Hasty Bank, Cold Moor and Upper Bilsdale

 8 miles                         Fine and still

We parked at the top of Clay Bank and crossed the road to climb Hasty Bank, but instead of following the Cleveland Way to the top, we branched left on a small track that wound its way upwards to reach the Old Quarry, shown on the map below.

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

The reason for this diversion was that we wanted to pay our respects to 'The Lady of Bilsdale', described by Tom Scott Burns  as 'the enigmatic face of a lady carved on a rock wall who gazes eternally down into Bilsdale'. This ancient stone face was carved into the side of the Old Quarry, perhaps by one of the workers.  The track led us around Hasty Bank and we came to the quarry on our right and walked over to admire the Lady and share her view of Bilsdale.

Looking back to Clay Bank as we climb Hasty Bank

We take a small track climbing to the left...

... which leads us to Old Quarry

... and The Lady of Bilsdale

The Lady's view of Bilsdale and Clive

Old Quarry

Leaving the Lady we walked across the moor top to reach The Wainstones, where we picked our way carefully through the rocks before descending into Garfitts Gap and climbing onto Cold Moor.   TSB says that the name Wainstones is believed to derive from the Saxon 'wanian' - to howl, and that the naming of the stones means 'stones of lamentation'.  Fortunately there was no wind to howl through them in today's still weather

Swathes of bluebells in the fields below

We follow the track through bilberry bushes...

... to reach The Wainstones

The Wainstones

TSB mentions his favourite graffitti found on The Wainstones is 'RO WOOING TD 1712' but we have yet to come across it.

The Wainstones from Garfitts Gap

Lambs on Cold Moor

We walked along the summit of Cold Moor (1318') for 2.5 miles with a fine view as far as the Pennines over to the west and Roseberry Topping and Easby Moor to the east.  Eventually we took a clear fork to the left, taking us gently down to the village of Chop Gate.  This track is known as Cold Moor Lane and we passed through a gate where our path became a hollow lane.  TSB says that it is possible that this passageway was established by prehistoric man and has continued in use throughout history to the present day.

Approaching the summit of Cold Moor

Looking down at Seave Green, the red pan tile roof of Bilsdale Hall at 9 o'clock

Leaving Cold Moor

Cold Moor Lane

The ancient hollow lane to Chop Gate

The usually muddy path was quite passable after the recent dry spell and we were delighted to find it full of wild flowers.  We soon reached Chop Gate where we emerged at the old Wesleyan Chapel which is almost hidden between houses. The reason for the strange location of the chapel is that the landowner, Lord Feversham, was C of E and totally against a non-conformist church being established in the dale.  However a local shop keeper sold the Methodists this plot of land and the chapel was built in 1858.  TSB reports that it contains an interesting harmonium (pump organ) but its doors were firmly locked today and a 'For Sale' notice indicates that sadly there is going to be a change of use for the building.

Weather vane at Chop Gate

The rear of the chapel

The front of the chapel

War memorial at Chop Gate

TSB says that the name Chop Gate is thought to be derived from the old Scandinavian term kaup meaning pedlar and with a number of pannier tracks converging on the village it must have been like a market place in times gone by.

We turned left into the B1257 and walked along to Seave Green whose name is thought to derive from its owner in 1301, Nicholas del Seves.  Here we crossed the road to the tarmac track to Bilsdale Hall.   On the left we passed Chisel Hill Mill which ceased operation in 1930 and later became a recording studio that was used by Chris Rea in the 1980s. The studio's name became the subject of one of his songs, Chisel Hill, which some people mistakenly think refers to Roseberry Topping.   

Continuing along the lane we came to Bilsdale Hall where a moss covered wall opposite the hall provided a soft seat for our coffee stop.  As we broke open the scones an alsatian dog made its way towards us from the hall, getting ever nearer until it finally stopped and stared.  We promised it that its good behaviour would be rewarded with a biscuit when we left.

Chisel Hill

A pas de loup

We went through a gate next to the hall at a footpath sign and followed the alternative dotted path on the map above, steeply uphill, to reach Urra Moor. After pausing to admire the view and regain our breath we turned left and followed the ridge, with a succession of sweeping views of Bilsdale below us.  As well as being on the ridge of the moor we also noticed we were walking alongside the remains of an earthworks.  This earthworks stretches for 2.5 miles and its origin is forgotten, perhaps defensive, or it may have been an animal enclosure. It was known as Cliff Dyke and a couple of centuries ago as Cromwell's Lines.

Walking towards Urra Moor

Fine displays of bluebells

Climbing to Urra Moor

Looking back to Bilsdale Hall and Seave Green

The moor gate and the earthworks beyond

An old stone storage shed

Looking down from the earthworks

TSB mentions two witches who inhabited Bilsdale's moors, Peg Humphreys and her companion Alice Wood, who was said to take the form of a cat or hare. 

We followed the earthworks and eventually came to a little valley where we crossed a stream known as Maiden Spring, at 1300'.

Hasty Bank from the earthworks

Maiden Spring

Descending to cross Maiden Spring

Leaving the beck we continued to follow the earthworks until we rejoined the Cleveland Way track on Carr Ridge.  We turned left and walked steeply down to Haggs Gate where we rejoined the main road for a few yards taking us back to Clay Bank Car Park and our car.

Jackdaw Crags to the right and the crags of Hasty Bank opposite

A beady eye watches us pass

About to descend to Haggs Gate

A very short drive took us to The Buck at Chop Gate where we enjoyed a pint in the beer garden and discussed the day's walk.

Bank Foot to Upper Baysdale 

and Burton Howe

11 miles                                         Fine and breezy

 

We decided on a longer walk today taken, as usual, from The Walker's Guide to the Cleveland Hills.  We parked at the road side near to Bank Foot Farm, which is approached from the unclassified road between Ingleby Greenhow and Battersby.

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

Road to Bank Foot Farm

Bank Foot Farm

Tom Scott Burns relates a grisly deed that occurred here on 3rd October 1924.  Frank Ward, who lived in one of the railway cottages on the incline, failed to return home after an evening of drinking at the Dudley Arms in Ingleby Greenhow.  His daughter Hannah and a neighbour, Medd Carpenter, made a search and followed a trail of blood to a haystack at Bank Foot where Frank's body was found partially concealed.  Later that morning the Police found Frank's best friend Jerry Dalton, who lived in a cottage near Bank Foot Farm, slumped in a ditch with self inflicted throat wounds.  He was subsequently convicted of the murder of his friend and hanged for his crime. 

We walked past the farm and immediately started to climb.  We soon turned right off the forestry track at a metal sign and followed a narrow short cut steeply through the undergrowth, eventually re-joining the forestry track and climbing to Turkey Nab.

Forestry track after Bank Foot Farm

A shortcut through the trees...

... is a steep climb

The cairn at Turkey Nab

On reaching the top we paused to admire the view and get our breath back.  There were fine views over Ingleby Greenhow and Battersby Junction and we picked out familiar land marks before passing a chain and following a moor path.

Climbing towards the Nab

Battersby Junction from the Nab

Looking east from Turkey Nab

Old information board at Turkey Nab

Just beyond the Nab we turned left onto a smaller track that led across Ingleby Moor, crossing Black Beck about a mile further on before a slight climb to bear left onto Middle Head Road.   We paused to watch a Golden Plover sitting on a rock while her chicks ran on the moor nearby.   Shortly after we came to an interesting group of large boulders known as the Cheese Stones, a good vantage point to look down into Baysdale.  Continuing along the moor we came to the remains of a medieval cross and a little more walking found us looking down onto the imposing building of Baysdale Abbey Farm.  

Not much to see but heather

Golden Plover and chick

Clive spots Baysdale Abbey in the distance

The Cheese Stones

Broken medieval cross

As our path snaked through the heather we saw a dead leveret showing no sign of sickness or injury, its eyes still bright, and wondered what had happened to it.

Dead leveret

We walked down towards Baysdale Abbey and decided that the grassy slopes we were crossing would make a nice spot for our coffee and scones, and sat for a while enjoying the view.

Our track runs down towards the three trees

We sit here and enjoy our coffee and scones

Tom Scott Burns explains that in the middle ages land rents for Baysdale were paid with the heads of wolves, which were numerous in the area, and one can imagine this wild enclosed ravine in the 1300s, when cattle were over-wintered in the valley bottom.  In fact, TSB explains, Baysdale is derived from Basdale meaning Cow Shed Valley.  We walked down to the Abbey Farm which has been renovated and is now marketed as holiday lets and walked round the building, then followed the yellow way-marks uphill to Thorntree House.

Two views of Baysdale Abbey

Thorntree House

Tom's map now indicates that we should take a direct route across the fields to Thorntree House Farm and in fact when we checked the OS map, a route is shown but has long since fallen into disuse.  We headed across the fields keeping to where we felt the path should be and passing the farm, rejoined a forestry track back into the woods leading up to Baysdale Moor.  We followed the moorland track for about 1.5 miles before reaching an old stone shooting box.

As we walked over the moors we spotted an Emperor moth clinging to the heather, apparently newly emerged with wings outstretched.  Shortly afterwards we saw a plover's egg on the track, partly smashed and contents removed.

At one point we were chivied by a pair of curlews who dive- bombed us, coming within a few feet of our heads.  We looked across the heather for their family but to no avail.  They escorted us all the way to the shooting box.

Plantation above Thorntree House

The moor gate

Emperor Moth

Plover's egg

Curlew

The shooting box

We walked back up from the shooting box to rejoin our path, which led us down through the old disused coal pits of Armouth Wath, ('ford at becks' meeting') across Grain Beck.  Armouth Wath is a very bleak spot and life in the coal pits must have been hard.  We had a look at what remained and the two becks the name referred to, Rowantree Beck and Black Hagg Beck.  Excavation work has been done at the ruins of the four collier buildings and revealed that the pits were 106' deep.

We left following the colliers' track and a long climb brought us to the Bronze Age tumulus of Burton Howe.

Looking down to Armouth Wath

Clive explores the ruins

Rowantree Beck

Black Hagg Beck

Ruins of colliers' cottages

Looking back to Armouth Wath

Tumulus at Burton Howe

Burton Howe 1419'

There are several tumuli here, apparently dating from 4500 - 1400 BC, some still containing coffins and cremated remains. 

Our path now followed the escarpment across the open land of Ingleby Moor, locally known as Siberia, and devoid of interest until we came to a well preserved standing stone near Tidy Brown Hill.  We could make out the inscription ' Kirby and Helmsley 1757' on one side and 'Guis Boro' on the other and we were pleased to see that tradition had been maintained and a few coins had been left under a loose top stone for the benefit of any needy person who happens by.  Strangely, TSB doesn't mention this stone in his walk description.

Looking west over the Cleveland Hills from Burton Howe

Looking west again..

.. and North-west towards Clay Bank

We follow the ridge

Clive examines standing stone

'Kirby and Helmsley 1757'

'GuisBoro' and pointing hand

A two mile walk along the escarpment brought us back to Turkey Nab and the descent to Bank Foot Farm and our car.  

Grouse and chicks

Well camouflaged and shaky hands

A long walk along the escarpment

Battersby Junction appears in the distance, nearly back!

Horse and foal at Bank Foot

Clive is out of Jakemans tablets so an apple must suffice!

He has them eating out of his hand...

This is a reasonably easy walk despite its length, on good paths.  It would make a good 'wet weather walk' providing visibility good, but there are limited points of interest.