Ladhill Gill and Bumper Castle from 

Fangdale Beck 

 

 7.5miles             Changeable weather

We turned off the B1257 Bilsdale Road and drove past an old green telephone kiosk to the village of Fangdale Beck where we parked at the roadside.  Tom Scott Burns tells us that Fangdale comes from the personal Scandinavian name Fangi or Fangulf, giving 'Fangi's Valley'.   Leaving the car we crossed the beck by the little bridge and walked past the old Wesleyan Chapel, now converted into a private house.

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

 

Fangdale Beck

Over the bridge....

... and past the old chapel

Looking back at Fangdale

A walk along a farm track brought us to a farm called Malkin Bower, which apparently means Matilda's or Maud's Dwelling.   We continued straight past the farm with the tarmac changing to a grassy track.

Malkin Bower

Weather-vane at Malkin Bower

Grassy track

Ringlet Butterfly seen on our track

We followed the path along the valley of Bilsdale, parallel to the road below us.  The track dropped down to the River Seph before gently climbing up to Helm House where, last year, we had admired an old tractor and a road roller, ripe for renovation.  Sadly no-one has rescued them and they appeared to be returning to nature.

Last year

Last Year

This year!

Leaving Helm House we crossed more sheep fields before arriving at Benhill Bank Plantation where our track climbed steadily up to reach the moor gate.

Crossing fields after Helm House

Bilsdale and the B1257 to our left

Climbing steadily up Benhill Bank

More fields lead up to the moor

A fine drizzle begins as we arrive at the moor gate

We crossed the moor to look down on the remains of Bumper Castle.  Tom Scott Burns reports that the monks of Rievaulx wrought iron on Bumper Moor and there are old spoil heaps still to be seen dotted about on the moor.    

Bumper Castle was owned by George Villiers, the notorious second Duke of Buckingham, who, when he died in 1687, had squandered £50,000 a year and was an outcast from society.  Only a few stones now remain of the castle and we walked above the ruins before gently dropping down to Ladhill Gill, with Sportsmans Hall above us.

We saw a large table shaped stone just before the Gill and decided to sit there for our coffee and scones, before crossing a bridge over Ladhill Gill.

Descending to Ladhill Gill, Sportsmans Hall beyond the trees

The remains of Bumper Castle

Sportsmans Hall

Our thoughts turn to coffee and scones

We crossed the bridge and climbed steeply up the opposite side of the valley, turning left to join a track that led us above Sportsmans Hall.  TSB suggests that this name probably has something to do with Bumper Castle and the Duke's sporting pastimes.

Over Ladhill Gill

Ladhill Gill

Looking back over Ladhill Gill to the moor

We pass above Sportsmans Hall

We walked towards the Hawnby road and turned right along a vehicle access track at the moor gate.   The track divides twice and on each occasion we took the right fork, heading towards Bilsdale mast.

Looking back towards Hawnby Hill

Following the vehicle track over the moor

Early heather

Easterside Hill to the left and Hawnby Hill

Take the right fork

Ruined smallholding

Eventually our path struck off faintly across the moor.  We lost sight of the track occasionally but it didn't matter, we knew we had to head east to cross the upper reaches of Ladhill Gill, where it joins with Wetherhouse Beck.  Here the route is indicated by a row of wooden stakes showing the location of some shooting butts. 

This part of the walk is a bit hit and miss, the moor track being either non-existent or overgrown, but eventually we reached the shooting butts and we turned left to follow their line.

Heading towards the shooting butts

At one point I got my camera out to take a shot and by good fortune some grouse flew up in front of me.  I was able to get a pleasing snap of them.

Red Grouse

.. and another

Crossing Wetherhouse Beck

We reach the shooting butts

We make our own path

Bilsdale Mast in the distance

Walking along the line of shooting butts

As we passed one butt Clive noticed that there appeared to be animal remains and jumping in found three tiny skulls and some bones and fur.  We examined the skulls, at first thinking they might be bird skulls before deciding that they were baby rabbits.  We wondered if a bird of prey brought them here to feed on them but noticed a rabbit hole at the side of the butt and decided it was more likely to be an accident.  The baby rabbits had fallen into the wood lined butt and been unable to get out.

We walked along checking the other butts but the tragedy appears to have been a one-off.

Clive examines some fur and bones

Rabbit skulls

This rabbit hole might explain the mystery

The track then followed a dry stone wall to the moor top.  We passed a rounded hillock and then bore right between two plantations. 

Leaving the moor

We went through the moor gate and by some old quarries and then descended via the usual hollow way to emerge at Malkin Bower where we turned left to return to Fangdale and our car.

Old hollow way

Disused quarries

A steep descent

Fangdale appears below

The Rosedale Railway and Botton Head from Ingleby Greenhow

 

 8.5 miles                                Dull and wet

 

Tom Scott Burns  says in his Walker's Guide to the Cleveland Hills, that the name Ingleby has been written in various ways over the years including Angleby, Engelbi, Yngleby and Yngylby. During the reign of William 11 (1087-1100) Guy de Baliol was granted the barony of Ingleby and it remained in his family until the 13th century.

We parked in Ingleby Greenhow in the overflow car park for the Dudley Arms and walked back to the main road, in the direction of Kildale.  Our route left the road alongside a newly built house and we followed an overgrown path onto meadows.  

 

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

The Old Vicarage, Ingleby Greenhow

Turning off the road into...

...a path between houses

.... which emerges onto meadows

Apart from the moorland trails our paths today were little walked and overgrown in most places. We crossed several meadows to arrive at Bank Foot Farm, situated under Turkey Nab, which is probably derived from the old personal name Thorlkil.  Tom Scott Burns says in his Walker's Guide that in 1729 William Parkin was hung from gallows mounted on Turkey Nab for murdering his brother-in-law at Great Broughton.

Crossing meadows towards Bank Foot

Looking back towards Ingleby Manor

Turkey Nab and Bank Foot Farm appear in the distance

Unusual sheep near Bank Foot, possibly a Cotswold?

What do you mean, funny looking?

We joined the bed of the old railway track at Bank Foot and turned right to walk towards the Incline bottom. After a couple of miles we passed by some old railway cottages and reached the stiff gradient of the old incline railway.  We climbed steadily and passed by some old graffiti of a man wearing a stovepipe hat with a bird in front of his face.  TSB suggests that this is a satirical caricature carved by a railway navvy in a moment of inactivity.  We were pleased to see that someone had scraped grass and soil away from it to prevent it disappearing into the embankment. 

The old railway bed

Passing railway cottages

We reach the bottom of the incline railway

Forestry work has cleared a lot of trees from the side of the incline

Looking over towards old mine workings from the incline

A Navvy's graffiti?

Looking back down the incline from our coffee stop

The weather seemed to be changing for the worse and we realised that once on the top we would have no shelter so we decided to sit at the side of the incline to enjoy our coffee and scones, with a fine view back towards Ingleby Greenhow.  As we got to our feet to continue the walk rain started to fall and would continue for the rest of today's walk.

Approaching the top

Remains of the old winding house

To see some photos of how the old railway and winding house looked in its heyday, it is worth looking at this page.Click Here!     The line itself was officially closed on 13th June 1929.

We reached the top and continued to follow the old railway bed, now in a steady downpour.  The line used to run eleven miles from the incline summit to Rosedale Bank Top and never dropped below an altitude of 1000 feet.  The disused track now makes an excellent footpath to Farndale, Westerdale and Rosedale.

The old railway to Rosedale

This bench made a convenient stop to don my leggings

The view deteriorated in the rain

We leave the old railway track

We turned right off the old railway and joined a trail to Cockayne Head and Botton Head, which is also part of the Cleveland Way.  As we walked this trail we came to two old boundary posts, the first known as The Face Stone is mentioned in a 1642 document for the Helmsley Estate, and the second showing a carved hand near to Round Hill dates from 1711.  Near the Hand Stone is the trig point at Botton Howe which is located on a Bronze Age burial mound at 1490 feet, the highest point on the North York Moors.

'Life imitates art far more than art imitates life'  Oscar Wilde

The Hand Stone

Trig Point at Botton Howe

We walked back to the wide path and continued walking across Urra Moor, which according to TSB derives from the Old English 'horh' meaning 'filth'!  Eventually we came to a signpost and an indistinct path right which we followed to quickly drop off the moor down Jacksons Bank and into Greenhow Plantation. 

Sharp right to Jackson's Bank

Starting the descent of Jackson's Bank

Have you never seen a brolly before?

Jackson's Bank

Leaving Greenhow Plantation

We reached the lane down Greenhow Bottoms and over to the right we could see the incline railway while ahead of us Roseberry Topping appeared in the distance.  A mile or so further on the tarmac lane and we reached Low Farm where we stopped to feed an apple to a horse and foal.  We turned right, following a footpath sign into Low Farm where we admired their 'ancient' stone circle.

The incline railway can be seen opposite

Cows are too wet to bother chasing us

A fine display of Rosebay Willowherb

Our path turned left before the farm buildings into fields which we crossed, one after another, on an unseen right of way, aiming for the yellow right of way signs at the field boundaries.

Horses at Low Farm

An apple is very welcome

Stone Circle at Low Farm

Appropriate weather vane at Low Farm

An unwalked path through the fields

After a mile of field walking our path veered right into bushes and descended on a slippery paved trod to reach the bridge over Ingleby Beck, and next to the bridge, the old church of St Andrews. 

Slippery descent to Ingleby Beck

St Andrew's Church

The church was unlocked so we entered and had a look around.  The original church was granted to the Bishops of Whitby in 1143 by Adam de Ingleby and still retains traces of Norman work, we liked a nice pig effigy on one pillar.  Apparently the church was rebuilt at the parishioners' expense in 1741.

Looking towards the altar

There are two recumbent effigies, one of
   a knight  (probably C15)...

.... and the other, a priest (Willimus Wrelton, incumbent c.1300),

Original Norman carvings, a dragon?

... and a boar or pig

The altar window

List of donations

St Andrew's Church, Ingleby Greenhow

The Dudley Arms

Leaving the church, we found we were near the Dudley Arms, which has been an inn since the 1750s and is an ideal place to relax with a pint after a walk, so we did!  We agreed this walk of TSB's is enjoyable, with a bit of everything, hills, moors, farms and woods and deserves to be walked more to prevent many of the paths falling into disuse.