Newton-on-Rawcliffe

Limestone Green and Hidden Church

The Old Vicarage wears a patterned slate roof that sets it apart from its neighbours, most of which are built from local limestone under clay pantiles, with brick chimneys. Newton-on-Rawcliffe is a linear village: houses strung along a broad green with a duck pond near its middle, four miles north of Pickering by minor roads. Stand on the green and look south, and the view opens across farmland and pockets of forest.

St John's is easy to walk past, set back from the road behind a stone wall and mature trees. The present building was begun in 1866 and consecrated in 1870, replacing a small wooden chapel of ease that had stood since 1689. It remains a simple, peaceful mid-Victorian country church, with an 1894 Harrison & Harrison organ, strong acoustics and an unusual clock mechanism left on show.

Inside the White Swan

The White Swan is a family-run free house with a front bar, dining room and rear lounge. Chef Bryan's home-cooked menu includes fresh battered haddock with chips, peas and tartare sauce; minted lamb shank with creamy mash and seasonal vegetables; homemade pie of the day; a seafood platter; local pork pie with salad, homemade coleslaw, pickle and cheese; and homemade cheesecake. The regular cask ale is Timothy Taylor Landlord, alongside a couple of changing summer beers. Dogs are welcome in the front bar but not in the restaurant during food service. The large rear garden has an undercover shelter. The Grade II listed stone building dates from the late 18th or early 19th century and has a gabled porch and sash windows.

Forest and Railway Walks

A bridleway beside the caravan park leads towards Levisham Station and beyond; the descent from the village is steep. The Cropton Forest circular is a six-mile loop starting on Rawcliff Road, climbing around 431 metres through woods and clearings and crossing Green Raygate Spring, Scarfhill Beck and Sole Beck. The Newtondale Walk starts at the railway car park in the valley and mixes six miles of easy valley-bottom walking with steep, rocky ascents and the sight and sound of North Yorkshire Moors Railway trains. There are no toilets on the circuit.

Practical Access and Provisions

There is no village shop, post office or garage. Four miles south, Pickering offers provisions alongside a market place, Norman castle, railway terminus and Beck Isle Museum. Malton is the nearest National Rail station, about twelve miles away. The weekly 173 bus links Pickering and Rosedale via Newton-on-Rawcliffe; the other two listed routes are school-permit services.

A Field Made for Families

Children do better than the shortage of shops suggests. The one-acre playing field, at the top of the village, began with two boys asking for it at a parish meeting in 1998; the land was bought in 2001, foot-and-mouth held up the work, and it opened on the Golden Jubilee day in 2002. It has a play area, an all-year hard court marked for tennis, picnic tables, and a permanent barbecue that visiting families are welcome to use.