Exploring Scugdale from Carlton Bank
7 miles Fair, little wind
We parked in the car park of the Lords Stone Cafe and walked back along the Carlton road until we reached a new Cleveland Way sign, and turned off the road to follow it towards Huthwaite Green.
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| Today's walk from The Walker's Guide to the Cleveland Hills |
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| New sign on Carlton Bank road |
Almost immediately we turned left from the Cleveland Way and followed the wide access road for the old Gliding Club, which is now demolished, walking steadily uphill into the mist. Reaching the moor top we turned left off the access road where a footpath sign indicated our track across the heather. The first feature we came to on this path was the rocky outcrop of 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. The mist and silence made Stone Ruck feel a very lonely spot.
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| Leaving Carlton Bank Road and starting to climb |
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| Stone Ruck |
We followed the path across the moor until we came to Brian's Pond where the silence of the morning was suddenly shattered by the alarm call of geese grazing near to the pond, who were startled by our approach. In summer Clive and I have watched Emperor dragonflies at Brian's Pond but there was no sign of life today, apart from the noisy geese!
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| Arriving at Brian's Pond |
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| We get a noisy welcome |
As we walked away from the pond a farmer's 4x4 passed us by with a sheepdog balancing confidently on the back. The occupants were looking for stray sheep and we would see them again later in the walk as they brought the sheep down from the moor.
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| "Seen any sheep?" |
Our track climbed steadily over Clough Gill Top where a signpost indicated a choice of routes. We took the right fork which ascended steadily to the moor rim where we suddenly came upon a view of Scugdale, through the mist. TSB refers to Scugdale as the sheltered dale from the Danish skygger - to overshadow.
A nice view to our left showed the rock face of Barker's Crag and we 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. In this old farmhouse lived a certain 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.
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| Looking down into Scugdale |
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| High House |
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| Looking down Scugdale from High House |
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| Gated stile opposite High House |
Opposite High House is a gated stile giving access to steeply sloping fields. There was no path but we followed waymark signs across these fields down to Scugdale Beck, where we found the bridge that still serves no useful purpose, as on our previous visit, having been displaced by winter storms some years ago. I suppose so few people use this path that it has not proved worthwhile to repair. We crossed the beck and climbed up to join a faint path that took us down the valley, walking under some old allum workings. When we reached some grassy banks just before Holiday House we stopped and enjoyed our coffee and scones in the sun, looking across at Scugdale Hall.
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| Downhill towards Scugdale Beck |
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| The bridge is in the wrong place! |
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| Faint track towards Holiday House |
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| Scugdale Hall from our coffee stop |
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| Barker's Crags |
The last time we passed this way in February 2014, Holiday House appeared derelict but today, as we enjoyed our coffee, we saw cars arrive at the old farm and when we began walking again we noticed new doors and all the signs of renovation. It was good to see the farm looking tidy again.
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| New doors and windows at Holiday House |
Leaving Holiday House we followed its long access track to the dale road, where we turned left and walked to reach the farm buildings of Fog Close. Here we turned right into the farm's track at a footpath sign, and then turned right again before reaching the farm buildings, before turning left and walking up the side of the farm towards Live Moor.
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| Rams at Fog Close Farm |
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| Snotterdale with Scugdale beyond, from footpath near Fog Close Farm |
We climbed steeply uphill onto Live
Moor following yellow way-marks, then followed the ridge while looking down into the charmingly named and little known
valley of Snotterdale, to which there is no road or path access.
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| Moor track above Fog Close Farm |
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| Snotterdale |
Opposite a conifer plantation our path
turned left across Carlton Moor where we were soon walking on the old gliding station runway which runs alongside the Coast to
Coast walk. We left the runway and joined the C to C path for the last few hundred yards to the trig point, high on Carlton Moor, at 1338
feet.
From here we looked at the steep stone path which leads down to Lords Stones and stood for a while, watching as farmers rounded up sheep below us.
The descent is steep and stony and reaching the bottom we saw the farmer bringing his sheep back to a temporary fold which already contained a lot of animals. We were very amused to see him dangling a sack of corn out of his Landrover window as he reversed towards the sheepfold. The sheep trotted happily after this bait with no need of a dog. Reaching the pen he got out of his vehicle and shouted loudly to his daughter who was following the sheep, "We've got company!" Thinking he meant us we started to move away but it soon became apparent that he was referring to a police car which drove up and stopped next to them. Two officers got out and we heard questions about the movement of the animals as we walked off, back down to the Lords Stone cafe.
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| Temporary sheep pen |
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| Novel way of herding sheep, dangling bag of corn out of the window as he reverses to the pen |
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| No dog required! |
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| The sheep are led to the pen |
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| Time to go! Police arrive and talk to the farmer |
We sat in the sun outside Lords Stones Cafe and discussed today's walk over a couple of pints of Theakston's bitter, a pleasant end to a pleasant walk.
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| Lords Stone Cafe |
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| Cheers! |
