Friday 15th February 2002
Weather: Dry & sunny - a lovely day for February
Today's Walk: Bank Foot Farm - Ingleby Incline - Greenhow Moor -
Turkey Nab ( 7 miles )
Today's walk starts and ends about a mile from Ingleby Greenhow village at Bank Foot Farm ( Grid Ref. 592 062 )
There are ample parking spaces on the grass verges at the side of the old rail track
We set off in a
southerly direction along the straight, flat track that was once
a busy industrial railway
enjoying extensive views of the northern escarpment of the
Cleveland Hills
The line originally
ran from Battersby Junction to the bottom of Ingleby Incline, and
then from the top of
the Incline, on across the moors to West Rosedale Bank Top, a
total distance of 14 miles.
The line was opened on 27th March, 1861.
In his excellent book 'The Walker's Guide to the Cleveland Hills', Tom Scott Burns tells us:
"One could
never imagine an evil deed ever being committed within the quiet
hamlet of Bank Foot, yet under the
sheltering gaze of Turkey Nab a callous deed was committed on the
night of Friday the 3rd October 1924. In the
modest railway cottage at the incline foot, Hannah Ward (pictured
above) and her younger brother waited long and
patiently for their father's return from the Dudley Arms pub at
Ingleby Greenhow. Fearing something may have
happened to her father, Hannah called at their neighbour's, Medd
Carpenter. With candle-lantern in hand, Medd
stepped out into the blackness to appease Hannah's fears. A brief
search, and then a trail of blood was followed
to a haystack near Bank Foot where the partially-concealed body
of Frank Ward lay dead. The police called the
following morning at Poultry House Crossing, the home of Jerry
Dalton, near Bank Foot Farm. His wife said he had
left the house to check some rabbit snares. In the process of
scouring hedgerows and fields in the immediate area,
police discovered Dalton with a self-inflicted wound slumped in a
culvert. Dalton was convicted for the brutal
murder and robbery of his best friend Frank Ward, and
subsequently hanged for his crime."
. 
About a mile from
Bank Foot Farm still stands the small row of cottages where
Hannah Ward waited in vain
- originally railway worker's homes, then abandoned, they are now
renovated and occupied by forestry workers
. 
Just past the
cottages we reach the bottom of Ingleby Incline - 1430 yards in
length, ascending 700 ft,
to Incline Top on Greenhow Moor on a gradient starting at 1 in 11
attaining a maximum of 1 in 5
This is how Ingleby
Incline looked in it's heyday - wagons (usually three) were
hauled up by steel ropes,
1650 yards long, which passed around 14ft brake drums at the top,
descending wagons with their loads of iron ore,
drawing up a set of empty ones. The journey normally took three
minutes at a speed of about 20 mph.
There were
catch-points installed near the top and bottom to direct runaway
wagons - accidents were not infrequent
despite extensive care in operation and photographs of some of
the incidents can be seen at Railways Around Ingleby
Note on the above
photo some people sitting on the trucks - although it was
strictly against the 'rules' to ride on them,
it is well known that some of the people who lived in the railway
cottages at the top of the Incline, and some workers,
risked this method of travel rather than take the tiresome walk
to the top
. 
From near the top
we can see just what a marvellous feat of engineering
construction the Incline was
- deep cuttings were carved through massive rocks and boulders in
places
The view north is across the Cleveland Plain towards Teesside
Today I enjoyed the
company of three of my old school pals, Dave Wright, Nigel Goode
and Bob Barton
- obviously relieved at reaching the top, here they are rewarded
with fine views west towards the Cleveland Hills
There are still reminders up there of the old ruined drum house...
...and what's left of other stone buildings and cottages
This is the scene
at Incline Top during its working days - there was the drum
house, workshops and four cottages
- the drum house was finally dismantled in 1941
Due to its exposed site on Greenhow Moor, this place was known as 'Siberia' to the locals!
From Incline Top we
continue along the old trackbed for about another mile to
Bloworth Crossing (Grid Ref. 616 015)
- Bloworth (Blowith) Crossing was where the railway line crossed
a rough road known as Rudland Rigg, which ran from
Kirbymoorside to Stokesley - the crossing was 'manned' during its
working years and the 'gate-keepers' and their
families lived in the house above known as Blowith Cottage. The
last people to occupy the cottage were
Harold Bailey and his family and a Mr Atkinson, until the railway
officially closed on 13th June, 1929.
Today, there is little remaining evidence at the site of the cottage - only a few stones laid scattered about.
It's at this point where we leave the railway line and join the Cleveland Way, turning to walk in a north-westerly direction
. 
A few hundred yards along the track we come to a prominent pair of standing stones
Clearly carved on the south-east face of the tall stone is...
F
1838
...I assume it's a
boundary stone, the F referring to the Feversham family estate
On the north-west side is carved...
SIR
W
FOWEL
...of which I know nothing - perhaps someone can send me more information.
About ½ a mile further on, a short detour off the track brings us to Burton Howe (Grid Ref. 608 033)
"The Bronze Age
tumulus of Burton Howe is reached at a height of 1,419 feet
(433m). These turf barrows
were constructed about 4500-1400 BC on a
grassy heath in a forest clearing. Some of the structures contain
coffins or cists, usually in the centre of the barrow, others
contain the cremated ashes in clay urns. The majority
of the tumuli are situated upon high ridges: was it to placate
the free spirit of the dead, did sun worship play an
important part in their religion, or were these convenient guides
or boundary markers?"
. 
A bit further on,
and just off to the east of the track is a 'hand stone', quite
common on these moors
- on the west face of this one is carved:
TO
INGLE
BY
AND
STOX
LEY
...with underneath a carved hand pointing south in the direction of Stokesley - and on the east face:
TO
KIRBY
AND
HEM
SLEY
1757
On top of some of
these stones, travellers would leave a few pennies for those in
more desperate need,
a tradition still practiced today
Huge boulders are scattered along the western slopes of Greenhow Bank, many standing at precarious angles
Tom Scott Burns had told me previously of a shelter he once found under one of these rocks, and after a search...
...I think this might be it - the boulder forms a natural roof whilst the dry stone front is obviously man-made
Dave and Nigel take
a closer inspection of the 'shelter' - Dave crawled in and
reckoned there was room
enough for three, or maybe four people at a squeeze - I followed,
agreed, and then quickly retreated!
The weather can soon close in on you up here, so as the saying goes, "Any port in a storm..."
Continuing north
along the track, we leave the Cleveland Way at Grid Ref. 602 050
where we bear left to descend
to Turkey Nab with good views of Roseberry Topping and Captain
Cook's Monument on Easby Moor straight ahead.
The track continues to twist down Ingleby Bank, then through
forest, back to our starting point at Bank Foot Farm.
In 1932 a superb
little volume by Alfred J. Brown was published under the title 'Tramping
In Yorkshire''
in which Brown describes the joys of walking this often
wind-blown ridge...
"The wonderful
old road holds steadfastly to the crest and points straight at
the last stalwarts of the Clevelands
- Roseberry Topping and 'Monument' Hill - ahead; and they seem so
near in the clear air that you might imagine
you could leap over to them, but you would need the broom of Old
Dolly Makin to do it! Yet even the longest ridge
must come to an end, and suddenly the road twists, hesitates, and
takes the plunge gloriously down Turkey Nab.
The Cleveland county is full of 'Nabs', but Turkey Nab will take
some beating..."
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