Graham Barker There are strenuous climbs with exhilarating views across the Vale of Mowbray, Teesside and the Yorkshire coastline. The Cleveland Way To mark the 40th anniversary of the Cleveland Way national trail, Graham Barker escapes from London for a week to walk 108 miles around the North York Moors. Along the way, he discovers it has something for everyone – whether you’re a keen twitcher, fossil-hunter or you just enjoy wonderful walking, fresh air and stunning views. 22 n Go to myspace.com/grandcentralmagazine to watch fi ves minutes aerial footage of this hike. 23 Graham Barker Graham Barker Walking a long-distance path offers some special rewards. You follow the ‘story’ of the trail and enjoy a sense of achievement with each day’s progress. ook eastwards out Scarborough, before finishing at of the train window, Spittal Rocks near Filey. There are during the 28-minute strenuous climbs and descents, but run between most of the time you are high on the Eaglescliffe and moorland plateau or cliff-top, with LThirsk, and you’ll catch sight of the exhilarating views across the Vale of North York Moors on the horizon. Mowbray, Teesside and the Yorkshire Sometimes warm and welcoming, coastline. sometimes sombre and forbidding, the Each year around 2,300 walkers moors are undoubtedly amongst the complete the entire Cleveland Way. most beautiful landscapes in Britain. In places, you might also meet coast- It was whilst I was admiring them to-coast walkers or even super-fit from the cosy comfort of a train seat, enthusiasts tackling the 24-hour rising dramatically in the distance, Lyke Wake Walk. Unfortunately, the that I resolved to have an adventure area’s popularity with long-distance up there. I would tackle the Cleveland walkers – and with 300,000 or so day Way, a 108-mile national trail around trippers – has contributed to heavy the North York Moors. erosion. To reduce the impact of all The Cleveland Way celebrates its those pounding feet, nine miles on 40th anniversary this year, making it the moors have now been protectively Britain's second oldest long-distance surfaced using traditional limestone path after the Pennine Way. It’s slabbing and pitching techniques. But or four long weekends or just explore How to get there easy to see why it was designated on the coastal path, diversions are sections by day trip. “We live in a national walking route. “The sometimes necessary to avoid getting Stockton, only 8 miles away, so we’re Travelling from London, I took the heathland is unenclosed, uninhabited, too close to the crumbling cliff edge. often out here for the day” explain Grand Central train to Thirsk. The remote from industry and noise and The skies are alive with siskins and Jed and Sue when I get chatting with Moors Bus picks up from the station free from traffic. It is a magnificent skylarks, gulls and grouse. “We’re them on the summit of Roseberry drive and drops off at Helmsley, territory for the walker: open country not so worried about the view from Topping. And on the approach to the Cleveland Way starting point. like the Pennines and the Cheviots yet Captain Cook’s monument” said a Robin Hood’s Bay recently-retired Return trains run from Filey station, more handsome and colourful – and couple of bird-spotting women I met Mick and Kate from Maidenhead tell two miles from the finish. Sections friendlier by far.” enthused the coast- climbing to Easby Moor one misty moors are transformed with a haze of popular in the 1860s by the newly- During my seven-day trip I enjoyed me they’re rambling sections of the of the Cleveland Way can also be to-coast author Alfred Wainwright. morning, “we really come for the purple flowering scotch heather. widowed Queen Victoria. friendly Yorkshire hospitality at each Cleveland Way over several trips, reached from stations at York, Malton, Shaped like a horseshoe, the beautiful birdsong.” Even if you can’t If geology is more your thing, There are other Yorkshire gems overnight stop: a cosy country pub, some with their grandchildren in tow. Northallerton, Middlesborough, Cleveland Way falls into two distinct distinguish the chirruping of a skylark then head for the lustrous pebbles to seek out along the way: visit two former mills and a Georgian Thankfully, with several other Saltburn, Great Ayton, Whitby and halves. The first half starts from the from the ‘tseep, tseep’ of a meadow at Runswick Bay and the fossil-rich the majestic Cistercian ruins of mansion now all converted into long-distance trails already under Scarborough with bus connections bustling market town of Helmsley, pipit, you don’t need to be a twitcher sandstone reefs by Boggle Hole. The skies, clouds Rievaulx Abbey, take a bracing stroll youth hostels, a comfortable B&B my belt, I know a thing or two about where appropriate. crosses over the limestone heathland to recognise the startling ‘get back, I spent a contented hour sifting along the kiss-me-quick seafront jam-packed with antiques, and even boots, backpacks and blisters. Of of the Hambleton and Cleveland get back’ cries of red grouse as they through the fallen rocks, as excited and heather can at Scarborough and climb the 199 one night in a not-so-comfortable course, 108 miles takes its toll. The Want to find out more? hills, and hits the coast at Saltburn- scurry into the heather. And on the as the nearby group of children produce a strong steps to the ghostly gothic of Whitby camping barn surrounded by bleating going is often tough underfoot, the by-the-Sea. From there, the second coast, stop and marvel at the fulmars from Bingley whenever I unearthed Abbey. For sustenance, sample the sheep. What’s more, it didn’t cost me ups and downs can sometimes feel ‘Cleveland Way’ by Ian Sampson, half heads southwards along the and herring gulls elegantly floating on a star-shaped crinoid stem, a pointy mix of colours scrummy fish and chips by Saltburn the earth – I managed to keep my like a never-ending rollercoaster. But published by Aurum Press, ISBN windswept coastline, taking in the the air currents like sleek gliders. The bellemite or a swirling ammonite and dramatic pier or pop into the sea-battered travel, accommodation and meals I still managed to have a spring in my 1-845513-248-3 is the definitive seaside charms of Staithes, Whitby views must be spectacular up there, segment. The devil’s toenails I found Cod and Lobster Inn at Staithes for a within a tight all-in budget of £300, step on the final stretch, with Filey guide, with Ordnance Survey maps and the Victorian splendour of especially in the autumn when the looked as bad as my own toenails, by views rewarding pint. perfect for these credit crunch times. Brigg now in sight. Phew – I’ve made and handy notes on what to see along this stage battered and bruised from With stirring skies and panoramic And of course it’s a ‘green’ low-carbon it, and without getting lost on the the way. Visit www.nationaltrail. the trek. views, it’s an artists’ paradise. At choice of holiday. moors, falling off the cliff or being co.uk/clevelandway and www. Amateur archaeologists should look Sutton Bank visitor centre I meet Walking a long-distance path offers pooped on by a flock of seagulls. My northyorkmoors.org.uk for help with out for the cairns, barrows and burial You’ll see reminders too of the Chris Ceasar, a photographer from some special rewards, unfamiliar Cleveland Way walking challenge has planning your visit, accommodation mounds of earlier settlers. Even more area’s industrial heritage – the nearby Tollerton. He finds endless to Sunday strollers. You follow the been an uplifting experience. And and baggage carriers. remarkable are the standing stones tracks of old mineral railways, scars inspiration on the moors throughout ‘story’ of the trail and enjoy a growing as I relax on the Grand Central train you’ll encounter on the moor tops, of exhausted iron workings and the year. “The skies, clouds and sense of achievement with each home, staring out of the window, markers mostly carved in the 18th jet spoil heaps, all now abandoned heather can produce a strong mix day’s progress. There’s time for quiet I begin to plot my next walking century to designate boundaries and and overgrown. It’s difficult to of colours and dramatic views, reflection. There’s camaraderie too, as adventure. • Roseberry Topping • Whitby direct travellers. These days the route imagine that these wild hills were so which make photography here very you share stories with fellow walkers • Robin Hood’s Bay is clearly way-marked with national extensively mined for coal, iron, jet rewarding” he explains. Even with in the pub, at the youth hostel or Graham Barker is an independent publisher, writer North Yorkshire Moors trail acorn signs – less impressive than and alum. At one point, over 50 jet my basic camera I capture some as you meet on the path. If the and walking tour guide with a particular interest in the standing stones, but more reliable workshops flourished in Whitby thanks memorable views. prospect of walking it in one stretch how people relate to their heritage. His current projects include a book on how to write your family history and • Helmsley for getting you safely home if the to the Victorian fashion for wearing Walkers can be assured of a warm is daunting, or your time is limited, a guide to London's peaceful green spaces.