Wednesday 31st January 2001
Weather: Mainly sunny - another lovely day
Today's walk: Sandsend - Kettleness
( 6 miles )
The stone walls and
red pantile roofs of the old cottages of Sandsend more resemble
those found
in a North York Moors village - the newer houses and hotels are
to be found on the seafront promenade
Sandsend's economy
these days relies mainly on tourism, especially in the summer
months, when hundreds of visitors
enjoy the facilities of a fine beach and lovely bay for
sunbathing, sailing and wind-surfing
As its name suggests, Sandsend lies at the north-western
extremity of a stretch of golden sands
that begin 2½ miles away at the popular fishing port of Whitby
Looking at the
sleepy village today, it's hard to imagine that it once had a
thriving alum industry
dating back to the early 17th century and lasting until 1867
after over 250 years of production
- as you will see during our walk, those times have left many
scars and grotesque shapes on the landscape
We begin at the
large public car park (Grid Ref: 860 128) that lies at the bottom
of steep Lythe Bank
which will feature later on as the last leg of today's walk
Here we look
north-west to the cliffs at Sandsend Ness where we will head for
first
- go through the 'kissing-gate' in the far corner of the car park
and up the steep steps onto the old railway trackbed
At the top of the
steps you'll see a few remains of the old railway platform - this
is where, in days gone by,
thousands of excited summer visitors alighted from the old steam
trains to begin their annual summer holidays by the seaside
The Saltburn to Whitby railway line carried you on one of the
most spectacular journeys in the country
. . . 
Follow the track
straight ahead towards the cliffs - take care not to go too near
the edge as they are very unstable
The first three miles of our walk are on part of the Cleveland
Way long distance trail
Soon you'll begin to see the obvious signs of a long gone industry
From the early 1600's to the end of the 1800's, alum was a vital ingredient for two industries - textiles and tanning
In the textile
industry it was added to fix dye in cloths, while in tanning it
helped make the leather supple and durable
- part of the alum making process required the addition of an
alkali and so urine was used in vast quantities,
but local supplies (left in jars on the doorsteps) wasn't enough
so more was imported from Hull and London!
The first public urinals in Hull were purposely built as
collecting points for this trade!
So now we are left
with these weird, grotesque-shaped heaps of waste material from
the mines and quarries . . .
. . . the excavated alum shales have completely changed the whole
cliff profile of Sandsend Ness
. . . 
After about a mile
of walking we arrive at the partially bricked-up entrance to the
railway tunnel
There were actually a couple of tunnels on this particular
stretch of line - another arch can be seen on the undercliff face
from the cliff-top path further on, the other end of it is easy
to see from our path nearer Kettleness at Grid Ref 838 154
Turn right just before the tunnel and climb steeply up both the stone and wooden steps in Overdale Woods
On emerging from the woods over a stile at the top of the steps, go straight ahead with the stone wall on your left
It's worth pausing
and taking a look back at the lovely views south-east as far as
Whitby in the distance
Here we see another walker sitting on the fence with the same
idea in mind
Keep going straight
ahead on the cliff-top path - again I must warn you to take care
not to go too near the edge
- in parts there's a sheer drop and it's a long way down to the
rocks below!
Soon you'll begin to see the prominent cliffs ahead near Kettleness
As there wasn't a
breath of wind today, the North Sea was as calm as a millpond
- you could even see the clouds reflected in it
I particularly like
this part of the walk - the path changes from being worn and
partly muddy to a soft, grassy surface
- it's not far from here, on your left in a railway cutting, that
you'll find the other tunnel entrance that I mentioned earlier
Another glance back towards Sandsend Ness and distant Whitby
Continue along the cliff-top path and soon you'll see, far down below to your right, even more mounds of alum shale
Similar to what we
saw earlier at Sandsend Ness, the strange contours left behind by
the alum works here at Kettleness
almost resemble some kind of lunar landscape
On reaching the tiny village of Kettleness we found this perfectly situated seat to sit and enjoy our packed lunch
Here Jean relaxes and enjoys the magnificent views across to Runswick Bay, its white painted cottages glinting in the sun
In the very far
distance you can just see Boulby Cliffs which at 679ft are the
highest in England
- you could spend all day at a place like this, they're hard to
leave behind
Still, we're only halfway on today's walk so we must continue on - turn left along the surfaced road
Today, the present
stone cottages at Kettleness looked safe and sound
However, on the night of December 17th, 1829 the original village
was completely destroyed, along with the alum works,
when after torrential rain, subsidence of the cliff caused the
whole lot to plunge into the sea
- fortunately, the villagers were rescued and taken aboard by an
alum ship, the 'Little Henry' which was lying offshore
Before we leave I
must mention I was surprised to read recently that Kettleness is
officially the remotest village in Yorkshire
due to the distance it lies from the nearest form of public
transport (thanks for the information Reet!)
That wouldn't
always have been the case though as the village at one time had
its very own railway station
- the building is now used as an outward bound centre for 'scout
troops', etc
Follow the road for
about another 300 yards then go through the gate just before this
derelict chapel
and then cross the stile and head up the hillside aiming for the
top corner of the field just left of the farm ruins
Here's the view back down to Kettleness from the stile at the top of the field
After crossing the
stile you will see an information plaque with details of a 4th
century Roman Coastal Signal Station
which was situated where there
is just a grass mound at the crest of the next hill
- the site was one of five
built as part of a system of coastal defences
The others are at Huntcliff
(near Saltburn), Ravenscar, Scarborough and Filey
- the site was excavated in
1918 and over 300 coins were found, but disappointingly it is now
all grown over again
The route we
followed today passes just to the right of the grass mound and
heads for the top left-hand corner of the field
- it became very boggy and the
lane at the top leading up to the farm was impassable - not with
mud, more like glue
In hindsight,
having been so disappointed of what little there is to see of the
Roman Signal Station,
I would have carried on past
the chapel up the narrow, quiet road for the next half mile or so
into Goldsborough
- that's the route I would advise anyone to take other than in
very dry spells
On reaching
Goldsborough (by whichever route you choose) stay on the road
past the Fox & Hounds pub (B&B available)
and 50 yards after a sharp right-hand bend, turn left along this
farm track leading to Overdale Farm
Carry on through
the farmyard and then go through a gate and cross the field
heading for the bottom right-hand corner
where a gate leads down into a wood - follow the track as it
curves and crosses the beck then climb it up the other side
- part of the path is an old stone trod
After emerging from the wood, follow the wide lane towards the church on the horizon
St Oswald's Church, Lythe, catching the last of the afternoon sun's rays
Turn left and walk down steep Lythe Bank (1 in 4) with more good views over Sandsend to Whitby, 2½ miles distant
We finally reached the beach at Sandsend just as the sun began to lose its strength
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