The Hanging Stone and High Cliff from Gribdale Gate

8 miles                          Dull with a cold wind

We parked at Gribdale Gate, booted up and climbed straight up Great Ayton Moor.

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

In The Walker's Guide to the Cleveland Hills, Tom Scott Burns relates a curious belief from a 19th century book called 'Customs of North Riding' which states, 'Anyone who dares to stand near Gribdale Gate at midnight on New Year's Eve will see an old man pass through the gate and vanish'.  No fear of such ghosts for us today, it being well into January.

From the car park go straight up Great Ayton Moor

After reaching the moor the footpath follows a dry stone wall where there are views over to Roseberry Topping.  We came to a gate at Newton Moor (which would lead to Roseberry Topping) but turned right just before it. Tom Scott Burns mentions that we pass the site of a chambered cairn, part of a complex Neolithic burial site dating from the Bronze Age, roughly 2300 - 800BC, a time when these moors were covered with mixed forest and woodland clearance was just beginning to take place. By the Iron Age the site was treeless and cultivation was in progress.  Following that period heather spread across the moor replacing farmland, so the moors have in fact looked much as they do now since the Iron Age.

Looking back down towards the car park

Bitterly cold wind on the moor

Looking back towards Captain Cook's Monument

First views of Roseberry Topping

Old marker stones

We reach Newton Moor and a different aspect of Roseberry

Turn right before the gate

.. and keep walking to reach a stile

We followed the distinct path through the remains of a conifer wood which TSB describes as 'a corridor of trees rinsed with the scent of pine.'  No more, I'm afraid, as those trees have gone but new growth in the form of mixed woodland is springing up around the path and is quite dense.  In fact it would now be very easy to miss the turn which leads to a surprise view of Hanging Stone and Guisborough below.

New growth

The Hanging Stone and Guisborough beyond

Climb aboard for a better view

The path has been paved but is still very slippery

In Hutton Lowcross Woods

The track falls steeply from the Hanging Stone and is treacherously slippery, so we took our time descending through the trees to briefly join a connecting track through Hutton Lowcross Woods, then turning left to again descend to reach Hutton village road.  Turning right along the road we entered Hutton village, which was built as a model village during ironstone mining of the 1850s.  At the end of the village our track climbed towards Bold Venture Gill.

Wow!

We follow a Wellbeing Trail

The Old Schoolhouse, Hutton Village

Clive meets a resident at Hutton Village

Passing through Hutton Village

This Eco House is the last house in the village

Bold Venture Gill disappears into a culvert

The village road leads to Bold Venture Gill and a steep concrete track into forestry land.  We stayed on this track ignoring all turn-offs and noted much recent forestry work.  No longer are there 'endless rows of conifers' as described in 'The Walker's Guide to the Cleveland Hills'.  Eventually Highcliff Nab came into view and a convenient bench near to the nab made an ideal coffee stop out of the wind. We ate our scones with a fine view.

A long and steady climb

Highcliff Nab appears

Coffee time

Vacating our bench we left the main track to walk beneath Highcliff Nab.  Now on Guisborough Moor we were able to look down on Highcliffe Farm. 

Walking alongside Highcliff Nab

Highcliffe Farm

We then strode across Codhill Heights, 'Cod' being derived from the Viking word 'Keld', which means 'spring'.  As we crossed the moor rain flurries stung our faces as we walked into the strong wind.  On our left we looked down into Sleddale which is apparently derived from the old English 'slaed', a wide flat valley. 

Across the moor

Sleddale to the left

Who's that following us? See text below

As we walked into the wind a strange thing happened which alone made today's walk worth doing.  I noticed that a male grouse was keeping pace with us about 20 yards to our side.  As I debated whether it was worth trying to take a photo the bird flew over to land between Clive and me. It was very vocal, twitting away at us and I approached it, getting nearer and nearer without it flying off.  It truly appeared to be trying to tell us something.

Getting nearer

It lands between us

 "What are you trying to tell us?"

"Little Jimmy has fallen down the old mine..."

"Quick, follow me!"

Grouse are wild birds, not bred for the gun like pheasants and partridge and they are usually very wary of people, taking to the air with a cackle if you get too near.  We can only presume that this bird, obviously in good health, was hoping for food because of a previous rewarding experience with people.  Sadly we had nothing to give it and eventually turned away to resume our walk.  At first the bird followed us still twittering away, landing on the path behind us, but then half a dozen grouse flew overhead and down into the heather nearby and our friendly bird was lost to view.

Well met on Sleddale Moor

Soon isolated Sleddale Farm came into view, looking a bleak place in today's weather.

Sleddale Farm

Walking towards Codhill Slack

We joined a tarmac road that serves as the access road to Sleddale Farm.  After a while we came to a T junction with Percy Cross Rigg and turned right into it, enjoying views in all directions. 

We came to a small fenced area which is the site of several Iron Age huts that were excavated in the 1960s. 

We reach Percy Cross Rigg

Percy Cross Rigg

The base of a hut can be made out through the heather

Percy Cross Rigg, now tarmac road, was once a prehistoric track connecting settlements at Eston Moor, Great Ayton Moor and the Crown End Settlement in Westerdale and we continued on it until we reached a gate and information board at Percy Cross Rigg.   Here there is a meeting of paths that is actually the junction of four parishes, Guisborough, Kildale, Great Ayton and Hutton Lowcross, although there is no sign to that effect.  This junction is where we turned left from Percy Cross Rigg to cut across the moor on a green path with Lonsdale Bowl to our left.   Looking at the map of the walk (above) you will see that this took us alongside Lonsdale Plantation.  The trees indicated on the map have also been felled, but in this case with the advantage that there is now a fine view to be had into Lonsdale Bowl.  

On Percy Cross Rigg

Four parishes meet here

We bear left away from the main path

On Great Ayton Moor once more

Lonsdale Bowl

We followed our path across Great Ayton Moor for the final leg of our walk, dropping down from the moor to retun to the car at Gribdale Gate.  A short drive took us to the Royal Oak at Great Ayton where we discussed today's winter walk over a pint.

To our feathered friend in Sleddale!