As usual the
start of the route from Ingleby Cross to Clay Bank Top was an uphill climb
through a forest before breaking out to a high level traverse along the
escarpment of the Cleveland hills. 12 ½ miles across the Yorkshire Moors
following the Cleveland Way. The views were magnificent across the top with
Middlesbrough clearly in view in the distance. The weather playing its part and
was that a sighting of the North Sea? This was an up and down day and though a
relatively short walk would take a full day to complete. The heather ridges of
the moors ahead and to the left the wide views of the valleys and fields. The
tops of Carlton Bank, Crinkle Moor and Hasty Bank providing fine panoramic view
points. Carlton Bank being the tallest with the view stretching for miles. The
drops in between the heights certainly let you know this was not all plain sailing. Talking of plane sailing there was, until recently, a gliding club on
top, the buildings that housed the planes still on show. A steep climb down to
the Lord Stones café for well deserved refreshments was welcome with peacocks
in the car park providing entertainment.
Then another climb up to Crinkle Moor the Wain Stones being the next
target which, when quickly viewed look impassable until you scramble your way up
through the well trodden paths. A chap
who was on his way home from Scotland, after delivering a car some 24 hours
earlier, was taking pictures and collecting waypoints and height information
for a new publication on the Cleveland way. He was a former fell runner and
where I would gingerly work my way down the steep slopes, he would just skip
down, how do they do that!!!. The B1257 at Clay Bank was reached and after a
quick phone call to the B&B to pick me up another section of the route was
complete.
The B&B at West Cote farm was very pleasant with
Andrew the owner taking all six guests down to the local pub for dinner that evening.
A Canadian couple and an Australian family were my companions and tales of our
experiences doing the Coast to Coast were exchanged.