Out & About …

… on the North York Moors, or wherever I happen to be.

Category: Clay Bank

  • The Ghost of Hoggart’s Wood

    The Ghost of Hoggart’s Wood

    The Cleveland Hills once formed a intimidating barrier that kept the dales in isolation. Access was by steep unmade tracks, Turkey Nab, Clay Bank, Carlton Bank, Scarth Nick. Nowadays of course, (most of) these routes have been tarmaced and the internal combustion engine has made the climb so much easier. The route from Ingleby Greenhow…

  • Cushat Hill

    Cushat Hill

    A glorious Christmas Day in Cleveland. Not sure the weather was so good in Bilsdale. It looks as though the dale was filled with cloud and overflowing the col between White Hill and Urra Moor. Most refer to the pass as Clay Bank but old maps show it as Cushat Hill. Viewed from some distance…

  • Snowstorm at Hagg’s Gate

    Snowstorm at Hagg’s Gate

    I was reminded today of a popular knick-knack of the 60s: a snow globe. A half dome of glass filled with water and snow confetti. Inside was a small scene, maybe including a reindeer or a Disney character. Given a shake, the scene would be transformed into a snowstorm. I am looking down through a…

  • Hagg's Gate

    Hagg's Gate

    I didn’t realise it at the time but this is an almost opposite view to a photo I took earlier in the summer. I am on Hasty Bank, one of the bumps of the Cleveland Hills, and looking down onto the col at the top of Clay Bank on a contrasty early evening with bright skies and…

  • Clay Bank – the Great Landslip of 1872

    Clay Bank – the Great Landslip of 1872

    In 1872 a great landslip occurred on Clay Bank covering the main Stokesley to Helmsley road to a depth of up to 24 feet and a length of 250 yards with rocks, shale and soil. The aftermath was a legal action before the Queen’s Bench of the High Court of Justice. At the time upkeep of roads was the…