The Little Drummer Boy

Richmond, North Yorkshire, Saturday 4th January 2025.

Our first day trip of the year took us to Richmond, North Yorkshire. This 3.5 mile circular walk took us on a search for the stone of the Little Drummer Boy.

In the 1700s a tunnel was discovered in the grounds of Richmond Castle (or the Market square depending on what version you read) and rumours spread of a secret tunnel from the Castle to Easby Abbey. This of could leave the castle open and vulnerable to invasion or attack, and so soldiers were despatched to seek out the origin of the the tunnel.

Finding that the entrance was way too narrow for even the smallest grown man, the soldiers called forward the little regimental drummer boy. They helped him to squeeze through the gap… passing him a candle to melt upon his cap so to provide some meagre light. An old miners trick!

The intention was for him march the length of the tunnel, all the time maintaining the beat of his drum... and the troops would follow the sound from above ground, mapping the route as they went. They would then retrieve him when he reached the supposed conclusion of the tunnel, somewhere within the grounds of the Abbey.

All seemed to be going well until, abruptly, the drumming stopped. Returning to the entrance, the soldiers shouted for the boy to try and guide him back. No sound could be heard from below. Many a man tried to squeeze through the gap but not one of them could get through. Finally, the rescue attempts were abandoned.

The little drummer boy was never seen again.

Some legends say he was eaten by a hideous monster who lurked in the caverns below ground. Another says that he found the Knights of King Arthur's Round Table who were sleeping - ready to rise in a time of great turmoil when England needed their courage again. This heroic version tells of the little drummer boy reaching a cavern in which these warriors lay, and becoming overwhelmed by a mystical sleep. With heavy eyes, he lay down in slumber beside these knights in armour, ready to rise with them to serve his country again in its time of need.

Regardless of which version you prefer, locals say that the sounds of the drums can be heard on dark nights when the veil between the worlds is thin!

A stone (pictured above) was erected on the spot where the drumming ceased.

Our Route

The walk is reasonably accessible with some steps and narrow sections. Toddlers could make it on foot, but it is not all suitable for push chairs or prams. You can access the stone with a pushchairs on a shorter walk following a reversed route.

We started and finished the circular walk at The Fosse Car Park. You could probably find free parking in the market square, but the carpark has a toilet block (be warned - you need 20p to access the facilities) and we knew that we would be brewing up a cuppa and heating up some soup when we came back to the van, so it suited us. The carpark is reasonably priced and is on the Ring-Go app.

The Fosse waterfalls are right in front of the carpark and there are picnic benches should you want to have a sit down.

Turning left at the carpark, we followed the river Swale to our right, on a clear path (with plenty of bins if you are travelling with dogs). This gradually veered up to the left and then joined the main road which was reached by passing through a gate; We then crossed the road and headed right to walk the bridge over the Swale. We were heading toward the station and the Leisure centre. As the bridge ended, we turned left down some stairs to return to the riverside. If you would prefer an easier route their is a wider path alongside the leisure centre.

There were a number of wild swimming points along the river from the Fosse Carpark and beside the leisure centre - although January weather did not make it appealing!

We kept the river on our left, until the path rose up and away from the water to a wider and more established path. We followed this to the left, and continued until we crossed the Swale on a wide footbridge with wooden planks. The path then curved around to the left, with the Swale now also to the left. Here we saw a group of brave kayakers who were traveling through quite a 'white water' stretch of river. It was fascinating to see them navigate the currents.

The path moved slightly away from the river and opened out at the ruins of Easby Abbey (also known as St. Agatha's Abbey). We crossed the car park to continue on the path, and took a little time to explore the abbey grounds. This is the abbey where the infamous tunnel was claimed to end.

Once we left the Abbey, through the small gate on the path, the public footpath passed through the grounds of a private dwelling, it curved around the house where a kissing gate would make it impossible to pass through with a pram or pushchair.

The path then opened on to a larger grassed area and a wall on our left now separated us from the river. We went through a gate in the wall and took some steps back down to woodland beside the river on our left. We then followed the path through the woodland until it rose away from the river to an established path. It is here that we found the stone of the Drummer boy.

The remainder of the walk is straightforward - we kept to the path. We curved to the left and drop down back towards the river before climbing back up to small road where we headed left back towards the bridge. We crossed over and through the same gate and followed the Swale back to the Fosse Car Park.

Alternative Routes and Tales

This is our first written route so let me advise that you can find a variety of versions of the walk if you search online. One mapped version can be found here . It has a slightly different start point and is carried out in reverse of our walk.

If you wanted to shorten the walk, you could park in the Leisure Centre car park and pick up the walk from there. You could also just walk straight to the stone and then come back if you would prefer. Richmond is a lovely town and there is a lot to see - including the UKs best preserved Regency period theatre.

There really are a number of lovely swimming spots along the beginning of our route, these areas have flags to denote safety levels of the water, and floating devices in case of incidents. They are close to public areas and not so not suitable of you are looking for a private dip!

Easby Abbey was bigger than we expected and we enjoyed exploring. More information on Easby Abbey is available here, along with alternate walking routes.

You can also find a many variations of the Drummer Boy's story, if you search for online. There are too many to list them all. That said, I can recommend Owen Staton and his 'Time Between Times' Podcast. Owen is a friend whose podcast inspired us to start these 'Ghostly Jaunts'. I shared this walk on socials and he included the story of the Drummer boy on his podcast this week. He is on a variety of channels - here is a YouTube Link to his lovely interpretation of the tale. (Spoiler... we may get a mention). Please take time to find and follow him.

Thank you so much for taking time to read this - it really is a first foray for us so hopefully we will improve with time!

Kylie, Danny and Monty