Swainby walk

The first thing I noticed was that there are three pubs in Swainby not two as I've previously reported, but it was too early in the day for them. It was not too early for a boys' outing of walkers who were pulling on their clobber by the beck that divides this elegantly arranged village.

They seemed to be going on a mystery tour the definition of which would "depend on our leader".

We had forgotten our sandwiches but the local shop saved the day.

Pastures, dense holly hedges and lapwings were the stuff of the first leg. Then a bit of quiet road called Back Lane, a farm, a little house fancy with castellations, baubles and a bay tree and we were on a track in the edge of Arncliffe Wood. This forestry rises 400 feet to the moors, our target.

There were a few fallen trees and, for the next half hour, a certain concentrated and instinctive navigation, a fair few twists and turns. Bring an OS map and compass, things can change in forests, though apart from a bit of storm tidying there has been no felling here since we walked, indeed since early December last year.

Eventually we found the main path up, if we hadn't we would not have got up the long and steep part of the climb.

But the route was nice and took us through old oaks and mossy birch sometimes with steep sandstone drops to one side.

The climb through the trees made the tops more of an eye-opener, the splendid view across the plains, miles and miles to the coast and the Teesside heavy industry.

There's a particularly good sighting of far away Roseberry Topping with the symmetric bowl-shaped Whorl Hill two miles away. The latter, which we visited last year, is the place for bluebells.

The Cleveland Way was typically comfortable with neat path reinforcement. Less pleasing was a new-style yellow road sign that read 'No stopping except at car parks' or similar. There is, presumably, a particular need for this restriction here, but one would hate to see these signs spread with the Right to Roam.

A bench provided the view down to the rooftops of Swainby, and there's a semi-stepped gravelled path to drop you down through the contours. But this is the place to stop to give thanks for Bill Cowley, his name and dates 1915-1994 are on a nearby rock. He was a Swainby farmer, Cambridge educated, one-time Indian civil servant, and founder 50 years ago of the famous/infamous Lyke Wake Walk, the 40-mile trek from Osmotherley to Ravenscar.

Directions

When in doubt look at the map. Check your position at each point. Keep straight on unless otherwise directed.

1. From bridge, pass village store, right to Claver Close, cross over at junction to path to right of house No. 7 (signed), field-edge path (three snickelgates). Left to road.

2. Track on right at bend (signed), skirts to left of yard, fieldgate above barns to track ahead (waymark on gatepost), 50 yards, fieldgate, grass track, fieldgate.

3. Step-stream, pair of fieldgates, up to house and barns (waymark), fieldgate between barns into yard, stile/fieldgate to left of house, track by trees, fieldgate and stay by wood edge, 150 yards. Fieldgate to track into wood.

4. Pass waymarked fieldgate to your right, 200 yards, leave track on path to left which angles into trees (waymarked post on left). After about 200 yards, over step-stream/ditch, 50 yards then left on rough track uphill for 100 yards.

5. Left to stony main track, ten yards, indistinct path on right uphill (no sign) through beech then pine (just north of east). Left to wide muddy track (waymarked post), ignore track on left, 100 yards, fork right at 'Y' junction (no sign) not sharp right uphill on track for 100 yards.

6. Clear and nice path on right uphill, the main climb.

7. About 50 yards after crags, left to path (waymarked post) through mixed wood, stile out, 100 yards uphill across field corner, stile and left to moorland path then left to track and keep to tracks nearest wall to left (join Cleveland Way).

8. Left to road, 25 yards, gate to path on right (CW), joins track.

9. At viewpoint with bench fork left to semi-stepped path downhill (signed CW).

10. Left to track at bottom of hill, gate, fieldgate. After house on right, stile (signed), stile into wood, path downhill to footbridge, steps uphill stile, 11 o'clock uphill across field up to stile but not over it.

11. Left diagonally downhill across field to stile in corner, stile 50 yards after barns, cross grass to stile, left to road, right at junction to Swainby.

Fact file:

Distance: Four miles.

Time: Two hours.

General location: North York Moors.

Start: Swainby.

Right of way: The route is along public rights of way and in open access area.

Date walked: Friday, February 18, 2005.

Road route: From York, A19 north then A172.

Car parking: Roadside in Swainby.

Lavatories: Swainby.

Refreshments: Three inns.

Tourist & public transport information: Great Ayton TIC 01642 722835.

Map: Based on OS Explorer OL26 North York Moors western area.

Terrain: Mainly forest slopes.

Points of interest: After years of diminishing popularity there is now the New Lyke Wake Club. Males who complete the route are dirgers, females witches.

Difficulty: Moderate.

Please observe the Country Code and park sensibly. While every effort is made to provide accurate information, walkers set out at their own risk.

Click here to view a map of the walk

Updated: 08:48 Saturday, April 30, 2005