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Unitary Authority of Redcar & Cleveland and Cleveland (former)Walk Details:
The Walk: |
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In our race to bag as many of the probably-dismal unitary tops of Tyneside and Teeside as possible today, Gisborough Moor offered our only ray of hope for a decent walk. It was also the only top over the “magic” (for us south-easterners) thousand-foot mark, and the only marilyn, so we were looking forward to it. However, time was still of the essence, and so whilst I’d have liked to ascend the moor from the more interesting-looking northern edge, we instead opted for the slightly shorter walk up from the south. It was a long drive on winding roads from the previous top, and on the way we were entertained by “Doctor Dave” and the stunning silhouettes of Roseberry Topping and the steep northern edge of Urra and Cringle Moors. After driving through this scenery, the gentle southern slope of Commondale Moor was rather a disappointment. We parked in an unmarked grassy parking area and marched up a track on the left side of a small valley past large signs warning of the high risk of fire. We were a little confused as to what moor we were actually on. This side of the valley was marked as Wayworth Moor, the other as Skelderskew Moor and the head of the valley was North Ings Moor. All three seemed to be sub-moors of Commondale Moor, which at some indefinable point turned into Gisborough Moor. We decided not to worry about the semantics and instead enjoy the scenery, for after our initial disappointment Commondale valley turned out to be fine indeed.
We passed North Ings, and shortly after rejoined the main track as it passed a tumbledown green shack. The open front revealed some old tables and chairs, making it reminiscent of a long-disused cafe. Shortly after we visited a small monument on the left-hand side of the path, commemorating two soldiers who died in the First World War. We wondered why it had been placed up here on the moor, so far from any village. Shortly after that a series of numbered wooden posts started counting their way up the hill. Who said moors were devoid of interest?! We were now at the head of the valley and the land stopped even trying to look cultivated. We were now in the typical moorland environment – relatively flat and featureless, and covered in heather, bilberries and rough grass. Here though, there was another crop – occasional small, rough-hewn standing stones, focused on an embankment leading up to a barrow with more stones on the rise to our right. This was a Stone Age construct called Hob on the Hill. It was starting to feel a bit of a slog now, but soon the track took a sharp left turn and we soon saw the cairn that was supposed to be the highest point. However, we also saw another cairn a couple of hundred yards further west, right on the edge of the moor, which looked at least as high. We headed for that one first, delighting in the fact that we could sea the sea to the north-east. There were pleasant views of the North Yorkshire Moors from here, but nothing spectacular. We took a GPS reading, and then headed to the “official” top to compare the GPS altitude there. The reading was identical, so we reckon this is a twin topper. Job done, we headed rapidly back down to the car and lunch. We were slightly
put off our sarnies by a woman in a neighbouring car with the most bronchial
cough I’d ever heard – I don’t think she had long left
on the Earth. We’d rather enjoyed the ascent of this top, but it
had been spoiled slightly because, due to our self-imposed time constraints,
we’d had to return by the same route. On another day when we were
in less of a bagging mentality, we’d have taken the time to make
this into a longer, circular walk.
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We turned off the track onto a small stone-flagged
path leading down to the stream at the valley bottom between ferns, and
leaving a polite berth around North Ings Farm. The scene was everything
I’d ever imagined of North Yorkshire, and I felt very content. The
stone flags ran out as we started a gentle ascent on the far side of the
valley past somewhat startled sheep. It looked like it could be boggy
here at times, but today it was dry.