Day 10 Ingleby Cross to Clay Bank Top

After the previous day’s flat, long tedium today was a short, (when did I start to think 12 miles was short?) hilly interesting day along the Cleveland Way.  Wainwright was clearly delighted to be above sea level again as he says ‘This is the finest section of our marathon (outside Lakeland) a splendid high-level traverse along the escarpment of the Cleveland Hills’.

And so it was.

From Ingleby Cross we had a zig zag ascent through Arncliff Woods to the escarpment.  The path skirts the edges of moorland, roughly on the north side, with the steep drop afording wonderful views first west over the ‘flat tedium’ and then north to Teeside.

Vale of Mowbry

There are a few ups and downs along the way, a little like skirting round the Howgills,

Coldmoor

but mostly the trail is as enjoyable as a ridge.

Cringle End

There are even a few rocks, which must have lifted AW’s spirits

Wainstones

It  has been incredibly well restored from previous erosion and at times the surface is a pavement of almost high street quality.

Claybank Top

Not that detracts from the ‘wildness’ in anyway, particularly when the wind is pushing a fine shower into any crevice it can find.

Scarthwood Moor – 1st NT land I have noticed since Lakeland

I may have started this walk in summer, but it feels like I will be ending it in winter!