The Grey Panthers

A strenuous walk that presented a number of difficulties.
These difficulties included overgrown footpaths and blocked footpaths, together with some steep ascents and descents.
Use of a satellite navigator and the 1 : 25000 map helped us find our way around.
However, the walk cannot be recommended for other than fit and experieinced walkers.
On a clear day there would be some fine views.

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 availabe 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 website, - just use QUO!!

Start from Clay Bank car park (NZ57217 03601).
Walk South along the B1257 road for a short distance (CARE, - traffic) until you see a farm track with a footpath sign on your right at NZ572 032. Follow the waymarked footpath above Hasty Bank Farm.
The footpath is waymarked to the West of a plantation, but was found to be totally obscured by bracken and inpenetrable. We took the option of skirting the plantation Northwards then Southwards on a clear farm track, though this meant crossing a barbed wire fence and ignoring a "No Right of Way" sign".
The footpath then crosses some rough pastureland to meet the Cleveland Way to the West of the Wainstones.
Continue Westawrds along the Cleveland Wayto ascend and then descend a 400 metre hill.
Just past a boundary stone, the Cleveland Way heads uphill to the left but there is a broad miner's track heading Westwards on the right.
Follow this track until you come to the bridleway that descxends Busby Moor. You may need a satellite navigator to identify this bridleway, as it is covered in bracken. The bridleway descends very steeply through this bracken and gorse to Manor Farm.
Take the farm track North at Manor Farm (note : several geese mobbed us at the farm). About 200 yards oast Cote House Farm there is a gap in the hedge on your right, which leads to a field footpath that takes you to Kirkby.
It helps to use the 1 : 25000 OS map to follow this footpath.
In Kirkby, continue on the field footpath to Great Broughton.
This field footpath makes an abrupt turn Southwards and continues to meet a track that runs past a small plantation.
At the Southern end of this track we found our way blocked by thick vegetation, with several guard dogs at the entrance to farm buildings on our left making us feel very uncomfortable.
Rather than press ahead trying to find the footpath, we cut our losses and returned up the track to take another track Eastwards that took us to the main B1257 road.
Although the traffic is failrly dangerous on this road, we found it possible to retreat on the verge to escape on-coming traffic.
At a sharp left-hand bend in the B1257 walk Southwards up Bank Lane.
Although we took the first turning on the left, it would be advisable for others to continue Southwards until you meet a Forestry track that would take you to Clay Bank.
The track we followed was initially broad, but then became a footpath which was heavily overgrown and extremely difficult to follow.
This footpath emerged at Spring House, where the map showed a track heading South up Clay Bank.
In practice, this track was either obscured or wasn't there, and we resorted to walking up the B1257 to the car park at the top of Clay Bank. This is NOT recommemnded due to the traffic that descends Clay Bank.