Thursday 12th September 2002
Weather: Damp & misty in the morning, glorious & sunny later in the afternoon
Today's Walk: Clay Bank - Bloworth Crossing - Bransdale -
Tripsdale - Urra Moor
( 14 miles - Strenuous )
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Today's walk begins
at Clay Bank car park (Grid Ref. 572 036) - leave the car park
and walk south-east alongside
the B1257 Stokesley to Helmsley road for 200 yards before turning
left through a gate onto the Cleveland Way.
Follow the path
(paved in places) steeply up the hillside, passing through
another couple of gates before emerging
onto Carr Ridge on Urra Moor - ignore the path to the right neat
the CW sign after the second gate and go straight on.
The wide track over Urra Moor is very easy to follow - in weather like today's it can be very bleak up here.
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Within a couple of
hundred yards of each other, next to the track near Round Hill
(Grid Ref. 594 016),
are two ancient standing stones - the Hand Stone and the Face
Stone.
The trig point on
Botton Howe, an ancient burial ground, situated about 50 yards
north of the Hand Stone (above left),
is the highest point on the North York Moors, lying at a height
of 1,490 feet (454m).
. 
The path eventually
reaches a disused railway trackbed at Grid Ref. 612 016 - turn
right and follow the track
until it reaches a crossroads at Grid Ref. 616 015 - turn right
again and head south-east along ancient Rudland Rigg.
.
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After about a mile, at Grid Ref. 626 999, look to the left for a large standing stone - the Cammon Stone (above left).
Half a mile further on on the right, at Grid Ref. 631 991, is another ancient moorland marker - Cockam (Cockan) Cross.
"Cockan Cross
has a broken shaft standing on its medieval base, it is believed
to be part of the original cross shaft
which has had directions carved on all four sides to be used as a
waymarker:
STOXL RODE, KIRBY RODE, FARNDALE RD AND BRANSDALE RODE.
The cross stands
just off the ancient Rudland Rigg Road, which crosses one of the
longest stretches of unhinhabited
moorland in North Yorkshire, and has probably been in use for
over two thousand years."
('An Illustrated Guide to the North Yorkshire Moors - Elizabeth Ogilvie & Audrey Sleightholme)
A couple of hundred
yards further on past Cockam Cross look for a small pile of
stones on the right
- at this point follow a narrow track west through the heather
until it widens into a clearer, stony track (above).
Just past the
corner of the forest the views open out beyond the bracken to
beautiful Bransdale
- even in this morning's poor visibility there was still
something enchanting about its green fields
and small, red-tiled farms dotted about here and there.
Continue down the
field path to a narrow road, then turn left for a hundred yards
or so to Cow Sike Farm.
Climb over a stile in a wall to the right at Grid Ref. 625 981
then follow the path across a couple of fields
before reaching a gate which leads you down some steep, stone
steps to the restored watermill buildings
of Bransdale Mill at Grid Ref. 621 979.
"The mill
wall-ties display the initials 'W.S.' which stand for William
Strickland, who rebuilt the mill in in 1842
after moving from Farndale. His son Emanuel (who became curate of
Ingleby Greenhow for a short time)
carved a number of inscriptions on the mill buildings."
('The Walker's Guide to the Cleveland Hills' - Tom Scott Burns)
Looking back east towards the mill buildings from the old sundial.
From Bransdale Mill
follow the field track south-west towards Colt House Farm. From
the farm,
continue up a walled lane then bear slightly right before
reaching a narrow, surfaced road.
Cross straight over and follow the steep path up the side of some
old shale tips
and then continue on climbing the slope up through the heather.
It's quite a pull,
so keep having a breather and turn to enjoy the views across
Bransdale
- above looking back to Colt House Farm (marked as Bransdale
Castle on older maps) from near the road.
. 
The path through
the heather is narrow in places but there are a number of small
cairns marking the way.
Eventually the path meets a wide track (the medieval Thirkelsti
road) near Stump Cross on Bransdale Ridge
at Grid Ref. 607 982, a good place to sit and rest and enjoy your
packed lunch.
"Stump Cross
has one of the largest bases of all the crosses, measuring two
foot six inches square with a
broken shaft wedged into it. In 1829 the cross was called 'the
cross with the hand' presumably because
the original shaft had a carved outstretched hand which many of
the waymarkers on the moors had.
The cross stands on the medieval Thurkilsti track, one of four
important roads crossing the moors from Helmsley.
A short distance from Stump Cross to the north-west, the
Thurkilsti joins the Via Magna which in 1145AD
was called 'the great road coming from the Thurskilsti.'
('An Illustrated Guide to the Crosses on the North Yorkshire Moors' - Elizabeth Ogilvie & Audrey Sleightholme)
Leave Stump Cross
and go left at a nearby track junction continuing in a north-east
direction along a wide track.
After about ¾ of a mile you'll pass a couple of isolated wooden
huts to your left on Slape Wath Moor
- these are used by grouse-shooting parties and provide walkers
with welcome shelter if caught in a storm...
...which looked highly likely today looking south-west (above) at the threatening skies above Hagg House Moor.
Fortunately, the
rain stayed away - about ½ a mile further on, the track begins
to descend into Tripsdale,
a green and secret little valley hidden away in the midst of
these wild moors.
"The ruins of an old
dwelling can be seen above the ford in the valley, which is said
to have been the home of an old cobbler.
Apparently he used to sell clogs, shoes and slippers outside the
old Fox and Hounds Inn at Seave Green on Sundays
to the congregation as they came down from Urra Church.
A little further down the valley - below the rockface of Kay Nest
- is a large boulder known locally as the 'Ship Stone',
from its likeness to the bow of a sailing vessel. A Latin
inscription is carved on one of the sides as follows:
ALL THINGS ARE FULL
OF THE CREATOR
JOHN HART, A MAN OF BILSDALE, 1849
('A Walker's Guide to the Cleveland Hills' - Tom Scottt Burns)
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The track climbs
steeply up the other side where we had to make way for a couple
of shepherds
driving their sheep down into the valley before upwards and onto
the moor tops.
Here we look back to Tripsdale - soon the bracken will turn from green to golden before dying off in the winter.
Where the track reaches the crest of the ridge, a wonderful vista of Bilsdale opens up straight ahead.
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At Grid Ref. 577 995, turn right and follow the wide track which follows the edge of the ridge…
…enjoying the superb views west across the valley towards the villages of Chop Gate and Seave Green.
Follow the track
ahead to a T-junction where you turn left and downhill for a
short way then turn right
just before a gate and follow a narrow path keeping more or less
parallel with the drystone wall on the left
- this particular stretch of the walk can be particularly wet and
boggy, even during periods of dry weather.
The underfoot
conditions are worth putting up with for a short while, the
rewards being even more
wonderful views across Bilsdale and down towards the tiny farming
hamlet of Urra
and north-west across to Hasty Bank and the Cleveland Hills
escarpment.
The path improves
greatly once the marshy ground has been left behind as it winds
its way
along the western edge of Urra Moor and down to a little gully
then crossing over a pretty beck.
The path continues along to Carr Ridge…
…where you
eventually arrive at the Cleveland Way signpost passed earlier,
this time following its directions
left and downhill to retrace your steps of the first half-mile of
the walk….
...enjoying glorious views north across the Cleveland Plain towards Roseberry Topping in the far distance.
Continue down to
the road, turning right and back along to the car park at Clay
Bank.
It's still worth pausing a few more minutes to enjoy the views
before driving off back home.
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