Coast to Coast UK - Osmotherley to Great Broughton

June 07, 2024

We began the day by retracing our steps. Last night, we had stayed in the attractive village of Osmotherly, but as it was about 1.5 km, or a mile, off the route, we had to backtrack to rejoin the track, making the distance for the day about 13 miles (21km).

The hill out of the village was a step pinch. Wallsy found a lovely seat, but I told him it wasn’t time for a break as we hadn’t even walked a mile yet! He tried it for size anyway, but only briefly, and we were soon turning onto the track which would lead us along the north side of Arncliffe Wood on the Cleveland Way. We would be following a section of the Cleveland Way all day today, and generally, it boasts better waymarking and clearer tracks.

Wallsy took the lead as we followed a stone wall along the wood, until we reached Scarth Wood Moor. As this section was a bridleway, we were joined by a couple of horse riders at this point. A bridleway can be used by people on foot, bicycle or horse, whereas a public footpath is only for walkers. As we passed through the gate, Wallsy found another seat, but really, we still hadn’t earned a break, so we followed the horse riders and a number of other walkers across Scarth Wood Moor, where the breeze was quite strong and cool, forcing us to stop and don our jackets.

After crossing a road, we were back in the shelter of woodland and it wasn’t long before we needed our jackets off again. It continued like this all day! It was here that I saw a squirrel, and I would like to think it was a red squirrel, although it moved very quickly and was up to the top of the tree before I could say ‘squirrel’, so I can’t confirm that it was a red for certain. At the end of the wood, Wallsy found the remains of a broken seat, and a stump. Not to be dissuaded this time, he opted to sit on the stump and we had our morning snack, with some four miles, and two hours of walking under our belts.

Coming out of Clain Wood, we crossed an open area before entering another wooded section with steep stone steps, leading relentlessly upwards through the trees until it brought us out onto Live Moor. Here the stone steps continued up onto the windy moorland. It was a long haul. Unexpectedly, we met two cyclists riding down the steep stone path. I felt that all their teeth would be rattled out before they reached the bottom, it was hardly a track designed for cycling.

We found a good-sized stone to sit on once we had passed the summit of Live Moor and moved onto the leeward side for a while. Here we ate lunch before attacking the next section – Carlton Moor. The wind here, as we passed along the edge of Facey Bank was extreme. I was literally being blown off my feet. I was just thankful I was being blown into the heather on the uphill side, and not off the edge of the extremely steep bank. I almost lost my cap here but was able to retrieve it thanks to the spindly heather that held onto it for me. I soon picked up another cap, and as we approached the summit of Carlton Moor, a man appeared looking perplexed. He was very pleased to see his cap in my hand.

Having survived the perilous moor, we picked our way slowly down, and into Lord Stones Café. This oasis, situated in a country park, serves a camping area and many passing, windblown walkers. After a restorative coffee, we moved on to the low route, having decided that the three peaks of Cringle Moor, Cold Moor and Hasty Bank would not be a fun adventure in the wind. We instead admired the famous Wainstones from the sheltered edge of the Broughton Plantation, just below.

The track was muddy and as we wove our way to Clay Bank Top, Wallsy made the obligatory phone call to our hotel in Great Broughton. As there is no accommodation at the end of the route for the day, each of the various hotels/B&B’s send a car to collect walkers from the Clay Bank Top carpark. After we popped out on the road and waited a while at what we thought was the correct car park, we learnt from another driver that the car from Wainstones Hotel was a bit further up the road, so we wandered up, found the van, and were reunited with the NZ couple who were again staying in the same hotel as us.

It was a varied, sometimes tough, steep and challenging walk, but enjoyable, and Wallsy was an absolute trooper leading the way and keeping a steady pace. The funny moment for the day was when he made the sudden realisation that both his hiking poles (it was a hiking pole kind of day today) are labelled as Left. This is very strange, we can’t work out how it came about, but even more strangely, how has he not realised this before now. When I made this comment, he said he always just finds the Left one, and assumes the other one is the Right! He did remark that he had often mused about the fact that every time he picks up his poles, he always seems to pick up the Left one first!