Boltby to Gormire Lake and Whitestone Cliff

7 miles                          Windy with Showers

 

We approached Boltby from the Knayton turn-off on the A19 and drove through the village to park at a small car park next to a bend at the top of a hill on the same road.   We walked back towards the village and turned left into a lane.

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

Mossy wall near car park

We walked back down the road into Boltby where we took the first left into a lane.  Tom Scott Burns explains that Boltby is of great antiquity and is mentioned in the Domesday Book as the property of Hugh, son of Baldric. 

Passing a bungalow with an interesting metal fox standing on its garden wall, we stopped to chat to three ugly Texel rams who were eating straw that had been left on the wall for them.

Labrador weather vane at Boltby

Lane out of Boltby

"Who're you calling ugly?!"    Texel Rams at Boltby

Metal fox ornament

Our path climbed over the shoulder of Little Moor and rounded a conical hill before dropping down to Tang Hall.

Walking towards Cow Pasture Wood

Approaching Little Moor

Looking back towards Boltby from Little Moor

Dropping down to Tang Hall Farm

From Tang Hall we followed an old coach road across Huggon Howl towards Southwoods Hall, which we could just make out among the trees to our left. Our trail passed to the side of the hall and to our right was a charming pond.  We passed by the Hall's gates and went straight ahead into South Woods.  Our trail carried on through trees until we came to Gormire Lake.

Southwoods Hall

The Old Coach Road passing to the side of Southwoods Hall

Pond below Southwoods Hall

Straight on through South Woods...

... until we reach Gormire Lake

There are two terraces around Gormire and TSB explains that these were once shorelines when the lake was much deeper.  Its is often described as bottomless but is actually about 27 feet deep in the centre and covers about twenty six acres.  Tradition relates that a town stood here which was destroyed in an earthquake, but the lake is actually the result of a glacial overflow channel being blocked by a landslip, hence its position up a hillside.  No streams flow from it and its waters are mainly supplied by rain and diminish with evaporation.  A major landslip happened here on the 25th March 1755 which was described by Rev John Wesley as 'like many cannons or rolling thunder'. 

We followed the lake side until we reached a track that went straight uphill to our left, which we would have to follow.  For now, however, we were out of the wind with a lovely view so we settled down by the water's edge to partake of our coffee and scones.

The view from our coffee stop

"Any more coffee Clive..?"

Our path goes straight uphill

Our break had to end and the climb had to be made. As you can see from the map the ascent is a little over half a mile and very steep in places.  Puffing on to the top path near Sutton Bank Visitors' Centre we turned left and in a few yards had a magnificent view of Gormire and the surrounding countryside.

Our climb goes through Garbutt Wood

Garbutt Wood

The view to our right as we climb

We reach the ridge at Sutton Brow, Gormire to our left below

 

A fine view of the lake from Sutton Brow

Pausing to enjoy views of Gormire beneath us we approached Whitestone Cliff, where I was able to venture onto a viewpoint to take the below photo of the cliffs.

Whitestone Cliff

Gormire from the same viewpoint

Whitestone Cliff is also known locally as White Mare Crag after an unruly racehorse from the nearby gallops was supposed to have jumped from this point together with her rider.  TSB gives no further details and I would think this might be a folk tale.  We watched as our view became less distinct as a shower blew in towards us.  Suddenly we were wet but in a few minutes the rain had passed and the sharp wind soon dried our clothes.

Rain blows in

After following the ridge path for two miles we ignored a left fork sign posted to Boltby although this was our destination and continued along the ridge for another mile.  We shared this path with mountain bike riders and had to walk round some messy patches.

Straight on at the sign

Boltby below

Mountain bikes have chewed the path up

Boltby

High Barn came into view ahead of us and we could also see the outlines of an old hill fort.  TSB says that the fort originally had a D shaped rampart enclosing three acres.  Gold earrings from the early Bronze Age have been unearthed, along with pottery from an earlier culture, probably Neolithic.

The fort lay just beyond the fence, quarry workings further on

Turn left downhill at High Barn

When we reached High Barn we turned sharp left to follow our path downhill.  The path was indistinct and didn't appear to have been walked for some time. 

Indistinct path downhill

Another shower blows in

Clive enters a hollow lane

Our indistinct path led to a hollow lane or sunken path which led down to cross a beck at a gated bridge and then followed a direct route across a couple of fields before climbing back towards the road and our car.

Fields were saturated

There were three horses in this last field, placid in their winter coats and paying us no attention.  Suddenly there was a volley of gunfire from nearby Town Pasture Wood and the horses were spooked and ran straight towards us, passing us by as we froze, uncertain which way to jump.  They stopped at the far side of the field and we continued our climb.  We looked back into the field after climbing the stile and another volley of shots rang out, sending the horses charging back in the opposite direction.  Obviously they don't get used to the noise.

Spooked horses

Climbing tree

Near our car was a very interesting tree that appeared to have been adapted for climbing and probably had a tree house in it at one time.  We thought that climbing it would make a fitting end to a nice walk that had a bit of everything.  Perhaps next time!

 

 

 

 

 

Captain Cook Country from Great Ayton

8 miles                            Snow and ice

We parked at the roadside in Great Ayton High Street and walked down to leave the road and cross the steel bridge over the Leven, opposite Suggits Ice Cream Parlour.

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

Ayton High Street from our car park spot

Captain Cook

The River Leven from the steel bridge

Tom Scott Burns remarks that Great Ayton was known as Canny Yatton and in the early 1800s was the haunt of Au'd Nanny, a notorious witch described in Blakeborough's dialect verse T' Hunt o' Yatton Brigg.

"Her naals they war lang, an' humped war her back,

An baith lugs war pointed, her skin ommaist black... "

Just over the steel bridge we came to an old 'pissoir', now sited as a tourist attraction, and not a working one.  I remember when I was a boy it was painted green and when out on my bike I was glad to come across it, sited further up the High Street near what used to be the Friends' School.

We followed the river along field paths towards Little Ayton.

Pissoir, but not for use

Field tracks towards Little Ayton

We passed by Woodhouse Farm and after crossing a couple more fields came to a stile and a tarmac road.  We followed the road through Low Easby Village where we admired a 1966 Land Rover.  We stopped at Easby Mill to chat to a couple of friendly geese and I was pleased to spot a nice weather-vane featuring a huntsman.  

Woodhouse Farm

Horses at Woodhouse Farm

Looking back at Woodhouse Farm

Leaving the fields to join the Easby road

Easby and 1966 Land Rover

Weathervane at Easby Mill

Clive chats to a couple of geese

"Any food?"

We stayed on the tarmac road for half a mile carefully avoiding patches of black ice, before crossing a way-marked stile into fields just before Borough Green Farm, to begin a steady climb to Easby Moor.

Distinctive Kerry Hills, Welsh hill sheep at Easby

We follow the tarmac road for half a mile or so

Leaving at this stile to follow field tracks

A slow climb up to the moor

Looking back towards Easby

Through the moor gate and turn right

Reaching the Moor Gate we turned right to follow our path below the moor to Mill Bank Wood.   Entering the wood we walked for over a mile.  Our path had been used by motor cycles and horses which, together with snow and ice made it very awkward to walk. TSB says that the wood is named after an old Bleach Mill where woollen cloth was 'fulled' in order to soften and shrink it to a warmer, closer weave. The mill was destroyed on the night of 21st July 1840 when heavy rains caused enormous volumes of water to burst two fishponds at Kildale Hall. A wall of water 40 feet high carried away two stone bridges, a corn mill, sluice gates, an earth dam and the bleaching mill, as it rushed towards Great Ayton.  

We came out of the woods by Bankside Farm and joined the tarmac lane.  We sat on convenient stones in front of a barn to enjoy our coffee and scones while looking down towards Kildale and the old Church.  While we were sipping coffee a large walking group passed us with cheery remarks, the only other people we saw on the hills today.

Entering Mill Bank Wood

The old buildings of Bankside Farm

Looking down to Kildale Church from our coffee stop

Kildale from our coffee stop

A group of walkers pass by

We followed the farm road uphill from Bankside Farm until we came to a fork where we turned left to walk through the trees of Coate Moor.  A gentle climb along an icy path led us to Captain Cook's Monument.

Kildale Hall from our coffee stop

We leave the tarmac to follow the Cleveland Way

Towards Captain Cook's Monument

Crossing Coate Moor towards the monument

Memorial plaque on Monument

Looking back to Captain Cook's Monument

After admiring the monument and reading its inscription we continued across Easby Moor between two stone gate posts before reaching a clearly marked path downhill to our left.

Our path was very slippery with hard ice which turned to mud as we reached the steep descent from the moor.  I fell over only once!

Approaching the descent from Easby Moor

A slippery descent

Nearly down...

Roseberry from our path

The path levelled out and we walked through the snow and mud alongside Nanny Howe to our right, which is where Au'd Nanny held midnight orgies at the legendary Devil's Court.  We reached the tidy cottages and the White House at Gribdale Gate and crossed the lane to carry on uphill towards Aireyholme Farm, where Captain Cook's father was bailiff in 1736 and where his family took up residence.  

 

Alongside Nanny Howe

Tidy cottages at Gribdale

Aireyholme Farm, once the home of Captain Cook's family

Duckpond at Aireyholme Farm

 We spotted a new information sign at Aireyholme Farm.

We read the sign with interest and then continued along the track which brought us to tiny Airy Holme Cottage where we turned sharp left to cross fields to approach Cliff Rigg Quarry from the opposite side to last week, when we walked round the flanks of Roseberry Topping.

 

We followed the path straight downhill below the quarry, crossed the railway line once more and followed a muddy path alongside Cleveland Lodge, which eventually led us back into Great Ayton.

Clive commiserates with cattle wintering in the barn

A muddy and icy descent to the railway at Easby

We cross the line near the old station house

A muddy path alongside Cleveland Lodge

To our surprise the path emerged on the High Street, opposite the Royal Oak Public House and as we felt that our exertions deserved a reward we popped in for a pint of Deuchars India Pale Ale.