Dob Park Lodge & The Hunter's Stones

Dob (or Dog, as the original reference may be mispelt) Park lodge looms over the Washburn Valley, looking much like some kind of idyllic setting from a Turner painting.

The 17th century hunting lodge holds some folkloric charm as the setting for a tale about a farmer following a tunnel into its hidden cellars and happening upon a golden horde, complete with slavering barguest, who told him to either drink from a cup, pull a sword from a scabbard or open the chest. The Farmer tasted the cup which scalded him and he ran, becoming white haired and leaving the treasure behind. A barguest also stalks the roads around Almscliffe crag (and of course, there also exists a tunnel!), visible in the distance.

Down through the woods to the beautiful ancient packhorse bridge over the Washburn river the trail brings us to Folly Hall woods, an area with megalithic boulders and cup and rings.

and further up the pine woods of Norwood Edge. Overlooking the golf balls of Menwith Hill, this is a remote edge of wilderness, where the bodies of Yvonne Fit and Leanne Tiernan were buried in shallow graves.

The plantation is dense and hard to navigate, wandering through the trees we stumbled upon a tiny shack tucked away in the trees. The Hunter stones lie within, mostly hidden and slightly off the footpath.

The rocks remind again of Almscliffe, wart well-like pools dotted around and deep crevices to slide down, only without the gut-wrenching drop to keep you on your toes. It is a short walk from here on to little Almscliffe, the cup and ring'd fractal sibling of the big one.