Walking in North Yorkshire: October 2015

The Lord Stones to Cringle Moor and Clough

6 miles Sunny and still

I was single-crewed today as Clive was busy with home improvements. Today's walk is a pleasant and varied stroll, with a fine ridge walk along Cringle Moor followed by an amble into Raisdale and back alongside Bilsdale West Moor. I parked at Lord Stones Cafe and then, as it was so sunny, bought a coffee and sat outdoors reading Tom Scott Burns's description of what was to come, before donning my boots and setting off.

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


The Lord Stones Cafe

Tom Scott Burns explains that the Lord Stones Cafe takes its name from the Three Lords' Stones tumulus, which is situated immediately behind the cafe. The modern name for the tumulus derives from the three estate boundaries held by the landowning lords, Helmsley, Busby and Whorlton, which meet here.

I walked through the cafe grounds and then turned right to climb up to the summit of Cringle Moor, and the stone memorial often called Falconer's Seat, and named after Alec Falconer, who was a history teacher at my grammar school and also wrote the 'Wayfarer' column in the Saturday Evening Gazette in the 1950s. There's a great view from this spot and the memorial's plaque points out all the surrounding features, many of which were visible in today's lovely weather. I walked on and after about 100 yards looked down onto a rockface where someone had carved 'Tempus exploro omnis negotium', which roughly translates as "I'll try anything once and everything in time."

Sign near the path at Lord Stones

Walking up towards Falconer's Seat

Looking Back to Lord Stones and Carlton Bank

The view from Falconer's Seat

What can you spot?

Tempus Exploro Omnis Negotium

The path from Falconer's Seat is also part of the Cleveland Way and the Coast to Coast Walk, and has lovely views down into Cleveland. Over to the right is the tumulus of Drake Howe at 1427', which according to tradition is said to hide a gold chest. TSB explains that in order to obtain the treasure not a word has to be spoken during the excavating operation and a story is told that two men digging for the gold observed the tradition until the chest was being lifted from its grave and one of them said, "Wa hev it noo!" The chest immediately sank out of sight into the depths.

Drake Howe Tumulus

The view towards Great Broughton and Roseberry from the ridge

Larson Trap

A steep descent from Cringle Moor (from Cranimoor - circular moor) had to be negotiated with care as the rocky path was wet from last night's rain. Down to the right was a larson trap with a pheasant sat boldly on the roof. When the trap is baited, magpies and crows enter through the slots in the roof and then can't get back out. Passing the old stone remains of Donna Cross I reached a sign with the words Beak Hills, where I turned right. A walk across a grassy field brought me to a path which changed from grass to stone and then eventually tarmac. This is apparently an ancient pannierman's trod, along which lime, fish, salt, jet and alum were once transported. The path makes pleasant walking, with Cold Moor to the left and a pretty patchwork of fields to the right. I walked along passing Beak Hills Farm, Cold Moor Cote Farm and eventually reached Stone Intake Farm, where I turned right off the path just before the farm buildings.

Looking back at Cringle Moor from Donna Cross

The remains of Donna Cross

Turn right here, towards Beak Hills

Fortunately the cattle showed little interest in me

The Pannierman's Lane to Raisdale

Approaching Cold Moor Cote


Pannierman's Lane was wick with pheasants

Looking across fields, the little walked path from Stone Intake Farm

Turning off the pannierman's trod through a hedge via a stile took me into descending fields down into Raisdale where I joined the Raisdale Road, which runs from Chop Gate to Carlton, and turned right. A hundred yards brought me to the entrance to Raisdale Mill on the left hand side, where I walked down to the old mill buildings. My path went through the mill buildings and just before it entered a field there was a picnic table, ideally positioned for me to pause for coffee and scones.

Walking through fields to Raisdale Road

Turning off Raisdale Road into Raisdale Mill

Old mill buildings

Looking back to the mill from my coffee stop

An inviting table blocks the onward path


You're never alone with a scone....

After sharing some scone crumbs with a friendly hen I set off across the fields alongside Raisdale Beck. The grass was extremely wet after yesterday's heavy rain and I splodged through a long boggy section until I reached a conifer plantation and forestry path which made much easier walking. I followed this track until it crossed Raisdale Beck and swung sharply left. At this point I turned right, following a yellow waymark sign into fields and the remains of the hamlet of Clough.

Walking alongside Raisdale Beck

Walking uphill towards Clough

The remains of Clough

Clough, which comes from the Anglo-Saxon word for a valley with steep sides, is a rather sad spot with fairly extensive ruins showing that it was once a thriving sheep farm. After Clough the path crosses several boggy, reedy fields. There is no path as such but yellow waymarks indicate the way at every field boundary. I continued straight ahead until my trail passed by the side of Staindale Farm. A couple of years ago Clive and I had chatted to the friendly old farmer and had admired 'Lugless', the ear-less sheep. The farmer's wife had told us that he was a pet and would never end up in the freezer because having no ears, he couldn't be tagged as per the regulations.

'Lugless' in 2013

As I passed the farm a different lady farmer came out of a building and stopped to chat. She explained that the old farmer we had known had died and his wife had gone to live with her grown up children. She was the farmer's niece and after a while she and her husband had taken over the farm. I mentioned Lugless and she laughed, "Oh, Lugless Douglas, I remember him!" Was he in the fields, I asked, "no, in the freezer" she said. I asked how that was possible when he wasn't tagged and she said, "he went into her freezer!" She explained that all the stock had to go while the farm was unoccupied and poor old Lugless went too. There is no room for sentimentality in farming, I suppose.

The fields were full of calves, sheep and horses and I though it was nice to see such a busy farm. I waved goodbye and my path continued straight across several more fields until it reached Thwaites House where a neat tarmac track took me back to Raisdale Road and the Lord Stones Cafe and my car.