The Hanging Stone and High Cliff from Gribdale Gate

8 miles                          Fair and breezy

In The Walker's Guide to the Cleveland Hills, Tom Scott Burns relates a curious belief from a 19th century book called 'Customs of the North Riding' which states, 'Anyone who dares to stand near Gribdale Gate on New Year's Eve at midnight will see an old man pass through and then vanish'.    But it's now mid-March and there are already other cars parked at Gribdale Gate and we watched other walkers setting off as we changed into our boots.  Leaving the car we followed the footpath steeply uphill onto Great Ayton Moor.

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

Climbing from Gribdale to Great Ayton Moor

After reaching the moor the footpath followed a dry stone wall with occasional misty views over to Roseberry Topping on this rather humid morning.  We came to a gate at Newton Moor but turned right just before it. Tom Scott Burns mentions that this is 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 beginning to take place. By the Iron Age the site was treeless and cultivation was in progress.  Following the Iron Age, heather had spread across the moor replacing farmland, so the moors have in fact looked much as they do now since that time. 

Roseberry from Great Ayton Moor

Following the dry stone wall

Roseberry from the site of the chambered cairn

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 those trees have gone, like so many more, to the wood burning biomass furnace of the power station.

No longer a 'corridor of trees'

  

The path eventually led us to the surprise view at the Hanging Stone, a massive block of sandstone which TSB believes may have once been part of an old quarry.

We climb onto the stone for a fine view

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.

Descending from Hanging Stone

A forestry worker with a sense of humour?

1973 Rover V8 in Hutton village

Leaving Hutton Village to climb towards Bold Venture Gill

  

We stayed on this track ignoring all turn-offs and once again were surprised at the amount of tree felling that had taken place since our last walk here little more than a year ago.   No longer were there 'endless rows of conifers' and when High Cliff Nab came into view, no longer was it 'set amongst trees'.  A convenient bench near to the nab proved too windy for our coffee stop so we continued onto Guisborough Moor where we hunkered down behind a dry stone wall that still allowed us a good view while we had our coffee and scones.

Forestry work at Bold Venture Gill

Where are the 'endless rows of conifers'?

High Cliff Nab

High Cliff Farm from our coffee stop

Our walk now led on to the open moor and we strode across Codhill Heights, 'Cod' being derived from the Viking word 'Keld', which means 'spring'.  As we walked over the moor the sun attempted to break through the clouds and the wind dropped slightly, and we had a nice view to the very lonely buildings of Sleddale Farm. Sleddale is apparently derived from the old English 'slaed', a wide flat valley.

Codhill Heights

Sheep at Sleddale Farm

Sleddale Farm

We joined a tarmac road that serves as the access road for Sleddale Farm .  After a while we reached Percy Cross Rigg where our track turned right onto a tarmac road which we followed, enjoying fine views in all directions, until we came to a small fenced area of uneven ground covered in dense heather.  TSB notes that this is the site of Iron Age Hut Circles, dated to around 800 BC, which were excavated in the 1960s.  Unfortunately heather has reclaimed this site and the only thing left to see is the metal sign describing the find.

Codhill Heights

The huts have been reclaimed by heather

The gate at Percy Cross Rigg

'Target' at Percy Cross Rigg

We walked along Percy Cross Rigg, once a prehistoric track connecting settlements at Eston Moor, Great Ayton Moor and the Crown End Settlement in Westerdale, until we reached a gate and information board at Percy Cross Rigg.   Here there is a meeting of paths which is actually the junction of four parishes, Guisborough, Kildale, Great Ayton and Hutton Lowcross, although there is no sign to that effect.  However, we did notice a sign declaring the area a Site of Special Scientific Interest and saw that someone had obscured the word 'Motorcycles' from the prohibitions on the sign.  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 shown 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.  

Lonsdale Bowl

Descending to Gribdale, Captain Cook's monument on the skyline

Quarry workings above Gribdale Car Park

We followed our path across Great Ayton Moor for the final leg of our walk, dropping down from the moor to our car at Gribdale Gate.

Nether and Over Silton to Thimbleby Hanging Stone

7 miles                               Clear and dry

This is one of our favourite walks as it has a bit of everything, moors, villages, forests and even a reservoir... or it did the last time we were here.   We parked at the moors car park two miles from Osmotherley on the Hawnby road and walked southwards along the forest path up the shoulder of Black Hambleton.

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

Walking up Black Hambleton

We passed through a gate giving access to the conifer plantation and our path, known as Moor Lane, took us steadily downhill for about 2.5 miles.  We walked down through conifers and with little of interest to see other than enormous quantities of snowdrops under the hedges, until we came upon the ruins of a lime kiln and later, near Rose Cottage, an ancient drinking trough.  

Descending Moor Lane

Old Lime kiln

Masses of snowdrops

Moor Lane becomes a tarmac road

Ancient drinking trough

Rose Cottage, set amongst the snowdrops

Moor Lane eventually ends at a T junction where we turned right and walked into the pretty village of Nether Silton.  Our path from the village was almost hidden where it leaves the road alongside the old post office, at a point opposite the chapel of All Saints.  Behind the chapel is a stone monolith in Manor House Field.  We diverted to look at the monolith and then the chapel, which Tom Scott Burns tells us was rebuilt in 1812 and whose altar rails are made from the wood of HMS Dreadnought of Lord Nelson's navy.

The old monolith in Manor House Field

 The carved letters stand for:
"Here The Grand Old Manor House Stood, The Black Beams Were Oak The Great Walls Were Good
The Walls At The East Wing Are Hidden Here, A Thatched Cottage Like A Barn Was Erected Here
AD 1765
A Wide Porch Spans A Yard And Alcove

All Saints, Nether Silton

We crossed the road to rejoin our path alongside the old post office and after crossing several fields came to the ancient and isolated church of St Mary, Over Silton, standing alone in the middle of fields without any path leading to it.  We sat in the graveyard on the Jubilee Bench and enjoyed our coffee and scones before spending some time exploring the church and reading the inscriptions on the old gravestones.

Field paths to Over Silton

St Mary's Church, Over Silton

'When though in lonely grief you sigh, for friends beloved no longer nigh, Submission, still we would reply, Thy will be done'

'All you who come my grave to see, prepare yourselves to follow me, repent in time no more delay, for youth and age will soon decay.  Life is uncertain, death is sure, Sin is the wound but Christ the cure'

'Just in the darling of my youth, then death to me was sent, and you who have a longer stay, be certain to repent'

The old church was unlocked and Clive and I entered to find the floor covered in bits of plaster which appeared to have fallen from the roof.  No electric lights of course, but our eyes gradually got used to the dark and we were able to see without lighting the candles that hung from the ceiling.  The stained glass windows are attractive and we were interested to see the old organ, which we discovered still worked by pumping the foot pedals.  We were fascinated to see that lots of the pews had pieces of butterfly wings scattered on them like confetti.  Had the butterflies wintered in the wooden ceiling slats and fallen when they died?  

Inside St Mary's, Over Silton

Clive gets some sound, though not very musical

Butterfly wings on the pews

Coming out of the church we noticed a large gravestone that was covered on both sides with dense script and walked over to see if we could make it out.  It must be the longest epitaph ever written! Here it is, and my translation written underneath with commas representing line breaks.

Mary, wife of Charles who died April 16th 1788 aged 44. 'Sweet children and husband dear, live still by faith and nothing fear, But sin which is the root of strife, The seed of death the bane of life, What am I now, dust and shade, Yourselves the same, your life doth fade, This I suggest from silent urn, that whilst I speak your heart may burn, and be in flame with heavenly love, Aspiring still to things above,'

On the back!  'Can love you hate, can life you kill, Can evil spring from God's good will.  This is his will that widowers chaste, Should trust in God and not make haste, Accept those words. Not else I crave.  Do not despise a spouses grave. And let me whisper one thing more, you and the children have in store, Treasure of sighs, tears, groans and prayers,  Of which you are the rightful heirs.  She that in silent dust doth sleep For you to God did often weep.  Struggling with God that he might give,  you grace in Christ to make you live. Hoping for this she did expire, God will you save, you shall Admire, Our pledges to thy care are given, the choicest gift of kindest heaven,  Their father, mother both in thee, United now they nearly see,  The soul that hindering wishes to be free,  Would yet a train of thoughts impart to thee,  But strives in vain the chilling hand of death.'

The epitaphs on the graves from the eighteenth century usually seem to leave a cautionary message for the living but we were baffled by the above. Exactly what was the long message about?  It must have been very expensive to have a gravestone engraved with such a long epitaph.

The base of an ancient cross

Looking back at the isolated church of St Mary, Over Silton

We walked across the fields away from the isolated church and towards the village of Over Silton where we passed by the old manor house.  TSB tells us that this was once owned by the gallant gentleman Sir George Orby Wombwell, baronet, who served with the 17th Lancers and took part in the charge of the Light Brigade at Balaclava on 25th October 1854.  His horse was shot from under him and he was taken prisoner but escaped on a Russian horse to rejoin his brigade and charge again, without sword or pistol!  He died in 1913 aged 81.   We turned right and walked beyond the houses to a left turn where our path left the road and climbed steeply into Crabtree Bank Plantation. The next 2.5 miles were through conifers, sometimes on wide forestry tracks and sometimes on narrow footpaths but always very muddy and difficult to negotiate.  We climbed steeply for the first mile then our path levelled out for a mile before dropping sharply through Big Wood towards Oakdale.

Over Silton

The old manor house at Over Silton, does the coat of arms belong to the gallant Sir George?

The old school, built 1844

We leave the lane and head up into trees

As we picked our way through the muddy tracks of Crabtree Plantation we saw the Hanging Stone above us.

The Hanging Stone

We came to a fork in the path where we turned right through a very muddy entrance and headed immediately upwards.  A steep climb took us through the Thimbleby Bank Plantation to emerge at a conifer wood below Thimbleby Moor.

Walking through Crabtree Plantation

We need to go up there!

Walking through Thimbleby Bank Plantation

Entering Big Wood

We followed a distinct path into the dense trees of Big Wood and were surprised to come to a large clearing where trees had been felled, leaving a huge untidy area that looked like The Somme.  This clearing was not here 13 months ago when we last walked through the wood.  We crossed the clearing and re-entered dense conifers following a waymarked path until we came to a slippery descent into Oak Dale.

We see Osmotherley from Big Wood

A large clearing in Big Wood

Hanging on as we start our steep descent through the trees

Reaching the bottom we exited the trees and walked up to reach the tarmac track that leads to Oakdale Reservoir and were amazed to discover that Oakdale Reservoir is no longer there!  The reservoir had been drained when we walked here in January 2014 but since then work has been carried out to remove all traces of the reservoir; seeds have been planted and grassy banks are now emerging where there was once water.  We thought it would look very nice when completed.

Leaving Big Wood

Where's the reservoir gone?!

That explains it!

There was a concrete dam there last time we passed!

Leaving Oak Dale we climbed steeply back to Hambleton Road where a brief walk took us to our car.  A short drive then took us to Osmotherley and the Queen Catherine Hotel where we discussed today's walk over a pint of Thwaites Wainwright.

Climbing back up the Cleveland Way to Hambleton Road

  

January 2014

Same point today