C2C Wainwright’s D13 Ingleby Cross to Clay Bank Top

First day up on the Yorkshire Moors /Cleveland Hills.

“This is the finest section of our marathon (outside Lakeland)…. Beautiful country with far reaching views…. The path from Beacon Hill onwards is (thanks to Lyke Wake walkers blazed almost as wide as a road and, with signs at the few points of doubt, only a genius could go astray” (Ref. awainwright a coast to coast walk. p122 pi. Frances Lincoln 2013)

A beautiful morning, crossing the A172 with comparative ease after yesterday’s A19 and then past Arncliffe Hall and it’s beautiful cows

… straight into Arncliffe Woods and an immediate uphill … but with some fellow walkers …

What a haven for mushroom afficionados ..

The C2C path apparently follows the Lyle Wake Walk for about 16 miles and the Cleveland Way for around 12 miles

Q. Who was Lyle Wake ?

A. Ref . P223 Coast to Coast Path, Stedman and Butler, Trailblazer , 9 th Ed, 2020 ⬇️

Not forgetting to look back

Can’t believe we walked from there .. and beyond

“Hello,hello… is there anybody out there?” (With ref to
**Comfortably Numb” by Pink Floyd**, from *The Wall* (1979)

More friends on the woods

Past some interesting

Turmeric / Saffron dipped ?⬇️

and onto early moorland

before back into woodland

Onto moorland proper

NB: Grouse shooting : 12 Aug – 10 Dec only by permission of the landowner..

Apparently brings in £1M a year to North Yorkshire 🤷‍♂️

There then followed a lot of ‘ups and downs’ – Wainwright must have been having a laugh as there are other routes to the East Coast… but probably a lot less dramatic.

I could name all the ups and downs, but as I’m writing this AFTER a glass of German Beer (see below) I will likely get them the wrong way round and back to front … and anyway, they’re on all the maps and in the walking books ! 🤭

Today’s ’ups and downs’ – a bit of a shock after 2 days of almost totally flat walking ! BUT not as bad as it looks and easier in some ways than the Lakes

Lunch stop- where we met our Canadian and Australian friends again

More ups and downs

EXHILARATING!

… but not for the groups of Duke of Edinburgh teenagers who were trudging up the hills with heavy pack backs etc … (no photos due to Safeguarding sensibilities etc 👍)

Nearly all the path is flagstoned or very easy to follow so really no chance of getting lost (unless you’re a genius of course- see Wainwright quite above) – it’s a busy area with Cleveland Way walkers too.

With a tiny bit of scrambling to boot … but they’ve kindly put acorn signs to follow 👍

And the final down

… before phoning Wolfgang of the Buck Inn to pick us up (they offer all residents this 👏👏👏) rather than trudge the 3 miles to Chop Gate along the road .

The Buck Inn is owned by a German-English couple who bought it 16 yrs ago at auction “with the heart rather than the head” (Wolfgang’s words)

Deffo needed to have a bit of the German menu and beer!