August 17, 2000: Clay Bank Top to Blakey
Looking west from the Carr Ridge
There was no need for us to rush on the fourth day of our walk, for we had only nine miles to go – it had been either a “rest” day of nine or a marathon of eighteen and a half to reach the next suitable accommodation. So we dined at 8:30, with views of the birds in the backyard trees providing variety. Mrs. Huntley took off with the other gentleman (who was walking with others and was confused about where he was going today) and left us to sort out our packs and visit the village shop/post office for liquid and newsprint. Tosh was scandalized when they had only tabloids on offer and had finished her perusal of the Daily Mail by the time we were ready to leave. It was another radiant morning, with great visibility. We had left our packs in the lounge but Harold had helped Mrs. H. put them in the back of the house for the Sherpa people, and shortly after 9:30 we were driven back up to the trailhead. So at 9:45 we were ready to begin our walk to the Lion Inn in Blakey.
The Lees cross the Carr Ridge
There were quite a number of other walkers about, some doing the Cleveland Way and others getting an early start for Glaisdale. The walk began with a steep climb up to the Carr Ridge. Wainwright had noted that the boots of walkers had here worn no footpath in the turf but, except for a short grassy stretch, there was nothing the boots of all his followers could do to make much of an impression on the large paving stones that again lined the route in the first stretches today. We pulled even with a small plantation of larches – evidently the last time we were to be near trees for many a mile – and reached the heights of Urra moor. These were quite beautiful in their heathery mantle on such a clear day.
We paused for a photo at the Hand Stone, with the OS column of Round Hill – at 1488 feet the highest of the Cleveland summits – in the background. My ancient Canon AE-1, which had received a new roll of film only this morning, wasn’t behaving very well – with the shutter failing to click as it should have – and I had to give up photography for a while. Not that there was that much to capture on film on a moorland that was featureless, though quite lovely.
Behind us some dark clouds were scudding across the sky and Harold, our squall expert, would give predictions on whether or not we would get wet. I suggested we ought to slow things down and let one ominous chap pass over us and this we did. This strategy was useful to Tosh, who was busily examining rocks in the exposed streambeds with her magnifying glass. While Harold and I were waiting, a solitary chap, whose expression rivaled Munch’s “Scream,” marched stolidly by us. Tosh said hello to him and got no response; Harold and I couldn’t even make eye contact.
Looking west from Urra Moor
We had a rest and a snack above the crossroads where the line of the mineral railway comes in from the north; there were lots of walkers about here. Before long we had reached Bloworth Crossing, said goodbye to the Cleveland Way, and had taken our first steps on the solid surface of the old railway roadbed, which we followed for miles. I was gratified to see that we did circle around the heads of several lovely valleys, so the views were not as unvarying as I had feared. The valley of the River Dove was one such place and in the next headland we climbed down from the track to sit on the hillside to have our lunch in watery sunlight.
We had been speculating on when we would first catch a glimpse of our inn, for we could now see the occasional car on the skyline, but the sought after sight was above us before we knew it – Blakey’s Lion Inn sitting in splendid isolation just a mile or so away. We were now getting people coming at us from the other direction, including a couple with two dogs, one of whom had happily flushed some grouse. Just as we neared our turnoff from the railbed (unmarked unless you were doing the Lyke Wake Walk) we found a dead sheep on the trail.
A short steep climb brought us by the old cockpit on Blakey Howe and at 2:30, one of our earliest arrivals ever, we pulled into the bustling Lion Inn. Our packs had already arrived and we were shown to adjacent rooms on the first floor behind the dining area. Then we had a leisurely drink while the West Indies-England Test played on the bar counter TV. The proprietor had a keen interest in this, as did much of the staff, for there were a lot of Yorkshire players on the England squad – which was doing quite well in taking wickets off the Windies this afternoon. Around us there was a constant swirl of kids, walkers, trippers and the bar staff (I counted 18 in the group photos) of this otherwise quite isolated roadhouse.
I escaped the scene for a while to take a little nap and then, in the late afternoon, I went outside to test my camera – getting it to squeeze off three more shots. The proprietress warned me that I wouldn’t have any success with the mobile phone up here – and she was right. I met the Lees in the bar and we found a little table squeezed up against that of a large family of trailer trash and here we had our pre-dinner drinks. The fruit machine whirred in the background.
We entered the restaurant for our meal, but I wouldn’t say this was a great success. The waitress forgot that we had all asked for jacket potatoes and brought a huge bowl of fries. My chicken seemed to have been drowned in a can of mushroom soup and ladies on their way to the loo kept up a constant stream of traffic by our table. I had a piece of Texas Pecan Pie for dessert.
Near the end of the meal the Bristol couple came by (she was a recently retired deputy head teacher and he a biochemist at Bristol University – who had been doing insulin research for thirty years) and we went outside with them to see if the stars were visible. They weren’t. They wanted more drinks so I left the others to get on with it without me – Harold reported that he had consumed two brandy alexanders and didn’t get to bed until 10:30. Scandalous – but by that time I had been asleep for the better part of an hour.
To continue with our next stage you need: