The Hanging Stone and High Cliff from Gribdale Gate

8 miles                          Cold and wet

Today's weather forecast was for a sunny day so we expected some good views on this walk, which we haven't done for a couple of years.  The weather forecast was wrong.

We parked at Gribdale Gate and followed the footpath steeply uphill and onto Great Ayton Moor as it started to rain.  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'.    New Year's Eve is still more than a week away so we should be OK today. 

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

Sharp climb to Great Ayton Moor

On Great Ayton Moor

After reaching the moor the footpath followed a dry stone wall with views over to Roseberry Topping which was brightly lit against a stormy sky.  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

Rainbow against Roseberry

Walking towards the end of the rainbow...

Turn right before this gate

After turning right at the gate we followed the moor track 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.

 

 

Remains of a 'corridor of trees' with High Cliff in the background.

The rain gets heavier..

The path eventually led us to a surprise view of Hanging Stone, which is a massive block of dandstone which TSB believes may have been part of an old quarry.  We needed to pick our steps with care as we descended past the stone as the heavy rain was now starting to make the path slippery.

 

Approaching Hanging Stone

Descending with care

A long steep descent...

... to Hutton Lowcross Woods

We took our time descending though the trees to briefly join a connecting track through Hutton Lowcross Woods, then turning left and descending again to reach Hutton village road.  Turning right to walk along the road we entered Hutton Village which was built as a model village during ironstone mining in the 1850s.  At the end of the village we passed a modern 'eco house' which was being built last time we passed by.  We went through a gate and started to climb to Bold Venture Gill, a name that surely has a mining history.

Entering Hutton Village

Our path lies through the gate ahead, past the eco-house

Once miners' cottages and now desirable homes

We stayed on this track ignoring all turn-offs and once again were surprised at the amount of tree felling.  No longer 'endless rows of conifers' as described in The Walker's Guide to the Cleveland Hills.  A convenient bench near to the nab was too exposed for our coffee stop so we continued under the nab on to Guisborough Moor, where we hunkered down behind a dry stone wall that sheltered us from the wind, if not the rain.  Hot coffee and scones were very welcome.

 

Climbing towards High Cliff Nab

High Cliff Nab

We walk along by the nab to find....

... shelter behind a dry stone wall

Setting off after coffee

Our walk now led us on to the open moor and we looked down to High Cliff Farm.  We then strode across Codhill Heights, 'Cod' being derived from the Viking word 'Keld', which means 'spring'.  As we walked over the moor the rain stung our faces as we walked into the wind.  On our left we looked down into Sleddale which is apparently derived from the old English 'slaed', a wide flat valley.  Soon isolated Sleddale Farm came into view, looking a bleak place in today's weather.

High Cliff Farm

Passing the Cleveland Way path

On Codhill Heights

Sleddale Farm

Sheep at Sleddale

Ram at Sleddale

The ram is disappointed to find the ladies distracted

We tried our boots in Big Dave's footsteps, they were at least size 12 - thank goodness we didn't meet him!

Wearing his white winter gaiters!

We joined a tarmac road that serves as the access road to Sleddale Farm.  After a while we met Percy Cross Rigg road and turned right into it enjoying views in all directions.  The rain had finally stopped and the sun was occasionally breaking through the clouds.

We came to a small fenced area which is the site of several Iron Age huts that were excavated in the 1960s.  We were pleased to see that dense heather which had previously covered the huts had been cut back, giving a much better idea of the layout of the huts.

Percy Cross Rigg

"It's stopped raining!"

The Iron Age Huts

TSB says they date from 800BC to 70AD

Fungi next to Percy Cross Rigg road

We turn left off the track at this sign

We continued along Percy Cross Rigg, which was once a prehistoric track connecting settlements at Eston Moor, Great Ayton Moor and the Crown End settlement at Westerdale, until we reached a gate and information board.  Here there is a meeting of paths which is actually the junction of four parished, Guisborough, Kildale, Great Ayton and Hutton Lowcross, although there is no sign to that effect.  

We turned left here to cut across the moor on a green path with Lonsdale Bowl to our left.  Looking at TSB's map above you will see this is alongside Lonsdale Plantation but this has been felled, to our advantage as we now have a fine unobstructed view of Lonsdale Bowl.

 

Lonsdale Bowl as the sun breaks through

Looking back to Lonsdale Bowl

We were now on our final leg of the walk and we swung away from Percy Cross Rigg to drop gradually back to Gribdale Gate and our car.

Captain Cook's Monument appears on the far horizon

Dropping back to our car

We drove back to Great Ayton where I took a snap of a ringed gull sitting on Captain Cook's statue, unconcerned by our presence. After admiring a Remembrance Day display on the Green we adjourned for a pint in the Royal Oak. Returning to the car half an hour later we were surprised to see the gull still in the same position.

Little respect for the Captain

Whorlton Castle and Church from Swainby

6 miles                           Cool and misty

 

Low cloud over the hills meant we should aim for a low level walk today and at this time of year we always seem to stray towards this particular walk.  We parked at the roadside in Swainby and before crossing the river we noticed a restored pinfold, similar to the one at Osmotherley.  A pinfold is where stray animals were kept until they were reclaimed by their owners after payment of a fine.

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

Pinfold

Swainby from the pinfold

We then walked up the high street and turned left into a footpath just before the church.

This footpath passes along the back of houses and we quickly left Swainby, which Tom Scott Burns informs us means 'Swain's Farm', from the old Norse name Sveinn.  Our footpath soon joined a lane which took us very quickly to Whorlton Castle.  TSB tells us that there have been a number of castles on this site, even before the Domesday Book which records it as Wirueltun in 1086. William the Conqueror gave the manor to Robert Count de Mortain, and then it passed into the hands of the de Meynell family.  The castle was surrounded by a deep moat over which was a drawbridge.  In 1323 Edward II was known to have stayed at Whorlton Castle while hunting deer in North Yorkshire and during the Cromwellian period Royalists held the castle and were bombarded by Roundheads from Whorl Hill to the East and Toft Hill to the West.

Turning off the high street ...

... into a path behind houses

Whorlton Castle gatehouse from the road

Looking towards the keep

Inside the castle

The castle's Norman keep

The rear of the gatehouse

All that remains of the castle are the gatehouse and what is left of the keep.  

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whorlton_Castle

A few yards further along the tarmac lane brought us to the old Saxon church of Holy Cross. There is a tale that an underground passage links the castle to this nearby church and we decided to stop off to have a look round.  The church was locked and we peered through the grill in the chancel door.  We could just see the bog oak effigy of the second Lord Nicholas de Meynell who died in 1322, as described by TSB.  There are some very interesting tombstones dating from the early 1700s.

The old Church of Holy Cross

Bog oak effigy

'In perfect hilth he went from home, and little thought his glass was run, but dying in so short a space, I hope his soul in  a good place'

'Remember man as thou goes by as thou art now so wonce was I As I am now so must thou be remember man that thou must die'

The rear of the old church

We returned to the lane and followed it to the junction with Whorlton Lane, where we climbed a stile into fields and headed straight towards Whorl Hill, which dominates the skyline.  The field paths were not as muddy as we had expected, perhaps today's strong cold wind had dried them somewhat.  
A steady climb took us into the trees of Whorl Hill (old Norse 'hvirfill' - 'high hill with a rounded top') and we continued to climb until our track levelled out and we circumnavigated the hill, just inside the tree line.  TSB informs us that in 1810 one of Britain's largest hoards of Roman silver coins (weighing 2 stones) was dug up on Whorl Hill by a local farmer whilst ploughing his field.  We followed the path with a fine view down to Swainby through the trees, until we dropped away from the main path to exit the woods at Bank Lane via the garden of a bungalow.

Sheep in the turnips

Turn right at the farm...

... to climb Whorl Hill

Turning off the main path....

... to reach Bank Lane

We now walked up Bank Lane towards Live Moor and Round Hill, neither of which we could see through the low cloud.  Reaching the trees of Faceby Plantation a short sharp climb brought us to a path below Round Hill, and here, sheltered from the wind, we sat to enjoy our coffee and scones.

Climbing Bank Lane

Towards Faceby Plantation

A sharp climb through the trees...

... brought us to the moor gate

We followed the path between the plantation and Round Hill

... and had coffee in the shelter of these trees

We now climbed once more, to reach the moor top and the stone path of the Cleveland Way.  We turned right and walked into a cold head wind, following the Cleveland Way through the mist with no views whatsoever.

Climbing to Live Moor

We reach the Cleveland Way

Following the Cleveland Way through the mist

We descended down a slippery slope to Huthwaite Green where we were surprised to see an old railway goods vehicle at the side of the path. This reminded us that the mineral railway once ran up this valley into Scugdale, although little trace can be seen of it now.

We crossed the tarmac of Scugdale Lane and passed Hollin Hill Farm where eggs and honey were for sale and wondered who passes this spot to buy them?

 

We glimpse Whorl Hill through the mist

The trees of Huthwaite Green....

... and a tricky descent on wet stone

Old railway wagon

Eggs and honey for sale at Hollin Hill Farm

The lane led us over the ford at Scugdale Beck, where it seemed that recent flood water had left debris, and into a field, which we crossed still following the Cleveland Way, to reach the trees of Clain Wood.

Sheep at Hollin Hill Farm

Ford and flood debris at Scugdale Beck

The Cleveland Way path to Clain Wood

Obstruction in Clain Wood

We followed the Cleveland Way through the woods, at times walking parallel with the dismantled railway, until we reached the tarmac of the Sheepwash to Swainby road.

As we descended along this road we saw a stoat run across the road in front of us, leaving its prey, a rabbit taking its last breaths.  Looking at the rabbit we saw that its neck and vertebrae had been bitten through.  We were sorry for the rabbit but there was nothing we could do and we walked off leaving it, no doubt for the stoat to return to.

Efficiently executed

We walked down the hill to Swainby, passing a field containing attractive Southdown 'teddy bear' sheep and some Herdwick sheep, both unusual for this area.

Having seen the old Church of Holy Cross at Whorlton we decided to pop in and see the new Church of Holy Cross, in Swainby, which was built around 1875- 1877, to replace the old church at Whorlton.  The church was open to visitors and had been decorated for Christmas.

Weather vane at Swainby

Southdown sheep

... and Herdwicks

Footballer weather vane

Looking down to Swainby Village

Church of the Holy Cross, Swainby

Looking towards the altar

The altar window

The rear of the church

Leaving the church we passed the Old Parochial School of Whorlton and wondered, not for the first time, where Whorlton begins and Swainby ends.

Whorlton Parochial School

Continuing down the High Street we came to the Black Horse Public House, where the festive lights enticed us inside to enjoy a pint of Black Sheep and a chat with the landlord.

The Black Horse, Swainby

Inside the Black Horse!