Eston Hills Circular from Flatts Lane

5 miles             Warm and sunny

Last week's knee injury from The Inn Way to the Dales was still troubling me so we decided to do a short walk from Tom Scott Burns' The Walker's Guide to the Cleveland Hills, that had the advantage of being a walk we hadn't done before.  We drove to Flatts Lane and parked in the public car park that is built on the site of the old Normanby Brick and Tile Co., which was established in 1883.

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

Country Park and visitor centre next to the car park

From the car park we walked along the field to a stile which took us on to Flatts Lane, emerging opposite Rose Cottage.  A perilous 100 yard walk up Flatts Lane as cars zoomed past brought us to a footpath on the left side of the road and we crossed here and immediately left civilisation behind.  Tom Scott Burns reports that Flatts Lane was metalled across the Eston Hills to the Guisborough road by the local authorities in the days of the depression.  Evidence of ironstone working is all around the area, worked by Bell Bros until 1889 when the Cargo Fleet Iron Co. took over.  There was a weekly extraction of 3000 tons of ore from the surrounding hills.

Approaching Flatts Lane from the Country Park

Leaving Flatts Lane

A short climb brought us to a T junction where we turned right and followed a pleasant path below Ten Acre Bank.  We were shocked to find that Himalayan Balsam, a large and very invasive plant with attractive pink flowers, was everywhere we looked.  It was so prolific it had even smothered the bracken.  On other walks we have seen signs encouraging locals to join Himalayan Balsam Bashing meets and that would certainly be a good thing here!  

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

Himalayan Balsam flowers

Himalayan Balsam stands about 6'6" tall

A pleasant path below Ten Acre Bank

We are astonished at the amount of Balsam....

....which even smothers the bracken

The path veered left over a stile into a meadow which led us to Mill Farm and then Claphams Wood.  We were surprised that the path was little walked and in fact we didn't see another soul until nearly back at our car at the end of the walk.  It was difficult to believe that we were not far above the main Guisborough road.

Looking back towards Ten Acre Bank

A nice meadow walk above the A171!

Our view to the right, Roseberry Topping in the distance

Mill Farm

We enter Claphams Wood

Lake (and Himalyan Balsam) near Mill Farm

A steady climb alongside the wood on little walked paths, thick with nettles and brambles, brought us to Moordale Bog, which was actually fairly dry underfoot.  TSB tells us that here, hidden among the undergrowth, is the ruins of Upsall Pit, run by Bolckow, Vaughan and Co from 1866 and then Dorman Long and Co until 1945.  The shaft was 564 feet deep and in all 63 million tons of iron ore were extracted from these hills between 1850 and 1949.  Another climb took us onto Wilton Moor where we came to a convenient bench with a magnificent view back to Roseberry Topping, an ideal place to sit in the sun and enjoy our coffee and scones.

Our path alongside Claphams Wood

Is Clive wishing he's worn long trousers?

Transmitter masts at Eston Nab come into view for the first time

Masses of Rosebay Willow Herb

Heather starting to flower on Wilton Moor

A convenient bench

Our path headed north west across Eston Moor where TSB says early man built barrows and left flint tools dating from 6000 to 2000 BC, until we reached a cluster of transmitter masts.  We walked on towards the Eston Nab Monument where we paused and read the bronze inscription.  At this spot a beacon tower was constructed in 1808 during the Napoleonic Wars.  After 1815 it was used as a house and from 1884 was the home of a David Helm and his wife until 1933, when the body of 80 year old Mr Helm, who had outlived his wife by a year, was carried by horse drawn cart down for burial at Wilton churchyard.  In 1956 it was finally demolished and the present monument was built by ICI, using the stone from the original beacon.   We stood and enjoyed an amazing panoramic view of Teesside and beyond from the Nab with Clive being able to identify most of the industrial landmarks below us.

View from our coffee stop

Transmitter masts near Eston Nab

Approaching the monument

Mast, monument and trig point

The area around the monument was once an Iron Age hill fort dating from 550 BC.  TSB says that it probably served as a refuge for surrounding settlements and calcined bones have been found at the site which prove that cannibalism took place, possibly when ancient warriors were besieged on the nab.

Redcar and Marske in the distance

The yellow rectangle is the nuclear power station

The blue Transporter Bridge can be seen in the centre

The other Power Station is at 3 o'clock with the thin silver tower being the new EU subsidised wood burning plant

We followed the path along the escarpment where someone had erected a flag in memory of Lee Rigby, the murdered soldier, and reached Carr Pond where we saw our first people, a father and his sons with fishing nets.  The boys shouted to us to come and see what they had caught, leeches!

TSB informs us that during the last war a Junkers Ju88A aeroplane crashed here on 30th March 941 after being shot down by a Spitfire from 41 Squadron.  All four crew died and during the war another three aircraft crashed on these moors, including a Spitfire which crashed near to the Junkers site.

The houses of Eston

Memorial flag near the monument tower

Following the escarpment

We now started the descent back towards Flatts Lane and our car.  We agreed that it had been an interesting walk with great views in the clear weather, and it was good to get an unfamiliar view of familiar places so close to our homes.

Starting to descend towards Flatts Lane

Back in the Himalayan Balsam

No Blog this week as we're walking the 

'Inn Way to the Dales'

After 4 days and 50 miles I had to retire hurt with a painful knee.  That's three Inn Way walks in four years and none completed, I can take a hint.

Photos here

Kirby Knowle to Felixkirk and Boltby

8.5 miles          Fine and cool

We approached Kirby Knowle from the Knayton A19 turn-off and parked at the side of the road opposite St Wilfred's Chuch. 

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

St Wilfred's Church

Well maintained interior of St Wilfred's, the organ can be seen on the left

Unlike our last visit to Kirby Knowle, St Wilfred's Church was unlocked, so we went in for a look around.  The church is very clean and tidy, it was rebuilt on the site of an older building in 1873 and has nice leaded glass windows.  We were particularly taken with a modern window that is a memorial to a lady doctor and featured Alexander Fleming and Elizabeth Garrett Anderson, the first woman to qualify as a doctor and surgeon in Britain.

We liked this modern stained glass window

The window is a memorial to a doctor

We left the church and walked out of the village towards Upsall and looked up towards the distant but imposing dwelling of Newbuilding.  Although it is called Newbuilding TSB explains that it actually dates from the 13th century.  It has been restored and modernised but still contains many of its original features.

'Newbuilding'

Just before Upsall we turned off the road into fields and followed an unwalked and very overgrown path to Turton Beckstead.  Beckstead means 'a farm near a river' and as we reached the beck  we saw a stone clearly engraved 'The Turton Beckstead' embedded in the dry stone wall adjacent to the beck. It looks as if an old bridge has collapsed here.  TSB informs us that in the 1860s some mourners were carrying a body to Kirby Knowle for burial.  The bearers set down the coffin to briefly rest at this spot but on lifting it again it felt much lighter and they discovered that the corpse had disappeared. The empty coffin was buried and the site at Beckstead Wood became known as Lost Corpse End.

Leaving the road before Upsall

Walking across fields

Most of the gates on this walk had been unnecessarily tied shut with baling twine

Our track is unwalked

Leaving the fields to approach Turton Beckstead

Old carved stone near beck

Looks like an old bridge has collapsed here.  The stone above is just to the right of Clive

We soon arrived at the road and walked into Felixkirk.  Once again we were fortunate to find the church unlocked, unlike previous visits, and we were able to go inside.  St Felix's is a large church for the size of the village and in very good repair.  Nice windows and again I was impressed by a modern window, dedicated to a retired army officer.

Looking down towards Thirsk from the path to Felixkirk

Awkward stile and slippery bridge

St Felix, Felixkirk

Airy domed ceiling

Altar window

Modern stained glass window

As you can see from the above photograph of the church, the graveyard has been recently fenced off so it is difficult to see the interesting old gravestones such as that of Hannah Cornforth, photographed on a previous visit.

'Twenty years I was a maid, 1 year I was a wife. 18 hours a mother, and then departed life'

 

Felixkirk

We retraced our steps to the outskirts of Felixkirk and turned right at a road junction and passed the lodge to Mount St John, once a preceptory in the days of Henry I. We turned right down a lane towards Cinque Cliff House where the path has been diverted by the new owners through fields around the back of the house.  While on this diversion we found that we were sheltered from the breeze and sat on the sloping fields with a nice view to our left of Whitestone Cliff, to enjoy our coffee and scones.

The lodge to Mount St John

We bear right across the cattle grid towards Cinque House

Taking the new diversion around Cinque House

A pleasant place to sit for a while

Cinque House

We set off once more and our diversion rejoined the track below Cinque House and we followed a grassy lane to the road where we turned left and walked into Thirlby.

Green Lane

Some nice weathervanes in Thirlby

Thirlby is famous as the home of a woodcarver, Bob Hunter, who worked with 'Mouseman' Thomson of nearby Kilburn.  Bob used the trademark of a wren and his workshop is Pear Tree House down by the ford.  

The workshop of the Wren Man

Detail from the front porch

The workshop next to the ford

We walked past the workshop and some attractive cottages before turning left into fields.

Bridge Cottage, Thirlby

Walking through Thirlby

'No shop or inn is there here about, so why not sit down and enjoy summat for nowt'  - donated by 'two good sorts'

Unusual stile near Thirlby

Just past the ford we left the village through a gateway into a field where we followed a barely discernible track to Tang Hall, crossing a couple of becks and an unusual stile on the way.  One stile was extremely muddy and could not be circumnavigated.  Fortunately Clive found a branch which could be manoeuvered to form a rudimentary bridge over the mud.

Leaving the fields to enter a wood

A woodland path

Clive builds a way through the mud

Carefully does it

We walked through several fields containing cows, horses and sheep to reach Boltby, emerging onto the road next to the packhorse bridge.

We are watched as we pass by

A fine ram

Boltby

Packhorse bridge at Boltby

  

We turned left at the packhorse bridge and walked through the pretty village of Boltby before turning right at a waymarked sign at the lane between Spring Garth and Gurtof House.  We then followed a series of field boundaries to reach the modern mansion of Ravensthorpe Manor.

Racing weathervane in Boltby

Walking through Boltby

Leaving the village

As we approached the manor house we walked through a couple of fields containing horses, which seemed largely indifferent to us.  The final field also contained two pigs, one of which ran over to see if Clive had any biscuits.  It was in luck.  We were also fascinated to see a large brown horse, frozen like a statue, unblinking and unmoving as we walked right up to it.  It must have been fast asleep!

Something has seen us!

The horse on the right is fast asleep

Not a statue

 Yummy, biscuits!

'Any for me?'

The last of the biscuits

Sad to see us go

As we walked uphill behind Ravensthorpe Manor a large buzzard circled overhead, and when we stood still it came close enough for me to get a photograph.

A buzzard overhead

We followed our track through Westow Plantation and then across Birk Bank to return to Kirby Knowle and our car.

Westow Plantation

Birk Bank

Kirby Knowle appears in the distance

Back to St Wilfred's in Kirby Knowle