Walking in North Yorkshire

Captain Cook Country from Great Ayton

8 miles Fine and dry

We parked in Great Ayton High Street and crossed the road near Suggitts Ices to the steel bridge over the River Leven.


Today's walk from The Walker's Guide to the Cleveland Hills

Tom Scott Burns remarks that Great Ayton was known as Canny Yatton and in the early 1800s was the haunt of Au'd Nanny, a notorious witch described in Blakeborough's dialect verse T' Hunt o' Yatton Brigg.

"Her naals they war lang, an' humped war her back,

An baith lugs war pointed, her skin ommaist black... "

Au'd Nanny is long gone thank goodness and when over the bridge we walked by the river along field paths towards Little Ayton.

Waterfall at Great Ayton

Field paths, Captain Cook's Monument in the distance

Little wood before Woodhouse Farm

We often see shrews dead with no apparent cause, perhaps just because they are short lived?

We passed by Woodhouse Farm and after crossing a couple more fields came to a stile and a tarmac road. We followed the road through Low Easby Village and across the Whitby to Middlesbrough Railway line.

Woodhouse Farm

Low Easby

Hunting weathervane at Low Easby

Following the road beyond Low Easby

We stayed on the tarmac road for half a mile before crossing a way-marked stile into fields just before Borough Green Farm, to begin a steady climb to Easby Moor.

Leaving the road

Following waymarks across the fields

We reach a green lane to the moor

Reaching the Moor Gate we turned right to follow our path below the moor to Mill Bank Wood. Entering the wood we walked for over a mile. Our path had been used by motor cycles and horses which had made it very muddy and awkward to walk. TSB says that the wood is named after an old Bleach Mill where woollen cloth was 'fulled' in order to soften and shrink it to a warmer, closer weave. The mill was destroyed on the night of 21st July 1840 when heavy rains caused enormous volumes of water to burst two fishponds at Kildale Hall. A wall of water 40 feet high carried away two stone bridges, a corn mill, sluice gates, an earth dam and the bleaching mill as it rushed towards Great Ayton. We came out of the woods by Bankside Farm. The wind had dropped, the sun was shining and we sat on stones looking down at Kildale to enjoy our coffee and scones.

Entering Mill Bank Wood

Bankside Farm

Looking down on Kildale Church Spire from our coffee stop

Very short legged sheep at Bankside Farm

Refreshed we followed the farm road uphill from Bankside Farm until we came to a fork where we turned left to walk through the trees of Coate Moor. A gentle climb along a distinct path led us to Captain Cook's Monument.

Forestry path on Coate Moor

Approaching the Monument

Inscription on Captain Cook's Monument

View of Roseberry Topping from Captain Cook's Monument

After admiring the monument and reading its inscription we continued across Easby Moor between two stone gate posts before reaching a clearly marked path downhill to our left.

Easby Moor

Great Ayton appears top left in the distance

Looking back at the Monument

We bear left downhill at the waymark

Our path was once more made difficult by horse and bike use and we slipped and slithered until we came to a steep descent which we negotiated with care.

Sliding downhill

We get a nice view of Roseberry Topping

Looking down at Great Ayton

The path levelled out and we walked through the mud alongside Nanny Howe to our right, which is where Au'd Nanny held midnight orgies at the legendary Devil's Court. Sadly unmolested we continued to reach the Ayton to Gribdale road where we admired a couple of very tidily kept cottages.

Ayton from our path

Roseberry to the right of our path

Very muddy tracks

Cockerel at Ayton Road

Attractive cottages on Ayton Road

Strong feelings. We passed several of these signs.

We crossed the tarmac road and followed the farm track to Airy Holme Farm where Captain Cook's father was bailiff in 1736 and where the family took up residence. Continuing along the track brought us to tiny Airy Holme Cottage where we turned sharp left to cross fields to Cliff Rigg Quarry where whinstone was mined. This whinstone is the only example of volcanic rock on the North Yorshire Moors and TSB explains that it originated 58 million years ago in a volcanic eruption off the West Coast of Scotland.

Airy Holme Farm, Captain Cook's father was bailiff here

Remains of winching gear for Cliff Rigg Quarry

Looking down into Cliff Rigg Quarry

After reading the quarry's information sign we followed the path straight downhill, crossed the railway line once more and followed a muddy path alongside Cleveland Lodge, which led us back into Great Ayton.

Walking through the village we had a look at a bronze statue of Captain Cook on the village green and next to it, a modern basketwork memorial in memory of the fallen of the First World War. Walking on through the village I was surprised to see my son and granddaughter by the water feeding the ducks, and when we went down to chat to them we were even more surprised when a rat swam from under the river bank and emerged to steal the duck's bread.