Temporary Interruption in Blogging

 

Immediately after the last post in December I suffered a heel injury known as Plantar Fasciitis, an unpleasant and painful tear in the tendon that runs under the foot at the point where it joins the heel.  See below:
Plantar fasciitis

This happened before in 2014 and I was out of commission for 5 months.   😠

What makes this injury even more infuriating is that it is very slow to heal, apparently sometimes taking up to a year.  I'll be back walking and blogging as soon as I am able.  Thanks to those who have written wondering where I was, do please continue to keep in touch.

 

Along the Old Drovers' Road from Osmotherley

7 miles                                 Cold and fine

We approached Osmotherley from the A19 and parked on the High Street outside the old Thompson's Shop.

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

Thompson's Shop, renovations appear to have stopped for now

Quarry Lane

Tom Scott Burns explains in his notes for the walk that the village was ravaged by William the Conqueror in 1069 and was still described as waste land in its entry in the Domesday Book in 1085.

He also relates that the village was raided by the Scots on several occasions and a raid in 1315 was so severe that the village was excused all taxation because of the distress it had suffered. A few years later, in 1348, the Black Death carried off nearly half the population of Osmotherley.

Also in the Domesday Book Osmotherley is known as Asmundreslac, which means 'Asmund's clearing'.  We would walk past a cottage bearing this name on our return. 

After booting up we went past the Market Cross into Quarry Lane and walked uphill admiring the fine buildings and spotting a couple of weather vanes and a restored pinfold before turning left into Ruebury Lane.

Weather vanes in Osmotherley

Turn left onto Ruebury Lane and the Cleveland Way

We quickly gained height until we looked back down on Osmotherley.  A little further, when the lane becomes a track, is the  Lady Chapel founded by Queen Catherine of Aragon in 1515.  It is still a religious retreat and we followed the twelve stations of the cross as we approached it.

Viewpoint at Ruebury Lane

The 4th Station of the Cross

Lady Chapel

Lady Chapel, not open to visitors today

Leaving the Lady Chapel we dropped down to a track where we turned right, now following the Cleveland Way. This track has a fine view over the Vale of York and we walked along picking out landmarks such as The Tontine on the A19 below.

Leaving the grounds of the Lady Chapel

The Cleveland Way track is muddy after recent rain

Bear right into South Wood

The Tontine Hotel below

We followed the Cleveland Way along the ridge of Summer Game Hill and Swinestye Hill, and then through the trees of South Wood.

South Wood

We walked uphill through the birch trees of South Wood to reach transmitter masts. When we walked past this transmitter station in 2014 we noticed a nice sign on the old gate which is mentioned by Wainwright in his 1973 Coast To Coast Guide.  Unfortunately the gates have been replaced and the sign thrown away with the old post.

Transmitter station

The old sign, now no more

The track continues straight past the transmitter masts at Beacon Hill and directly onwards until reaching the gate to Scarth Wood Moor.  We followed the Cleveland Way path across Scarth Wood Moor, all the time enjoying a fine prospect towards the Cleveland Hills, and in the foreground, Whorl Hill.

Trig Point at Beacon Hill, the start of the Lyke Wake Walk

These pillars appear similar to the brickwork of the Starfish site, see later

The gate at Scarth Wood Moor

Swainby down below, Whorl Hill to the right

We turn right at Scarth Nick, away from the Lyke Wake Walk

Eventually we reached a wooden sign at the deep trough of Scarth Nick, pointing towards Cod Beck Reservoir and left the Cleveland Way to soon join the tarmac road that runs from Swainby to Sheepwash.  

We now walked into a bitter head wind through Scarth Nick to reach Sheepwash.  TSB explains that during the Ice Age of approximately 20,000 years ago, a glacier from the north enveloped an area 20 - 30 miles wide and 1,000 or more feet thick.  It failed to cover the moors but crept into Scugdale depositing materials from Scotland, Cumbria and Durham. Sand, gravel and stones left by meltwater formed the conspicuous mound of Round Hill, the present car park at Sheepwash.

Reaching the water splash at Sheepwash we saw quite a few walkers and as we approached Crabdale Beck we were pleased to meet Joanne, a walker from our own neck of the woods.

Walking towards Cod Beck Reservoir

Well met at Sheepwash! Our hiking friend Joanne

Crabdale Beck

We wanted to stop for coffee but Crabdale Beck was hidden from the sun so we climbed to Pamperdale Moor and the sun, where we stopped to enjoy our scones.

The bank makes a comfortable seat for coffee

Coffee over, we now walked along High Lane alongside the forestry plantation above Cod Beck Reservoir.  This was once a Drovers' Road and TSB suggests that it was probably used by prehistoric man, the Romans and before the present day road was made, as a corridor through the Cleveland Hills. 

High Lane

As we reached the end of the plantation we saw an unusual brick building which we have previously investigated and found to be a WWII Starfish, one of five such sites built during the last war to protect industry at Teesside by the following means:

A series of iron tanks, raised on gantries, would be set out. These tanks held inflammable liquid that could be ignited and quenched on demand. The fires were lit as soon as German bombers began an attack. When they were quenched, the resulting steam looked like the smoke of a burning city, and enemy pilots would drop their bombs harmlessly on the moors instead. Such decoys were officially known as ‘SF’ or ‘Special Fire’ locations, but were generally called ‘Starfish’ sites. 

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

https://www.countryfile.com/go-outdoors/walks/walk-gisborough-moor-north-yorkshire/

The Starfish, seen from High Lane

Concrete base nearby - were the tanks set out here?

A new steel door prevents access

New bollards, not sure of their purpose!

The bricks of the starfish are very similar to those in the pillars near the transmitter station.

Leaving the Starfish we continued along High Lane and as we reached the tarmac road from Osmotherley we passed the ruins of Solomon's Temple, which was built by the eccentric Solomon Metcalf in 1812 and had images of the sun, moon and stars on its walls. Now only fallen stones mark the spot.  

Shortly afterwards we reached Chequers Farm.  This interesting building was an old inn and held a licence for 300 years until 1945. When it was a hostelry it was famous for keeping an old peat fire alight for 150 years!  The sign of the Inn was a chequers board and TSB says this was derived from the chequers that were handed to the drovers to be exchanged for refreshment at the inn. The sign was the cryptic message  "Be not in haste, Step in and taste, Ale tomorrow for nothing."  Of course, as we all know, tomorrow never comes.  The old sign has been mounted behind glass on the farm wall.

The site of Solomon's Temple

Chequers

The original old sign

Chequers

TSB notes that drovers used to bring vast herds of cattle from the Highlands of Scotland across the Hambleton Hills on their way to the markets of East Anglia, the Midlands and London.  Their average pace was just 2 miles per hour. 

We turned right at Chequers Farm where the path heads gently downhill towards the two small reservoirs at Oakdale.  A little way down this track is a family memorial placed against the wall, which commemorates one of our region's war heroes, Ronald Tucker.

For more about Ron Tucker see here

We now followed the path towards Big Wood and Oakdale Farm. Reaching Oakdale and the old reservoir we crossed the beck by an old packhorse bridge and on leaving the reservoir we joined the farm road across Slap Stone Beck (apparently this name refers to slippery stones at the ford) where we admired an attractive conifer garden then entered Green Lane to pass by White House Farm.

The trees of Big Wood ahead

Oakdale Farm

Old packhorse bridge at Oakdale

Passing by the old reservoir

Conifer garden

Artwork at the conifer garden

White House Farm below and houses of Ruebury Lane above

White House Farm

Our path descended past White House Farm and then continued across a small bridge over a stream and steeply uphill to where the path crosses a field and into Osmotherley.

Dropping down to the bridge at Cote Ghyll

Path from Cote Ghyll to Osmotherley

We entered the village passing an old chapel that is obviously still in use.  Tom Scott Burns tells us that John Wesley preached in Osmotherley in 1745 and the chapel was built nine years later.  Wesley returned to preach again at Osmotherley in June 1761, and probably used this chapel.

Narrow path into Osmotherley

Takes us past the old Wesleyan Chapel

We emerged onto the road opposite the Queen Catherine Hotel, and walked behind the pub to look at the 12th Century St Peter's Church, which is almost hidden from view from the High Street.

It was unlocked and we went inside to look around.  The tower is 15th century and the walls are built on Norman remains.  There are fragments of Saxon crosses and part of a hogback (Saxon grave marker) in the porch.

St Peter's Church, Osmotherley

Looking towards the altar

Part of Saxon cross

Festive decorations

This is an interesting walk with lots to see. We had a short drive and settled in front of a roaring fire in a welcoming pub to discuss the day's events.

"To Asmundreslac!"