South Cave Loop walk.

Michael Palmer
Mar 6, 2023
7 min read

Updated: Aug 7

South Cave Loop Walk – 3.48 Easy Miles in East Yorkshire

Our 3.48-mile South Cave Loop Walk is a lovely short countryside route on the southern edge of the Yorkshire Wolds.

Lyn and I personally walked and photographed this route for The White Shire, and we rate it as easy.

At under three and a half miles, it's one of our shorter East Yorkshire walks, making it a good choice when we fancy getting outside without committing ourselves to a longer day.

South Cave also gives us something we particularly enjoy – an attractive Yorkshire village surrounded by countryside with considerably more history than we might initially expect.

And this walk provided me with a useful reminder too.

Make sure the battery is charged before recording a route!

Explore more East Yorkshire Walks on The White Shire

South Cave Loop Walk at a Glance

Distance: 3.48 miles

Route type: Loop

Difficulty: Easy – based on our experience

Location: South Cave

County: East Riding of Yorkshire

Area: Southern Yorkshire Wolds

Nearby: Brough, North Cave, Welton and the Humber

Terrain: Village paths, countryside tracks, field paths and woodland sections

Highlights: South Cave, East Yorkshire countryside, woodland and local history

Walked and photographed by: Michael and Lyn Palmer, The White Shire

Our 3.48-Mile South Cave Walk

Lyn and I found this to be a beautiful little countryside walk.

At 3.48 miles, it's a manageable distance, and we didn't find anything about the route particularly demanding.

That's why we've rated it easy.

It's the sort of walk that works well when we want a couple of hours outside rather than a full day's hike.

And because we're starting from South Cave, we've got the added interest of exploring an attractive East Yorkshire village before heading into the surrounding countryside.

Starting in South Cave

South Cave sits close to the southern edge of the Yorkshire Wolds, only a few miles from the Humber.

That puts us in an interesting transition between the rolling chalk countryside of the Wolds and the flatter landscapes closer to the Humber.

The village itself has plenty of character.

South Cave was historically a market settlement, and its buildings, church and surrounding agricultural landscape tell us that people have been living and working here for generations.

For us, villages like this make excellent starting points.

We don't simply park the car and disappear into the countryside.

There's something to discover before we've even started walking.

Out into the East Yorkshire Countryside

Once we leave the village, the walk quickly becomes more rural.

This is the quieter side of East Yorkshire that we're particularly keen to feature on The White Shire.

We're not heading towards a major tourist attraction.

We're simply following paths through countryside, woodland and farmland.

And that's enough.

One thing we're discovering as our East Yorkshire walking collection grows is how varied this part of the county actually is.

The landscape around South Cave feels different from the open Wolds around Huggate and different again from the flatter farmland around Holme-on-Spalding-Moor.

Why We Rate South Cave Easy

Our difficulty ratings are based on how Lyn and I actually experienced each route.

We rate the South Cave Loop as easy.

The 3.48-mile distance is relatively short, and we didn't encounter anything that made us consider moving it into our moderate category.

As always, conditions can change.

Countryside paths may become muddier after prolonged rain, and natural surfaces are never going to be as predictable as a paved footpath.

We'd still wear sensible walking footwear.

But for somebody comfortable walking a few miles through normal countryside, we think this is one of our more approachable routes.

All Saints' Church

One of South Cave's most important historic buildings is All Saints' Church.

Historic England lists the church at Grade II*.

Parts of the building date back to the 13th century, including the chancel arch and transept arch. The west tower dates from the 15th century and was later heightened during the 17th century. (Historic England)

Like many old Yorkshire churches, what we see today isn't the result of one period of construction.

The building has been altered and restored over centuries.

The chancel was rebuilt in 1847 by the notable Victorian architect John Loughborough Pearson, with further 19th-century work following. (Historic England)

Historic England – All Saints' Church, South Cave

A Landscape Shaped by Enclosure

The fields we're walking through today haven't always been divided and organised in quite the same way.

Records held by the East Riding Archives show that South Cave was subject to enclosure during the late 18th century.

The archive holds a South Cave Enclosure Act from 1785, an enclosure map from around the same period and an enclosure award dated 1787. (CalmView)

That might sound like a fairly dry piece of history, but it changed rural landscapes dramatically.

Open and common land was reorganised into individual fields and holdings, helping create many of the boundaries and patterns we associate with the English countryside today.

So even an apparently ordinary field can be part of a much bigger historical story.

Walking Through Working Countryside

Much of the countryside around South Cave remains agricultural.

That's something Lyn and I always try to remember.

We're enjoying the landscape, but the fields, tracks and boundaries are also part of somebody's livelihood.

We stick to recognised public paths, respect crops and livestock and leave gates as we find them.

It's a simple thing, but an important one.

If The White Shire encourages more people to discover Yorkshire's quieter countryside, we also want to encourage people to look after it.

The Battery Goes Flat

There's one slightly embarrassing part of this particular White Shire walk.

When we originally recorded the route, my battery went flat before we'd completed the final section.

Schoolboy error.

That's why the original route recording doesn't show the complete final stretch.

The walk itself is 3.48 miles, but the GPS trace stopped before we did.

I've left this detail in because it's part of what actually happened when Lyn and I walked the route.

We're not pretending every White Shire outing goes perfectly.

Sometimes paths are muddy.

Sometimes we take a wrong turn.

And sometimes somebody forgets to make sure there's enough battery left in the phone.

That's real walking.

Is the South Cave Loop Suitable for Beginners?

Based on our experience, we'd consider this a good option for people looking for a shorter countryside walk.

At 3.48 miles, the distance isn't excessive, and we've rated it easy.

If you're completely new to countryside walking, we'd still recommend having a map or GPS available and wearing appropriate footwear.

But compared with some of our longer, hillier or muddier routes, South Cave is relatively straightforward.

It's also a useful distance if you're gradually building up how far you walk.

South Cave's Changing Landscape

One thing we enjoy about researching these routes afterwards is discovering how the places we've walked through have changed.

East Riding Archives contains a substantial collection of historical material relating to South Cave, including photographs dating from around the mid-19th century onwards.

These show local people, old streets, the church, farms, village events and even flooding in 1912. (CalmView)

It gives us a glimpse of the community behind the landscape.

The countryside isn't simply scenery.

Generations of people have lived, farmed, worked and travelled through the same area we're enjoying on our walk.

More Walks Around the Southern Wolds

South Cave also puts us close to several other White Shire walks.

We've got routes around Welton and Welton Wold, while Market Weighton takes us further north into the Yorkshire Wolds.

That means someone discovering this walk doesn't have to stop here.

There are plenty of other routes nearby to try next.

That's exactly what we want The White Shire to become – not simply a collection of individual blog posts, but a useful resource for discovering Yorkshire on foot.

Explore our East Yorkshire Walks

And if you fancy somewhere completely different, we've got routes across the whole county.

Browse all our Yorkshire Walks

Discovering the Real Yorkshire

South Cave fits perfectly with what we're trying to show through The White Shire.

It isn't about chasing Yorkshire's biggest attractions.

We're walking through an attractive village and ordinary working countryside.

But then we look a little closer.

We find a church containing architecture dating back to the 13th century.

We discover records showing how enclosure reshaped the surrounding landscape in the 18th century.

And we find historical photographs documenting generations of village life.

That's the real Yorkshire we're interested in.

Not only castles, abbeys and famous viewpoints.

The villages, fields, footpaths and communities between them matter too.

About Michael and Lyn

Michael and Lyn Palmer explore Yorkshire together on foot, personally walking and photographing the routes featured on The White Shire.

We're not professional hikers or historians.

We're simply a husband and wife who enjoy getting outside together, discovering interesting places and learning more about Yorkshire as we go.

Our difficulty ratings are based on how we personally experienced each route.

And usually we remember to charge the battery.

South Cave Loop Walk – Our Verdict

Our South Cave Loop Walk measures 3.48 miles.

Lyn and I rate it as easy.

It's a relatively short countryside route, making it a good choice when we want an enjoyable walk without committing ourselves to a long day.

For us, its appeal is the combination of South Cave village, countryside, woodland and the history sitting quietly within the landscape.

All Saints' Church contains medieval fabric dating back to the 13th century, while archive records show how enclosure changed the surrounding countryside during the late 18th century. (Historic England)

And, of course, this is the walk that taught me to check the battery before setting off.

Another 3.48 miles of the real Yorkshire explored on foot.

South Cave loop walk

As you can see the last section of the walk is missing....flat battery, schoolboy error..just follow the red line on the map. This is a beautiful walk.