Coast to Coast - Osmotherley to Battersby (★★★★★)

Today we are once again walking in the North Yorkshire Moors - and today we are repeating a section of path that we walked when doing the Cleveland Way, but today our focus is on the Coast to Coast trail (which uses the same path as the Cleveland Way through the whole stretch we will walk today).

On it's way England, the Coast to Coast heads from Richmond across the fields to Ingleby Cross, and then climbs up to meet up with the Cleveland Way on the ridge that sits above Mount Grace Priory.

And then the two run together, all the way along the northern ridge of the North Yorkshire Moors - until the Cleveland Way turns north to head up to the sea at Saltburn, whilst the Coast to Coast takes a more direct route to the coast (meeting up with the coast just to the north of Robin Hood's Bay).

Having reached the coast, the Coast to Coast re-unites with the Cleveland Way (which has been following the coast down from Saltburn), and then both run together to Robin Hood's Bay - with the Cleveland Way continuing along the coast on an excellent stretch of coastline that runs through Scarborough, and on down to Filey.

This overlap means that I have already done this section of the Coast to Coast - and so this walk is not strictly necessary for me to complete the trail - but since this section is local to me, and since it offers excellent walking, I'm more than happy to walk it once again. 

And in order to do this, our first task of the day will be to head to Northallerton by train, and then make the trek through town to meet up with the bus at the Buck Inn - and then the bus takes us up into the North Yorkshire Moors, dropping us off in the pretty village of Osmotherley.

Getting to the Coast to Coast trail

Having got off the bus in Osmotherley we find ourselves a few paces off the route of the Cleveland Way (as it heads from the village) - and so from here we can simply follow that trail through and out the village (stopping off at the shop along the way).

Heading out of Osmotherley

Since we need not need to stick strictly to the route of the Cleveland Way, there is an opportunity here to divert off that trail, and instead walk past the Lady's Chapel (or in full - the Shrine of Our Lady of Mount Grace).

This chapel was built in the 15th century by the monks residing in Mount Grace Priory (just below us below the ridge), and served as the diocesan shrine for Middlesbrough.

Mount Grace Priory was a fairly substantial priory (which was founded in 1398) - and it housed twenty-five monks in separate cells, that included their own little garden (and I was very tempted by this setup when I was first looking to buy a house). 

But as Carthusian monks, they mostly lived as quiet hermits (aside from a bit of singing, and a bit of discussion of 'grave subjects' on their weekly walk) - but obviously split off from these activities at some point to build this chapel.

How Mount Grace Priory would have once looked below us on this ridge

Whilst the Priory was for the monks, the shrine was often visited by pilgrims - and this would most often happen on the Sunday nearest to the Feast of the Assumption (which fell on the 15th August) - with this tradition still kept up by some today.

The chapel itself fell into ruin (at some point after the dissolution of the Priory in 1539) - and was only restored in 1959, but it looks to be in excellent condition today - and is well worth a (fairly brief) visit.

Our Lady's Chapel

Once beyond the Chapel, we quickly re-unite with the Cleveland Way - which these days passes close by the chapel (it used to run through the fields below until a few years ago) - and here we get some nice views out across the flat plains below (with some excellent views of the A19 in particular).

Soon we drop off this ridge - and here we pick up the Coast to Coast, as it comes up Ingleby Cross and Ingleby Arncliffe.

Following the Coast to Coast trail

This means that we will be both following the Cleveland Way and the Coast to Coast, until we turn off both at Clay Bank. And for now we are climbing up through the trees - as we make our way up onto Scarth Wood Moor.

This means that views are fairly limited for much of this section of the trail, but we do eventually break free of the trees - and get a nice view out across the Cleveland Hills.

The Cleveland Hills

The term Cleveland itself is a fairly old term (meaning district of cliffs) and the term came to prominence during the Danish occupation of this area - and was first recorded in the Orkneyinga Saga (recalling King Harald Hardrada's landing in Kilfslond - or Cliffland - in 1066).

But whilst this area has plenty of evidence of prehistoric human habitation (that we will pass today) - throughout most of subsequent history it was a quiet area, mostly composed of small farms and villages.

And if we stood at this spot at the very beginning of the 19th century, we would be lookiing down on a series of small farming villages, that wouldn't be much larger than anything that could have been seen from here during that earlier Viking Age.

But in 1825 the Stockton Darlington Railway opened - and in 1829 a financier came up with a plan to buy up a small farming village (and an area of 527 acres around it) at the mouth of the Tees.

The idea here was to build a new port - and to then extend the railway down to this port, so that coal could be exported by sea, from the collieries near Shildon.

The construction of this port, saw that former farming village of Middlesbrough grow rapidly from a population of forty in 1829, to a population of 7,600 in 1851.

Subsequent to the establishment of this port, ironstone had also been found in these Cleveland Hills - and by the 1870s there were signficiant mining operations in these hills - with ores generally being transported down to Middlesbrough via a combination of railways and tramways.

By this point the population of Middlesbrough had grown from those humble begins to exceed forty thousand people - and by the mid-1870s this former farming village was producing one third of the nation's pig iron (the intermediate product made after smelting iron ore, that is usually used to then make steel).

By the start of the twentieth century this population had climbed to almost ninety thousand people (as steel making and heavy industry dominated the area) - with the population reaching a peak in the post-World War II era.

These days that industry has been in heavy decline for some time - but as we look out across the plains, we can still see plenty of evidence of that industry that transformed this area in the distance (with the cooling towers of Billingham and Middlesbrough still steaming away).

Fortunately for us though, that industry sits some distance away - and so we choose to ignore it, as we make our way round this ridge - and instead focus on the more aesthetically pleasing view of the ridge that lies ahead.

By this point we have made our way acrosss Scarth Wood Moor - and start getting ready to drop down, and cross over a natural cut through the hills at Scarth Nick.

Before we do so, we pass a group of late Neolithic barrows (just prior to a junction of footpaths) that would have served as a prehistoric cemetery.

That junction of footpaths

The cut that lies ahead would have been formed by glacial meltwater - and so whilst no stream flows down through this small valley, this cut does offer an easier route up through the hills - which a very minor road today follows.

Here we cross over the road, and continue to head along the ridge on the far side - before we do eventually have to lose a bit of height - as we head down a long series of steps, near the village of Swainby.

At the base of these steps, the sign invites you to make the trip down the hill to visit one of the pubs in the village - but we continue on, walking slightly above (and then crossing over) Scugdale Beck - as we make our way round to Huthwaite Green.

From here we have to regain the ground we lost on those steps - and whilst we initially gain height gradually - we then more rapidly climb up, through a section that whilst usually wooded, has been recently felled.

What was once a steep climb up through some trees

So don't tell the Ents that the trees have gone

Beyond a line of trees (that do remain), we break out onto Live Moor, and whilst at first we continue to climb up quite steeply, this climb slows at a spot known as Knolls End.

Here we are passing the former site of an Iron Age fort - that once sat just to the south of the path - with this fort having covered an area of about two acres.

It isn't particularly easy to see any evidence of this fort on the way past - but there are some raised (or sunken) earthworks that indicate where the ramparts and ditches once sat.

Looking back along the path

From here we continue to gain height, as we make our way across Live Moor - and when we do eventually reach the top, we pass a Cairn that hasn't been put here by or for walkers - but which instead dates back to around 2000 BCE (during the Bronze Age). 

Having passed this we lose a bit of height on the next stretch of path, before regaining it once again as we get round to Carlton Bank - and this ridge offers us particularly good views out across the surrounding countryside.

Looking back across Live Moor

Looking towards Whorl Hill (the green lump), and Faceby beside it

Looking back once more

From here we soon make it round to the next summit at Carlton Bank - where the trig point sits on top of another cairn (I have never managed to work out the age of this cairn).

Trig point, cairn, and boundary stone (all in one go)

And then from here we are going to drop down, into the next cut through the hills - where there is a popular cafe, that offers a useful stopping point for those needing refreshments.

First we need to drop down off this peak, and this is done via a winding path, that gives nice views out towards both our next hill, and across the valley that has been created by this cut through the hills.

Our next hill

The cut through the hills

As will be the case all along this ridge, this cut was once again created by glacial meltwater - and although we are dropping down into a valley, we remain well above the plain below.

After completing this descent, we cross over the road - and here we head past a set of Bronze Age burial mounds.

On previous visits I have been able to pick some of these out, but they are getting increasingly hard to find as vegetation has grown up around them - but in this natural cut through the hills there is plenty of history hidden away.

The folk at Megalithic Portal have made things easier through the creation of a very useful map - which makes it a lot easier to explain where each site is, and the map is as below:

Map of features at Lord Stones, Source: Megalithic Portal

By this point on our walk we have already passed one burial mound (at RB4), which is located at the quarry - just to the north of where we had been walking (which I don't think you can visit).

But having crossed the road we have a few sites of interest on our right, as we head towards the cafe. 

Most notably we have two Bronze Age barrows (RB1 and RB2 on the map) by the Three Lords Stone (which itself marked the boundary of lands held by Lord Duncombe of Helmsley, Lord Marwood of Busby Hall and Lord Aislesby of Scugdale).

And once beyond the cafe there is a Cairn Cicle (with little rocks just about poking above the ground) - which marks the site of another mound dating between the late Neolithic Period and the Bronze Age (which is marked on that map as RB3).

Then to the north of our path (as we head on towards the next hill), there is a modern day stone circle - which is put there to confuse the tourists.

These barrows and stones are getting harder and harder to see (and so take a bit of time if you want to hunt them out) - but whether seen or unseen, we soon leave these behind - and head up to the viewpoint at Cringle Moor.

On our way up to Cringle Moor looking back

Looking forwards just beyond the viewpoint

Today it is quite windy up here, and so despite the sunshine it is for now quite cold on this stretch of the trail - but it is a pretty walk as we head around this ridge - passing a turn off to another Bronze Age Barrow at Drake Howe, which sits at the summit of Cringle Moor (there is a path to this one if you want to go see it).

On this visit we don't turn off to explore this barrow, but instead continue to follow the ridge round (enjoying the views along the way) - and then drop down a fairly steep set of steps, that take us down to the next plateau on the ridge.

Looking at the next hill on the way down from Cringle Moor

Once at the bottom of this descent, the path heads through the fields - and then starts to head up the next (slightly easier) climb.

Looking out across this plateau

Now up at the top of this climb (looking back)

And already getting ready to drop back down again

And now starting to head back down

Here we have two peaks in fairly quick succession - but without too much of a dip between the two - and once we make it up the next climb, we will have completed almost all of the ascent required today.

Here we get to enjoy the scenic nature of this ridgeline, with the option of looking north across the plains, east to the next ridge, or south towards the flatter uplands of the moors.

But before long we find ourselves once more heading down, across the dip in the terrain, and then back up to the next peak - where we meet up with the Wain Stones.

Heading made it up the next climb

Looking out across the plains to the north

The path heads through the Wain Stones (looking back)

Here the path heads up through the rocks - and I find that the easiest route through here is to stay close to the rocks on the southern side (the left side in the last picture). That means that there is one large rock to step over, but otherwise it is quite an easy path to follow (I have taken my incredibly old and feeble parents through here).

On the way through, you will see a lot of modern markings cut into the stone (presumably by kids with nothing better to do) - but in the surroudning area there are some older carvings on the rocks in the area that are more likely to date back to an earlier time (which makes them culturally valuable carvings, rather than the nasty graffiti carvings of modern times). 

But these rocks are not only enjoyed by walkers and vandals, but also by climbers - and we have a few of those out doing some climbing on the rocks today.

Some climbers either heading down or up the rocks (or possibly sideways I suppose)

Having made it up this last big climb, we now have a relatively flat walk along Hastby Bank to complete before we reach the route of a road, through the hills at Clay Bank.

Now on the flat bit

After a day of ups and downs, it is nice to have a little flat section to enjoy - and this provides a nice end to our time up on this ridge - ahead of one final descent down to the road below.

From the top of the descent

Half way down the descent

At the base of this descent, the Coast to Coast and Cleveland Way both head over the road, and up the next hill (after which there are a lot less ups and downs along both of those trails).

But here we are going to turn off, and start making our way round to Battersby train station - which we will reach in about an hour's time.

This is done by turning left along this fairly busy road - passing a layby that is packed with cars trying to avoid having to pay for parking in the now empty main car park (which you now have to pay for). And upon reaching that main car park, we turn right - and drop down on a side road.

This is a very quiet road - and so this provides a nice route round to the village of Ingleby Greenhow, passing a lot of nice houses that you can dream about owning along the way.

Before we do reach those houses we pass another car park - and since this one is free, we pass a few people who have opted to park here - and walk up the hill to save a bit of money.

Here I would point out that the car parks in the North Yorkshire Moors are usually either run by the National Park or by Forestry England (in this case the one at the top is run by Forestry England) - and so the money spent on parking does feed back into the countryside you get to enjoy.

Forestry England looks after the nation's publicly owned forests (and usually keeps them all open for walkers) - and so plenty of good things are done with any money that is sent their way (even if they aren't quite as noble as the Woodland Trust, who are more focused on preserving Ancient Woodland).

And so if you are going to drive down and do one of these walks, perhaps you don't need to be so tight - and perhaps you could pay for your parking, and help keep these sites open and able to be used by everyone. 

But with that stern lesson over, we can continue on down this road - and having said hello to some horses that pretend to be friendly, but which really want to eat some fruit pastilles, we make our way round to the village of Ingleby Greenhow.

St Andrew's Church

Here we are reached one of the many villages in this area whose names have Scandinavian links, with the '-by' suffix originating from the Old Norse for farmstead, and with How deriving from the Old Norse for hill (haugr).

The pub here is supposed to be quite nice, and so the plan was to stop off here if there was time to spare - but by now that buffer has disappeared - and so instead we head directly on to the train station at Battersby Junction (which sits half way between the villages of Ingleby Greenhow and Battersby).

Battersby itself is another village name with Scandinavian links, and was first recorded in 1086 as Badresbi - which comes from the Old Norse name for Boðvar's farmstead.

But more interesting is the train station itself, which used to link up with the ironstone mines up on the moors (which are passed on the next stage of the Coast to Coast, when walking between Clay Bank and Glaisdale).

These days Battersby train station sits on a (mostly) single tracked line that runs between Middlesbrough and Whitby - with the driver having to change ends at Battersby, as the train heads in from one line and out via another line.

Once upon a time trains would have run between Battersby and Northallerton, via stations at Ingleby Greenhow, Stokesley, Sexhow, Potto, Tenholme, and Picton - but the link with the ironstone mines came via another line, that ran from Battersby up Ingleby Incline onto the top of the moors.

Whilst walking between Ingleby Greenhow and Battersby train station, we passed a road junction - and if we had turned right and on past the farm we would have found ourselves walking along the old route of that train track, which then went up a steep incline onto the moors - and on to meet up with the Coast to Coast and Cleveland Way near Bloworth Crossing.

Beyond Bloworth Crossing, the Coast to Coast follows the old train route (until it reaches the Lion Inn at Blakey) - after which it then loops round Rosedale. 

As it loops round, it looks down onto the a path that follows the route of the old Rosedale railway - with many of the buildings where ores would be processed, still being visible beside that former railway line.

Right now we find ourselves at the base of that line - and at the point where those ores would start their journey across these plains to Teesside - and once the train arrives, we can repeat that journey to Middlesbrough, before heading home.

Total Distance: 14.2 miles (9.8 miles on the Coast to Coast)

Total Ascent: 2,789 feet (2,389 feet on the Coast to Coast)

Click for the adjoining section of the Coast to Coast from Battersby to Glaisdale.

Click for the connecting sections of the Cleveland Way from Thirsk to Swainby and from Kildale to Swainby.

Click for a connecting walk exploring the Rosedale Ironstone Mines from Glaisdale to Battersby.

Enjoyment Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ / 5

Disclaimer: This writeup provides a narrative of what to expect rather than a route guide to follow. The route is covered by the 93 and 99 (barely used) OS Landranger maps - while there is also a Coast to Coast guidebook which includes OS mapping (links redirect to Amazon). The route is very well way-marked