Lyke Wake Walk
Encyclopedia
The Lyke Wake Walk was started by a local farmer, Bill Cowley, in the North Riding of Yorkshire
, England, in 1955. He claimed that one could walk 40 miles (64.4 km) over the North York Moors from east to west (or vice-versa) on heather
all the way except for crossing one or two roads and he issued a challenge that walkers took up with great enthusiasm. He challenged them to walk it in less than 24 hours from Scarth Wood Moor, near Osmotherley, to Ravenscar
. He concentrated on the west to east route because the prevailing wind came from the west, in principle making it easier to walk with the wind on one's back and with the heather lying away from the walker.
The walk took its name from the Lyke Wake Dirge, probably Yorkshire's oldest dialect
verse, which takes its name from the watching wake
over the corpse (lyke) The song tells of the soul's passage through the afterlife. The walk was not meant to be taken as the route of a funeral party
but the possibility of bad weather and difficult conditions make it an appropriate club song.
The end result of completing the walk was a terrific sense of achievement and a black-edged card from the Chief Dirger (Bill Cowley).
The first years of the walk were difficult as there was no worn track but eventually the walk had to be re-thought because the numbers of people attempting it played havoc on the ground surface. Now various alternative routes are offered and the Walk club works with the National Park
Authority to try to limit the environmental damage.
Bill Cowley died on 14 August 1994. The 'old' Lyke Wake Club, which he founded, closed down in October 2005, the Walk's fiftieth anniversary. However, a 'new' club has been established - not without controversy http://archive.thenorthernecho.co.uk/2005/4/22/15665.html - to preserve the traditions established by Cowley and to take over the old club's functions of recording crossings, holding wakes and liaising with public authorities.
Note: The Lyke Wake Dirge has been set to music with various tunes. One notable setting is part of the Serenade for Tenor, Horn and Strings
by Benjamin Britten
.
Yorkshire
Yorkshire is a historic county of northern England and the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its great size in comparison to other English counties, functions have been increasingly undertaken over time by its subdivisions, which have also been subject to periodic reform...
, England, in 1955. He claimed that one could walk 40 miles (64.4 km) over the North York Moors from east to west (or vice-versa) on heather
Calluna
Calluna vulgaris is the sole species in the genus Calluna in the family Ericaceae. It is a low-growing perennial shrub growing to tall, or rarely to and taller, and is found widely in Europe and Asia Minor on acidic soils in open sunny situations and in moderate shade...
all the way except for crossing one or two roads and he issued a challenge that walkers took up with great enthusiasm. He challenged them to walk it in less than 24 hours from Scarth Wood Moor, near Osmotherley, to Ravenscar
Ravenscar, North Yorkshire
Ravenscar is a coastal village in the Scarborough district of North Yorkshire, England, approximately north of Scarborough. It is within the civil parish of Staintondale....
. He concentrated on the west to east route because the prevailing wind came from the west, in principle making it easier to walk with the wind on one's back and with the heather lying away from the walker.
The walk took its name from the Lyke Wake Dirge, probably Yorkshire's oldest dialect
Dialect
The term dialect is used in two distinct ways, even by linguists. One usage refers to a variety of a language that is a characteristic of a particular group of the language's speakers. The term is applied most often to regional speech patterns, but a dialect may also be defined by other factors,...
verse, which takes its name from the watching wake
Wake (ceremony)
A wake is a ceremony associated with death. Traditionally, a wake takes place in the house of the deceased, with the body present; however, modern wakes are often performed at a funeral home. In the United States and Canada it is synonymous with a viewing...
over the corpse (lyke) The song tells of the soul's passage through the afterlife. The walk was not meant to be taken as the route of a funeral party
Funeral
A funeral is a ceremony for celebrating, sanctifying, or remembering the life of a person who has died. Funerary customs comprise the complex of beliefs and practices used by a culture to remember the dead, from interment itself, to various monuments, prayers, and rituals undertaken in their honor...
but the possibility of bad weather and difficult conditions make it an appropriate club song.
The end result of completing the walk was a terrific sense of achievement and a black-edged card from the Chief Dirger (Bill Cowley).
The first years of the walk were difficult as there was no worn track but eventually the walk had to be re-thought because the numbers of people attempting it played havoc on the ground surface. Now various alternative routes are offered and the Walk club works with the National Park
National parks of England and Wales
The national parks of England and Wales are areas of relatively undeveloped and scenic landscape that are designated under the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949...
Authority to try to limit the environmental damage.
Bill Cowley died on 14 August 1994. The 'old' Lyke Wake Club, which he founded, closed down in October 2005, the Walk's fiftieth anniversary. However, a 'new' club has been established - not without controversy http://archive.thenorthernecho.co.uk/2005/4/22/15665.html - to preserve the traditions established by Cowley and to take over the old club's functions of recording crossings, holding wakes and liaising with public authorities.
Note: The Lyke Wake Dirge has been set to music with various tunes. One notable setting is part of the Serenade for Tenor, Horn and Strings
Serenade for Tenor, Horn and Strings
The Serenade for Tenor, Horn and Strings is a song cycle written in 1943 by the English composer Benjamin Britten, scored for tenor accompanied by a solo horn and a small string orchestra...
by Benjamin Britten
Benjamin Britten
Edward Benjamin Britten, Baron Britten, OM CH was an English composer, conductor, and pianist. He showed talent from an early age, and first came to public attention with the a cappella choral work A Boy Was Born in 1934. With the premiere of his opera Peter Grimes in 1945, he leapt to...
.
External links
- New Lyke Wake Club
- Old Lyke Wake walk site - still open