The Lord Stones to Cringle Moor and Clough

6 miles                             Warm and dry

The public may park at Lord Stones car park during the hours of daylight.  We booted up and joined the Cleveland Way to climb Cringle Moor after first visiting the faux Lord Stones which are  placed so that they give a fine view over Carlton and Great Busby.

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

Looks like there will be a function taking place at Lord Stones

Faux Lord Stones

Clive wanders over to the ridge

The memorial seat gives a good view of Cleveland

In his walkers' guide 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.  This modern name for the tumulus derives from the three estate boundaries held by the local land owning lords: Helmsley, Busby and Whorlton, which meet here.  The present owners have placed a few 'faux Lord stones' on the green ridge north of the cafe.

We rejoined the path up Cringle Moor and on reaching the summit we paused to admire a memorial seat placed in honour of Alec Falconer, who as 'Rambler' wrote a walking column in the Evening Gazette in the 1950s and 60s.

New Coast to Coast sign, inscribed AW

Heading for Cringle Moor

We reach the top

View over Great Broughton to Roseberry Topping

As well as writing a walking column Alec Falconer was a founding member of Middlesbrough Rambling Club in 1912 and was a campaigner for walkers' rights.  He was much involved in the planning of the Cleveland Way which passes this spot, but sadly died a year before it was opened.

'Friend when you stray or sit and take your ease, on moor or fell or under spreading trees, pray leave no traces of your wayside meal, no paper bag or scattered orange peel, nor daily journal littered on the grass, others may view with distaste and pass, let no-one say, and say it to your shame, that all was beauty here until you came'

View over to the Pennines from Falconer's Seat

Leaving the memorial we walked on and after about 100 yards looked down onto a rock face where long ago, in more literate times, someone carved 'Tempus exploro omnis negotium'.  TSB says this roughly translates as "I'll try anything once and everything in time."  but Google translates it as "Time solves all problems", which sounds more likely, though not as much fun.

Tempus exploro omnis negotium

After following the ridge path we negotiated the very steep descent from Cringle Moor (from 'Cranimoor' - circular moor) with care and soon passed by the old stone remains of Donna Cross.  Another hundred yards brought us to a wooden signpost pointing towards Beak Hills.  Here we turned right, leaving the Coast to Coast Walk.

Crossing Cringle Moor

Beginning the descent

Donna Cross

Turn right towards Beak Hills Farm

Donna Cross is an ancient wayside cross and is believed to mark the descent from the moor to Kirby. The letter E is engraved on the north face of the stone and F on the south, representing the landowners Emmerson and Feversham, indicating that it was also used as a boundary stone.

Turning right at the Beak Hills signpost there is initially no path but having crossed a field and passed through a gate we joined a farm track that changes from grass to grit to stone as it progresses and eventually becomes tarmac. 

TSB says this was an ancient pannier-man's trod along which lime, fish, salt, jet and alum were once transported.  It now connects the farms of Beak Hills, Cold Moor Cote and Stone Intake to the Chop Gate to Carlton road.

A welcome bit of shade

The path is green at first

Galloway cattle.  Cringle Moor and its steep descent on the right behind

Beak Hills with a Yorkshire Rose flag

Cold Moor Cote Farm

Passing Cold Moor Cote Farm we paused to admire their hardy Galloway cattle before continuing along the road to turn off at a stile just before Stone Intake Farm.

Descend through fields

Join the Chop Gate to Carlton road

We followed the tarmac lane for a hundred yards or so before turning left into a drive leading to Raisdale Mill, where we paused for coffee and scones.

Raisdale Mill Buildings

Passing through the mill buildings

Someone's watching us

It doesn't look like anyone's been through here for a while

Refreshed we set off from the mill, across the unwalked fields alongside Raisdale Beck until we reached a conifer plantation and forestry path which made for much easier walking.   Scores of recently released pheasants trotted along the forest path ahead of us.

Alongside Raisdale Beck

We are accompanied on the forest path

Clive is led along by baby pheasants

We followed the forestry track until it crosses Raisdale Beck and swings sharply left.  At this point we turned right, following a yellow waymark sign into fields and towards the remains of the hamlet of Clough.

The word Clough comes from the Anglo-Saxon for a valley with steep sides and this Clough is a rather sad spot with fairly extensive ruins showing that it was once a thriving community.  

Leave the forestry path at this gate

.. and climb steeply uphill

.. to reach Clough

The old milk churn has Northallerton Creameries embossed around it

Settlement ruins

Beyond Clough the path crosses several boggy, reedy fields.  There is no path as such but yellow waymarks indicate the way at every field boundary.  We continued straight ahead until we reached Staindale Farm where recently shorn sheep were penned next to the building.

Mine workings on Wath Hill opposite our path

Arriving at Staindale Farm

Staindale Farm

We get a noisy reception

More unusual residents

"Who are you calling unusual?"

Clive gets an Alpaca kiss

Sheep weather-vane at Staindale Farm

After Staindale Farm we continued following yellow way marks through fields.  We passed by a tree sheltering a large number of sheep enjoying the shade and were amused to see the sheep get up and follow us, until by the time we reached the gate, they were on our heel.  I guess they hoped for food and must have been sadly disappointed as we passed through the gate to reach Thwaite House.

Fields after Staindale Farm

Sheep resting

Or are they?

Behind you!

Thwaite House

We leave the sheep at the gate

Shortly after Thwaites House we reached the tarmac road almost adjacent to the Lord Stones car park.

We drove a few hundred yards downhill to the Blackwell Ox in Carlton where we stopped to enjoy a pint in their beer garden.  A short walk but enjoyable, ideal for a summer's afternoon.

To summer walks!