Swainby, Carlton Bank, Lord Stones, Kirkby, Carlton-in-Cleveland, Faceby & Whorlton

Saturday 21st November 2020

Another local walk due to the current lockdown restrictions. Todays walk took me from Swainby and onto the Cleveland Hills, in particular Carlton Bank and all the way north to Cringle Moor where I turned left and headed towards Kirkby. The route back took me to Great Busby, Carlton-in-Cleveland, Faceby, and Whorlton.

An area that I often walk with my wife and sometimes my daughter, although today I ventured much further than usual. To be honest it wasn’t one of the most enjoyable of walks. I descended from Carlton Bank on a poor path rather than the usual Cleveland Way one – this was a poor decision as there was little benefit other than following a route not previously walked by myself. Plus, the path around the western side of Cringle Moor was a quagmire and made for unpleasant walking. I also decided to stick to the country roads on the way back, so there wasn’t much joy over a few miles of treading the tarmac and having to smile at cyclists.

I’ll certainly pick a better circular next week, but all the same, the views from the Cleveland Hills were as impressive as always and I got a good bit of exercise in reasonable weather for November - not too far from home.

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Distance: 13.8 miles

Duration: 5:00 hours

Ascent: 1953 ft

Difficulty: Moderate

Accompanied By: On my Own

Weather: Mild, Breezy with showers

3D outline of route

Parking

Starting from the pretty village of Swainby

Parked up on the High Street

Heading towards the Cleveland Hills

Plenty of tree felling going on around here - the landscape has changed drastically since my last visit - wouldn't normally get a view due to the dense woodland.

A very familiar place although a bit too muddy for a picnic stop today - Scugdale straight ahead

Another well known spot !

Alright fella's - It was just a quick photo ! That's me told.

Heading up towards Huthwaite Green

Whorl Hill

The ascent on Live Moor

Walking along the Cleveland Hills with Carlton Bank ahead

And there it is ...

Better path than what was to come !

Looking back towards Swainby and the lower ground with Whorl Hill still prominent

The Cleveland Way visits the summit of Carlton Bank. The main path carries on to the Lord Stones café at the road crossing. I, for some reason, decided to try something different and head down to the left by what looked like an alternative path. Not worth the effort !

The path meandered down the steep western side but seemed to be the territory of downhill cyclists rather than walkers - I didn't see any but there were many tyre tracks visible

Looking back up the path that I should have stuck to, they both came out at the same place. Never mind, worth a try.

All quiet at the usually busy and bustling Lord Stones cafe.

Continuing along the Cleveland Way with Cringle Moor up ahead.

Second decision of the day ! I think I'll see if this path takes me down towards Carlton-in-Cleveland - looks as if it might

Yuk - a mile of this and no left turn towards Carlton. All I managed to do was traverse the side of Cringle Moor and go all the way to Toft Hill - even further than I had loosely planned.

Finally a dry and grassy path as I head in the direction of Kirkby.

Hill Road as the drizzle arrives

Skirting around Kirkby through the crop fields as a heavy shower appears

As soon as the rain arrived it had gone - well good job I didn't bother putting on the waterproof trousers. Think I'll stick to the road for a while now and avoid those muddy fields.