Words & Photos Ian Battersby

December 03 2009

A kestrel takes to the wing as I wander Great Ayton Moor, the border of which is lined with conifer and birch. In the absence of thermals in the pre-dawn air, it harnesses the up-draught from the edge to gain altitude, before sliding away to where the land rolls towards the coast in the east.

Here an emerging glow of warming orange spreads back west en route for a dazzling half moon before settling onto the land. I feel a million miles from the background drone of Teesside’s morning rush hour.

My arrival at Newton Moor is timed for a glorious display. The first rays of sunrise brush the shoulder of my next hill, setting its flank on fire. Wispy clouds reach across a blue sky, mimicking chimney smoke floating through the vale. From my vantage point the moon sits directly above Roseberry Topping, adding to the sense of mystery as night gives way to day. I hang around, spellbound in the dawn of this loved landscape, only a handful of miles from the turmoil of Teesside.

At the crest of the Topping I sense the waves of generations of visitors, running my hand over names chiselled into the craggy outcrop. Most of it is weathering well, and even the modern day smiley, daubed on a white trig point, didn’t detract too much from the magical character of this unique summit. The hill is a slender cone on all sides but the west, where it has been ravaged in a dramatic landslide, gifting it with airy views. Fulmars visit the precipice in the warmer months, perhaps to nest, but today the wind blows bitterly, and I’m soon ushered away, dropping down by the landslide for the best view.

I head east into the hushed shelter of Hutton Lowcross Woods, a lovely combination of deciduous trees, evergreens and larch, managed by the National Trust. This woodland intermingles with Guisborough Woods, which are set on a fabulously steep embankment, hiding a conceited crag with a view out to the North Sea. The face of Highcliff Nab is pale green with lichen, but where water runs down its face, bright orange sandstone is revealed. On top stands a crew-cut of stunted pine. The vivid views keep coming as I march out along the edge.

Eventually I pop out onto Guisborough Moor where far-reaching, undulating heather returns with the immense skies that are an integral part of the North York Moors. The land drops towards the Cleveland escarpment, which appears as a rush of ridges. My walk ends with the Cook Monument, which stands proud beckoning me on. It rises unmoved into the wind, which has fetched in a blanket of cloud, and the temperature plummets as I make a final hasty retreat.

Distance: 12.5 miles/20km Ascent: 2600ft/800m Time: 7-8 hours Start/finish: Car park above Gribdale Terrace (GR: NZ 592110) Map: Ordnance Survey 1:25,000 Explorer sheet OL26 (North York Moors – Western area) Information: Guisborough, 01287 633801 Travel: Trains to Great Ayton station

Technical Spec
Cleveland Way N to Newton Moor turning W to Roseberry Topping. Descend path NW to path around base of hill. Follow this E to bridleway. Take bridleway NE, through Hutton Lowcross Woods, exiting SE to lane. SE through Hutton Village, climbing to hairpin bend. Track NNE then ENE to clearing. Track SE and path to top of Highcliff Nab. Cleveland Way ENE, dropping NE to path junction (1km). Climb S 1km onto moor to path junction. Track NNW 500m, then WSW by woods. Path S over Codhill Heights and down to farm track. SW to lane. NW to track junction. Track and lane S climbing Coate Moor. Cleveland Way W to Cook Monument, and N to car park.