Birk Brow to Commondale and the Quaker Causeway

11 miles                               Warm and sunny

This is a Tom Scott Burns walk I haven't done since 2016 although I keep meaning to return to it.  Carole and I thought it might be quiet for a sunny Bank Holiday walk so we parked at Birk Brow car park (free) at the top of Birk Brow Bank, 3 miles east of Guisborough on the A171.

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

Beacon at Birk Brow

We left the car at a footpath near to the brazier mounted at the car park. TSB says that this beacon was one of thirteen beacons lit to mark the 400th anniversary of the Spanish Armada, in July 1988.  Apparently during the actual invasion it would have taken only 18 minutes to pass the message by beacon from The Lizard to Berwick, and across country from East Anglia to Wales.

We descended through bushes to rejoin the road briefly before turning into a track near Aysdale Gate, just below a row of terraced houses.  Here we bumped into one of Carole's old work mates who told us she lived in one of the houses.  She explained that they used to be stores for the old iron mine, and pointed out where the mine was capped.  She said the only drawback with living here was that the water supply comes from a nearby spring and is undrinkable, which means using bottled water.

Descending from the car park

Next to the road

The capped mine

Old mine buildings, now houses

We said goodby and headed along an overgrown path before emerging at Margrove Park Heritage site, now a wildlife centre although closed because of Coronavirus.  

We followed the road to cross the A171 at the old mining village of Charltons.  Slapewath mine was in operation here from 1872 to 1906 and the nearby Spa drift mine until 1931.

Paths little used

Turn left to Margrove Park

Tees Valley Wildlife Trust

Charltons ahead

Walking through Charltons

Leaving the village we turned left onto a forest track just as the village road reached the A174. Here we joined the Cleveland Way track and were now walking through the old mine workings of Spawood.

Joining the Cleveland Way

Entering Guisbrough Woods

We walked through Guisborough Woods, once thick with conifers planted in the 1950s and 1960s by the Forestry Commision.  TSB describes walking through "corridors of timber" but this is no longer the case as many of the trees have now been felled. On the credit side this gave us a fine view over towards the coast.

We suspect this Lapwing was leading us away from its chicks

Passing old mine workings

View towards Redcar and the coast

Guisbrough Priory from the Cleveland Way

The route emerges from Guisborough Woods and heads south towards Commondale Moor, leaving the Cleveland Way and becoming a rough moor track through the heather.

Leaving the Cleveland Way

The trees to the right had been badly damaged by fire

Through the moor gate

Cotton grass

Now on rough moors tracks

A little further along we came to a memorial stone standing alone in the heather.  It is erected to the memory of Robbie Leggott and Alf Cockerill, killed in WW1.  We wondered why such a lonely spot had been chosen for the stone, where few friends or relatives would visit it.

As we approached the memorial we saw a female grouse and her brood of freshly hatched chicks.  The baby grouse eat the egg sac to survive the first 24 hours of life and then follow the mother across the moor and fend for themselves, mostly eating the tiny invertebrates that are everywhere on the moors at this time of year. 

Memorial Stone

A lonely spot for a memorial

Red grouse and chicks

After another mile we descended from the moor to cross Whitely Beck on the outskirts of Commondale.  TSB explains that the name Commondale comes from Colman's dale or valley, after the seventh century Bishop Colman of Lindisfarne, who had been a monk at Whitby.

Trap

Whitely Beck

We walked downhill into the village and noticed that several older buildings are built from bright red brick.  These are from the Cleveland Fire Brick and Pottery Company which was to the left of the crossroads in the village and which ceased production in 1947.  

The bricks are very distinctive and the old school and church, as well as one or two houses, are still here to be admired. 

We decided to sit on the village green to enjoy our coffee and scones but were quickly surrounded by hens who made their hungy intentions very clear.  We had little option than to share our food and as we did so a local motorist stopped to sympathise and to tell us about the hens.  Apparently they were owned by a man who died 12 years ago and the hens and their descendants have lived wild in the village ever since.  They survive by feeding round bird feeders and general begging and roost in the trees at night.

Reaching the road at Commondale

Red brick houses

I am mugged

My bootlace is mistaken for a worm

A local tells us the hens' history

Our lunch stop would have been longer but it was quite wearing to fight off the motley crew and as we set off uphill we smiled to see the next generation of muggers at the road side.

Wild hens at Commondale

Weather vane at the old school

St Peter's Church

A little further uphill and opposite the church is a row of brick workers' cottages.

Brick workers' cottages

We climbed out of the village, leaving the road just after a right hand bend and crossing the moor towards Brown Hill.  The ground here was still very boggy in places but our track remained dry. 

That-a-way

Open moor for a few miles

Shortly after reaching the bend in the road beyond Brown Hill we joined the erroneously named Quaker Causeway.  We now walked for a couple of miles along these ancient stone slabs set in the moor.  TSB explains that it is thought that this stone path may have connected the Augustinian Monks of Guisborough Priory (1119-1540) to Commondale and the priory at Baysdale (1189-1539).

There are a number of these causeways on the North York Moors and TSB says that two men would lead 30 or 40 pack ponies over the rough terrain carrying coal, lime, wool, fish and so on.

Looking down on Lockwood Beck

We bump into Dominic Cummings on the trail "feeling better thanks"

Quaker Trod

Slabs make for easy walking

The causeway carries on down to Aysdale Gate but we turned right onto a footpath that led us back to the car park at Birk Brow.

Birk Brow car park comes into view

The end of the walk

The real end of the walk

This is quite a long walk and can be a bit of a trudge, but like all TSB walks there are points of interest, the main ones being in the village of Commondale. The track between Guisborough Woods and Commondale is easily confused amongst the many moors paths. Careful navigation needed or a GPS; drop me a line and I'll be happy to send my GPS track.  

Recommended for a fine and dry day.