7.5 miles

Outdoor Leisure Map OL26 - North York Moors (Western Area)

This walk is taken from the book "The Walker's Guide to the Cleveland Hills" by Tom Scott Burns. Although published in 1993, the walk described below is essentially the same as in the book.
The first section of the walk, from the Lord Stones Cafe to Brian's Pond, Barker's Crags and onward to Holiday House farm is fairly straightforward with respect to navigation, - very much helped by the finger posts and waymarks placed by the North Yorkshire Moors Park authorities.
The section from Fog Close Farm to the Snotterdale Plantation and onwards to the Cleveland Way is a little less clear, and a 1:25000 OS Map was found to be fairly essential.
There is some rough moorland walking involved in parts of the walk, and several gradients. Only the last gradient, - the descent of Carlton Bank might prove of difficulty.

For a Memory Map overlay of the walk described, please select the above link.
(Overlay made with Version 5 of Memory Map)

Some new mapping software is now available which you may want to try, - QUO mapping. You can download the software for free from the link below, complete with demonstration maps. Having installed QUO, you can import and export Memory Map overlays. Thus YOU DON'T NEED Memory Map to use any of the overlays provided on the Grey Panthers web site, - just use QUO!!

Start from the car park beside the Lord Stones cafe at the top of Carlton Bank (NZ52482 02996).
Cross the road outside the cafe / car park and head for the finger post that directs you towards the Cleveland Way footpath.
Where the Cleveland Way continues ahead, there is a gated track on your left. Take this track and continue South, - mostly along the track, but also on a broad moorland footpath, to reach Brian's Pond.
At the pond, bear left along the track until you come to a gate across the track.
Here turn right and follow the fence line (some rough moorland walking along a faint track) until you reach a stile. Here turn right and continue on the well-defined path towards Barker's Crags.
There is a well defined, and indicated, path from the crags down to Scugdale Hall.
At Scugdale hall, turn left and follow the track to High House Farm.
Pass through the farmyard (very much in ruins on this walk) and look for the footpath on your right past the ruined barn.
Head Westwards across fields to the Scugdale Beck. The footpath is not clear, but just before crossing the beck there is a waymark sign.
After crossing the beck, cross the stile (where there is another waymark) and head Westwards to Holiday House Farm.
From Holiday House Farm take the track and then road to Fog Close Farm.
Take the track and then footpath (indicated by a fingerpost) that takes you round the farm and through a field gate.
Continue up a slope and cross a small beck, continuing uphill across rough pasture.
There is a gate with waymark on it which takes you to a clear track leading to the Snotterdale Plantation.
At the Plantation there is a sign requesting you to keep to the footpath.
However, we found that the onward footpath presented great difficulty, and it might be best to seek an alternative route at this point (where there is a track leading out of the plantation towards the Cleveland Way footpath).
By following the onward footpath, initially obvious but becoming less so, over bracken and rough moorland we were obliged to cross a barbed wire fence at an impromptu crossing (made by other walkers with the help of large stones).
Now follow the track which takes you to the Cleveland Way footpath on Faceby Bank, and return to the Lord Stones cafe car park by following the Cleveland Way footpath.