Exploring Scugdale from Carlton Bank

7 miles           Drizzle, fine later

We drove up the steep hill on Alum House Lane, the Carlton to Chop Gate road, and parked at Lord Stones Cafe where parking is permitted during cafe hours.

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

Leaving the car park we walked back along the Carlton road for a few yards until we reached a Cleveland Way sign. Here we turned left off the road and almost immediately turned right again off the Cleveland Way to follow the wide access road for the old Gliding Club (now demolished) steadily uphill.

Turn on to the Cleveland Way path

Follow the old Gliding Club access road

... steadily uphill

Reaching the top of the access road we left it by turning left into a narrow track across the heather.  There was a wooden footpath sign here last time we walked but no longer. The first feature one comes to on this path is the rocky outcrop of Stone Ruck.

Bear left here, Clive remarks that the sign is missing

Follow the path through bracken..

.. and then heather

.. to pass Stone Ruck

Tom Scott Burns explains that Ruck is derived from the Old Norse bruga meaning to pile or heap up, as in a cairn.  

We followed the path for a mile or so across the moor into drizzle and a headwind until we came to Brian's Pond and once again pondered on its unusual name. Did Brian drown there or did he once own it?  The name's origin seems to be lost in time and my previous efforts with books and Google have come to nought.

Brian's Pond

Now apparently popular with wild swimmers, not today though

Leaving Brian's Pond we climbed steadily over Clough Gill Top, where a signpost indicates a choice of routes. We took the right fork that ascends steadily to the moor rim where we suddenly came upon the valley of Scugdale.   To one's right are the rocks of Barker's Crags and below are the buildings of Scugdale Hall.  

Bear right at Clough Gill Top

Scugdale Head comes into view

We saw no grouse today and remarked how few we've seen this year

The top of Barker's Crags 

A lovely view into Scugdale

TSB refers to Scugdale as 'the sheltered dale' from the Danish skygger - to overshadow.  

We went through a new metal gate and descended across a couple of fields to reach the dale road where we turned left to walk towards the top of the valley and High House.  

Descending into Scugdale

Jet mine workings opposite almost hidden by bracken

As we walked towards High House we looked across the dale at the remains of jet mine workings. After jet jewellery became fashionable in Victorian times Bilsdale, Raisdale and Scugdale were heavily mined.  Mining was a simple affair, the miners tunnelled into the hillside and the shale was brought out and examined for jet.  The spoil was then tipped down the hillside leaving the long piles of rubble seen above.  An interesting article here provides more information about mining in the area.

We reached High House which has a very neglected air about it. We noticed that the out buildings have deteriorated rapidly since our last visit.

High House

Big deterioration since our last visit

The old bridge, no longer over troubled waters

TSB records that in this old farmhouse lived Harry Cooper who was reputed to be the tallest man in the world, standing at 8'6".  He left Scugdale to join Barnum's Circus in America and died in 1898 at the age of 41.

Just beyond the house we turned right off the lane into fields at a dilapidated stile.  This part of the walk appears untrodden but there are guiding way-marks at field boundaries and we descended to reach then cross Scugdale Beck 

After crossing the beck we climbed up to join a faint path that took us down the valley, walking under the old jet and alum workings. When we reached some grassy banks just before Holiday House we stopped for coffee and scones out of the wind.  The drizzle stopped at this point, and we enjoyed our break looking across at Scugdale Hall.

Approaching Holiday House

Scugdale Hall

After our break we walked past the strangely named Holiday House which was shown on 1940's maps as such. It seems an unusual name for the region and we would like to know why it is so called.

The footpath alongside Holiday House appears unwalked

Holiday House

Leaving Holiday House we followed its long access track to the dale road, where we turned left and continued to reach the farm buildings of Fog Close. There is a shortage of way-marks here so one must follow the map. We turned right into the farm's track and then turned right again before reaching the farm buildings, before turning left and walking up the side of the farm towards Live Moor.  Here there is a waymark on the gate.

Pheasants are being reared here and have recently been released into the wild

No footpath signs

The main gate is chained and locked and Clive forces his way through the briars

Still no waymarks but the footpath is through the gate

The buildings of Fog Close Farm

As we leave the farm buildings we finally spot a waymark

The next half mile turned out to be difficult to walk at this time of year because of high bracken covering the narrow paths. No-one appears to have been along this way before us and we had to fight our way through, gradually climbing back out of Scugdale alongside the charmingly named Snotterdale and eventually back onto Live Moor.

Follow the tree line as we climb out of Fog Close Farm

Oh 'Eck! Our track disappears into bracken on the other side of the gate

Half a mile of this before we emerge onto Live Moor

 

How the path normally looks at the same spot

Reaching Live Moor we continued to follow the path through bracken along the ridge while looking down into the charmingly named and little known valley of Snotterdale, to which there is no road or path access. 

Snotterdale

Opposite a conifer plantation our path finally left the bracken,  turning left across Carlton Moor where we were soon walking on the old gliding station runway before crossing to join the Coast to Coast and Cleveland Way walks, which follow the ridge with spectacular views all the way to a trig point at 1338 feet.

Turn left at the gate into the forestry plantation

... and leave the bracken to climb on to Live Moor

Looking back to Scugdale

A stiff breeze filled the air with heather pollen 

This was once the glider runway

Whorl Hill and Potto from Carlton Moor

We follow the Cleveland Way along the ridge

Carlton below

Trig Point at 1338', Roseberry Topping in the distance

From the trig point we descended steeply to return to Lords Stone car park and the end of our walk.  A short drive back down Alum House Lane took us to Carlton Village and the Blackwell Ox.  This is a good walk and much recommended, especially outside of bracken season.

'To Brian - and his Pond!'