The Grey Panthers

Explorer Map OL27 - North York Moors (Eastern Area)

The original planned route was slightly longer than the one described below. However, due to a combination of incorrect navigation and bad weather the route was slightly shortened. The differences between the original planned route and the actual route are described.
Although the described walk is an all-seasons walk, parts of it can be very muddy. There are also a couple of places where there is a brief, but steep, descent / ascent to a beck.
There are two sections where navigation requires particular care with respect to following the OS map.

For a Memory Map overlay of the walk described, please select the above link.
(Overlay made with Version 5 of Memory Map)

Some new mapping software is now available which you may want to try, - QUO mapping. You can download the software for free from the link below, complete with demonstration maps. Having installed QUO, you can import and export Memory Map overlays. Thus YOU DON'T NEED Memory Map to use any of the overlays provided on the Grey Panthers web site, - just use QUO!!

Start from the Skinningrove Mining Museum (NZ71201 19280).
A footpath leads up past the Museum entrance to the track that connects Skinningrove and Loftus.
Follow the track into Loftus itself, then head Eastwards along the High Street (A174) until you come to a cross-roads where there is a set of traffic lights and a pedestrian crossing. Cross over into Station Road, and at the Station Hotel turn left into Liverton Road.
Follow Liverton Road until just before some houses there is a footpath leading down into Rosecroft Wood.
Follow the footpath beside the Waytail Beck until it emerges into Rosecroft Lane (a minor road).
Turn left and follow Rosecroft Lane until you come to the farm track on your left that leads to Blue House Farm.
At Blue House Farm follow the waymarks that direct you onto the footpath Eastwards. However, this section of the walk needs CAREFUL study of the 1 : 25000 OS map. Once past the farm, the footpath is NOT very clear.
The footpath leads into some rough ground beside the woodland, and descent to the Middle Gill Beck can be quite tricky. The footpath down to the beck is indistinct and goes over a mixture of long grass and brambles.
Cross the beck and then follow the footpath on the other side of the beck for a short distance Northwards.
Here, again, careful study of the OS map is required before taking the footpath North North Eastwards to get you out of the woodland.
Follow the field footpath (waymarked) Northwards until you come to a steep drop into a valley in which a small beck flows.
BEFORE dropping down to the beck (and a footbridge) there is a footpath on your right that takes you to Holywell Farm.
Here the intended route was to continue Eastwards past South Town Lane to Loy lane, and then onwards to the cemetery in East Loftus.
However, we missed this turning and instead took the footpath due North to Loftus, before heading East along the A174 to Loftus Cemetery.
Continuing along the A174 take the footpath (the Miners' Track) that is waymarked on your left past Foulsyke Farm.
Follow this footpath due North until you reach Upton Farm.
Here, because of bad weather (very high winds) we decided to return to Skinningrove by following the minor road.
However, the planned route was to continue Northwards on the field footpath to the Cleveland Way footpath, then return to Skinningrove along this route.
If you follow the Cleveland Way footpath to Skinningrove, the descent is extremely steep.