Rivelindale

A Public Footpath is mapped between Percy Cross and Highcliffe Farm crossing the vast bog of Sleddale Slack or Rivelindale as referred to in old documents. It is a little used path but there has been some recent cutting of the heather at the Percy Cross end. Across the bog, however, no such luxury, a great cushion of Sphagnum and Juncus awaits. Wet even in this dry spell. In the foreground is “The Race” which is followed by the Right of Way for a short distance. This leat built by Lord Gisborough in the 18th-century aimed to capture the water flowing off Hutton Moor and divert it into Chapel Beck for the benefit of his mills in Guisborough. This meant of course that Sleddale Beck had less water which greatly upset the millers downstream in the Esk Valley. Highcliffe Farm can be seen in the distance in the photo below Highcliff Nab.