North York Moors - Glaisdale to Battersby (★★★★☆)

It is always good to be on the hunt for new routes, and one spot I came across (having seen some photos someone else had taken while out walking) was Glaisdale Rigg. 

With this passing over the North York Moors and heading in the direction of Rosedale Abbey - another area I was yet to, but keen to, explore - this seemed like a walk that would show some new places I had yet not been do.

And so it is that today, I've head out on the early train to arrive at Glaisdale train station. Initially I have a bit of trouble working out how to exit the station, but it turns out that the exit is simply on the other platform, and hidden by the stationary train. So I stand waiting for the train to leave, when the driver sends me across and promises not to run me down on my way by.

Heading out on the road from the train station, I turn right and begin to head up a hill, and just before the Arncliffe Arms pub, reach a familiar spot - as this is where the Esk Valley Walk heads across.

Here I turn right down the road, to initially follow the Esk Valley Walk, but when it heads right down through the woods, I remain on the road and bear left to head up the hill.

Upon reaching the main road through Glaisdale, I make a right turn through the village, and then turn left at The Green, to head along a road that will transition into Glaisdale Rigg further up the hill.

Continuing on, this heads up onto Glaisdale Moor, with impressive views looking back in the direction I have come.

With it being mid-August, the heather is not quite in peak flower (that has just about passed), but there is a very strong purple shade to the landscape.

Looking forwards a tiny bit further on

Continuing on along this track, it eventually joins up with a very minor road heading across the Moors - and my plan is to follow that road for a little bit, before a path turns off to the right, following a track above Dale Head round, to join another road near Danby High Moor.

A quick chat with some new friends before I join the road

The view from the road isn't too bad really

I have not walked this route before, so I was reliant on the path being clear, easy to find and easy to walk along - but the map shows that alongside the intended footpath is a track, and it is this track which I am aiming for (knowing that tracks are often more reliable than footpaths).

Further along though, the signs are good as I reach a gate that marks the exit point, to join my intended path.

Not a bad view having got through the gate

The official path is buried in the heather to the left as I continue to walk along, but the footpath runs alongside the track, and this track continues for the whole stretch I plan to walk along. It is fairly quiet up here, and I pass my first fellow traveler of the day, in form of a bike out for a ride along this trail. This gives a bit more hope that the path head must be okay.

Continuing along, it is a pleasant route round, and upon reaching a crossroads in the path - that might have offered an early cut up - I decide to stick to the better laid track that I am already on, and continue to head round to the road.

At that road, I turn left onto a minor road, and then left again at a junction, before pulling off to the right of the road, to a path that drops down to the old track of the Rosedale railway below :

Heading down to the railway

Having made it down to the path of the railway (not too bad, eh?)

This was an iron mining site, with ores being mined, then calcined at the nearby kilns, before being taken on to Teesside - with the export route being out across the Moors and down the Ingleby Incline to Battersby - from which the trains could head off to Teesside.

Extracting the iron

Rosedale Railway

The goal with this walk will be to walk to Battersby (to then take the same route on to Teesside), and much of the route the train would have used will be explored on this walk today. The rest of it will be traveled by train on my way home.

Heading on, the path head on, along the old route of the train line, heading past the old stone kilns.

Heading along the path

The view across the valley

Stone kilns

From here, the path doesn't have much further to go along the old railway route, and soon joins up with the old cottages.

Here, the next section of the walk involves a bit of road walking, heading onwards along the road, past Low Bell End and into Rosedale Abbey, where I cut through the church yard for a look at the church.

Of course we'll have a look

From here the goal is to head up on the road up to Spaunton Moor, up via Chimney Bank, but on the way to Chimney Bank there is a footpath running parallel to the road and so this is my next choice, taking me to the foot of Chimney Bank.

From here there is a steep climb up to Bank Top, and there I turn to the right to rejoin the former path of Rosedale Railway, by Rosedale Bank Top Kilns.

Photo taken while having a breather heading up the road

Having rejoined the old railway path, the route is once again straight-forward and from here the route heads along Blakey Ridge for a long stretch - walking on the other side of the valley to that walked on my way into Rosedale Abbey.

After that long stretch of walking along this path, I arrive at a car park, which is my signal to cross over and head onto the other side pf the road, as the old railway route continues on the other side.

Having just crossed over the road

From here navigation is once again incredibly straight-forward - just keep following the old railway path - and the walking is easy, with the path leveled out any time the terrain heads up or down.

And so the route crosses Farndale Moor, and then I tick off Dale Head and Middle Head, before reaching Bloworth Crossing.

Bloworth Crossing in it's glory days

From here the path heads straight over at the crossing, and then bends round to the right, staying on the old railway route - with views out towards Teesside from Greenhow Moor, before the path heads down Ingleby Incline.

Walking down Ingleby Incline

Again in its glory days

This steep section was used to get the iron ore off the Moors, and from the bottom it is a long straight run to Battersby, on a path (that becomes a road) that follows the old route of this line.

At Bank Foot - however - we cannot continue quite so directly to the train station, as the old route of the line no longer exists, so instead turn left onto a minor farm road, and then right onto a slightly bigger (but still very minor) road, that heads round to Battersby train station.

And so I head onto a train, heading as the iron ore would have done, to Teesside, before heading home.

Enjoyment Rating : ⭐⭐⭐⭐ ★ / 5

If you are interested in exploring the route of the Cleveland Way (passing through Bloworth Crossing), the link to the section that overlaps this route is here : Cleveland Way walk from Kildale to Swainby.

For additional walking at the Glaisdale end, there is a writeup of a walk along the Esk Valley Walk from Commondale to Whitby, passing through Glaisdale.

Disclaimer: This writeup provides a narrative of what to expect rather than a route guide to follow. The route is covered by the 93 (only used briefly near Battersby) and 94 OS Landranger maps (links redirect to Amazon). The route is not a specific trail, but someone with map reading experience should be able to navigate a route without issue - and a route was easy to find and follow