tree on Egton High Moor surrounded by a carpet of flowering heather near Egton Bridge on the North York Moors. © Stuart Hodgson 2014. This I think is the best photo of my evening in the North York Moors. The heather is a wonderful sight in itself, but the tree adds to the composition and I was lucky that the setting sun wasn't obscured totally by clouds so the last rays of the sun cast a warm glow on the horizon. I always hang around after the sun sets to see if the sky will be lit up by oranges and reds - but as there were few clouds in the sky then this wasn't to be. Not to worry though - I'd seen some stunning landscapes, and witnessed first hand the unique beauty of the North York Moors - which has made me want to come back and explore the North York Moors further.

Walks from Egton Bridge, North York Moors

Cascading falls on the River Esk near the Stepping Stones at Egton Bridge

If you are in the Egton Bridge area, it's a great place for a number of circular walks around the River Esk.

Circular Walk from Egton Bridge, taking in Arncliffe Woods

Egton Bridge, Glaisdale, walk, map, Arncliffe Woods, River Esk, Coast to Coast, Heather, North York Moors

This is a lovely little circular walk of around 4.5 miles and can be done from either Egton Bridge or Glaisdale (starting from the Arncliffe Arms). There is a great pub in Egton Bridge too so don't let that sway you :-) What's great about this leisurely walk is it's quite varied for what it is, with a bit of woodland through Arncliffe Wood, the Stepping Stones at Egton Bridge, some on an off road paths - and some nice walking along the River Esk. A section of this walk is also part of the Coast2Coast Walking Route.

If you want to know more I discovered this walking route here (and you can find more detailed walking instructions) http://northyorkshire.me.uk/files/4513/7777/8327/Walk_4.pdf

If you know of any other excellent walks in the area - then let me know in the comments section! Thanks for reading, Stuart

Happy Hiking!

Post by Stuart Hodgson
'The Hiking Photographer'

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