Sunday 30th April 2000
( cloudy & warm then sunny later )
Today's Walk: Hasty Bank, the Wainstones and Cold Moor ( 4 miles )
Hasty Bank and Cold Moor from the road between Stokesley and Great Ayton
The Cleveland Hills
rise above the flat and fertile Cleveland Plain at its most
southerly extent - three long distance trails,
the Cleveland Way, the Coast to Coast Walk and the Lyke Wake Walk
traverse the 'tops' of these hills
enjoying spectacular views in all directions.
Today we'll walk a couple of those hills - Hasty Bank & Cold Moor - and visit the rock climbers' paradise of the Wainstones.
Today's walk starts at the car park at Clay Bank ( Grid Ref: 572 036 ) 4 miles south-east of Stokesley
From the car park,
turn left and walk about a hundred yards along the road to
Helmsley before carefully crossing the road
and follow the Cleveland Way stoned path (above) to the left of
the forested hillside
After a stiff climb we reach the eastern top of Hasty Bank
Here we look north-east across the Cleveland Plain towards Roseberry Topping and Easby Moor, 5 miles north
. . . . . 
Looking east back
down towards Clay Bank car park (centre) with Ingleby Moor in the
distance
and then the rocky crags of Hasty Bank
To help prevent erosion, parts of the the Cleveland Way are now paved with large stone slabs
From just off the path we look south down Bilsdale . . .
. . . and east from an area of scattered crags and boulders - Urra Moor in the distance
Among the rocks we
came across this fossil -
c'mon you experts - what part of which creature was this millions
of years ago? ( It's about 18 inches long )
. . . . . 
At the western end
of Hasty Bank we reach the Wainstones, a jumble of sandstone
crags and boulders,
loved and frequented by rock climbers
- the right hand photo shows the narrow route of the Cleveland
Way where the path squeezes through the Wainstones
A look back at Wainstones from the Cleveland Way path
. . . . . 
Here we look west towards our next objective, Cold Moor, and then back east to Wainstones
Cringle Moor ahead from Cold Moor
Near this point (Grid Ref: 546 034) we leave the Cleveland Way to return to Clay Bank via the old miners' track
In the 19th and early 20th century, these hillsides were mined for ironstone and jet
The miners' track - this is the easy way back along the route, missing out the 'ups and downs' of the hilltops
The sun has just come out
A lovely view north-east across the Cleveland Plain towards Roseberry Topping
The final descent of the miners' track back down to Clay Bank car park with Carr Ridge and Urra Moor in the distance
I couldn't resist this shot of Roseberry Topping beyond the field of flowering rape seed on the road home
........
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