Cleveland Way Day 3 - Osmotherley to Kildale

Friday 12th May 2023

Cleveland Way Day 3 - Osmotherley to Kildale

A long trek this one, the majority of folk split this into two stages, usually going from Osmotherley to Clay Bank and then Clay Bank to Kildale the next day. The second stage was just a little too short for us at 9 miles so we decided to join the two together into one long day. Not helped by the mist and sea fret that was with us virtually all day meaning that the normally excellent views along the escarpments of the Cleveland Hills were missing today.

Under normal circumstances this would be a hard - but excellent walk with amazing views to the West and all the moorlands to the East. We've seen it all before, so it wasn't the end of the world for us as we live locally, but for many others we chatted to along the way, it was a big disappointment.

The information contained in the material on this Website is for information purposes only and does not constitute advice.

Distance: 21.5 miles

Duration: 8:00 hours

Ascent: 3967 ft

Difficulty: Tough

Accompanied By: Davy

Weather: Damp & Drizzly

3D outline of route

Parking

Setting off from Osmotherley (in shorts) as I was convinced that the bad weather was only going to be short lived and soon we would be enjoying sunny views over the Cleveland Plain.

The left turn on the outskirts of Osmotherley takes you away from the busy little lane.

A lot of clag - but it won't last.

Heading out onto Scarth Wood Moor.

Arriving at Scarth Nick and crossing the moors road from Swainby

Bluebells in abundance as we approach Scugdale.

The steep climb up onto Live Moor - quite a few more such climbs to encounter on this stage.

A brief stop at the top of Carlton Bank. Chatting to coast to coasters along the way, we felt sorry that these walkers were missing out on the amazing views westwards along the whole of the Cleveland hills. It was okay for us, as we had been here many times before and will for sure be back here many times in the future. But if this was a once in a lifetime visit, then they have really missed a treat.

A change of plan - Having brought plenty of food for lunch and drinks for the long dry walk - We decided to stop at the Lords Stones cafe and have a pot of tea and a hot toasted sandwich. The stop was warm and the meal lovely, it was probably the highlight of the days walk if we're honest. Dried out and filled up - we were then back out into the drizzle to soldier on.

The Alex Falconer Seat at the top of Cringle Moor.

Nope - Can't see any of those !

Approaching the rocky outcrops and boulders known as the Wainstones. A regular place to visit throughout our younger days.

The half way point for us (Clay Bank) - But in reality, the hard work had been done for today. One climb up onto Urra Moor up ahead and then it's plain sailing all the way to Kildale over fairly flat moorland tracks.

Bloworth Crossing from the days of the Rosedale Ironstone Railway. The Cleveland Way takes a sharp left here as Round Hill is left behind.

Boundary marker near the top of the old railway Ingleby Incline

What's this !! - As we skirt Battersby Moor, we see what things are like more than 30 feet ahead ! We have a view

The lush green farmland over Battersby and Ingleby Greenhow with the Cleveland Hills (that we have been walking earlier in the day) in the distance.

After a solid 8 hours (including our lunch break), we arrive at the pretty little village of Kildale.

We had left one of our cars at Kildale Railway Station in the morning. Fun was had earlier on in the day, trying to locate the station car park as you had to take a leap of faith down this track, which to newbies like us (to this station), was certainly not the obvious route. And to cap it all, even though the car park was completely empty, we still managed to get told off for parking our car the wrong way round ! We should be back here for the next stage soon, but fortunately for the locals, that one can be easily be done by train for us.