Another route starting at the Lordstones Country Park, based on the start of the smaller Lordstones loop, anticlockwise, but this time following the Cleveland Way a lot further along the hilltops from Carlton Bank.
Down through some woodland and fields turning back towards Lordstones. The southernmost point of the route heading north from Fog Close was a bracken-filled nightmare of exhaustion. I was very happy to see Holey Moor with all its heather and no more bracken.
Leaving the car park via the road entrance, turning right and following the road for a short while until you get to this Cleveland Way signpost where we head left along the stone footpath adn uphill.
Follow the path up lots and lots of steps, its fine to have a break now and then, its worth it for the view.
Another view from the top, this time across the valley, showing the Cleveland Way heading up to the peaks and eventually the Wainstones (covered in the
Lordstones Peaks hike.). Also if you look very closely a horizontal track looping around the hill to the right which I made a note of and covered in the Lordstones Loop hike.
After taking in the views at the top by the trig point, continue following the Cleveland Way, a nice, easy stone path through the heather heading south.
This pic shows how you follow the hilltop for a couple of miles.
A Christmas tree, will make a note of that for early December.
Keep following the stone path for a couple of miles through the heather.
Past this Cairn.
The Cleveland Way then heads downhill into some woods at Knolls End.
Following the path along the edge of the trees where it joins a road junction at Huthwaite Green and turn left, following the road and leaving the Cleveland Way. A few fields are visible through the hedgerows as you head along the road.
After around a mile, just after Sparrow Hall, where the road turns right at 90 degrees we take the path to the left. Passing to the right of Fog Close, this is the view from that path along the valley. A tiny vertical line on the horizon in the middle of this pic below, Bilsdale TV Mast in the distance (see a trek I did there at Bilsdale Expedition).
Note to self, don’t walk this area in August, the bracken is 6 foot tall and a nightmare to get through. It was exhausting, not helped by the August temps, but I soldiered on through the undergrowth for perhaps a half mile.
Finally!…a path! I was so happy to get to this point. It was then a quite easy trek along the path/track, across the moors and no more bracken. Heading north east on the southern edge of the moor to Holey Moor.
On top of Holey Mooor, looking back at the route I’d taken, it doesn’t look as overgrown from this distance.
Continue along the track, nice and level through the moors, heading north back towards Lordstones.
More heather…and more Christmas trees.
The final part of the track heads slowly downhill and you then re-join the Cleveland Way at the bottom of Carlton Bank and simply follow the same route back to the car park at Lordstones. This is one final pic of the route from the bottom of the hill, the horizontal track on the other side of the valley I spotted earlier was easier to see.
