Hanging Stone Leap

I have been meaning to do this challenge walk for a while now so waking up with a hazy Peroni hangover at 6am I decided to get my arse in gear and head off out for a big hike.

The Hanging Stone Leap is a yearly challenge event and GPS details can be found here at this excellent site. I opted for the 24 mile option in keeping with where I want my hiking to progress to this year.

8:30 am saw me waved off by Leanne and Thomas, Pepper joined me again and we headed off in deep mist. The first part of the walk head’s out of Guisborough southwards and climbs up through the woods to Highcliff Nab a rocky outcrop with great views over Guisborough. Some heather moorland scenery took us all the way to Kildale, here is the splitting point of the two walks (9miles&24mile).

I headed South East through Baysdale and past the picturesque Hob hole. This is the first time I have headed this far into the NY moors and it offered a landscape of rolling heather moorland. I must set aside some time to explore the inner reaches of the moors instead of sticking to the escarpment. I had reached just over half way and I was getting hungry, setting off on a big hike without food is a mistake I wont be making again!!

Great Hograh Moor was particularly boggy and my Sealskin socks failed. I must remember to write-up a blog post slating this product. The converted homes at Baysdale Abbey made me slightly jealous of their superb location, maybe its time I called the estate agents. I was glad to pick the Cleveland Way back up as my iphone was down to 10% battery due to a lack of planning and the memory map application was my only means of navigation. I was soon back to Kildale and ready for the last leg of my journey.

The final part of the walk takes in 3 of the best areas to view the Tees Valley from Captains Cook monument, Hanging Stone and Roseberry Topping. However the latter was a final tester in the legs before the easy stroll back into Guisborough and the Rugby Club which marks the end of this great walk.

This is a great walk and has numerous aspects to keep you amused along the route. I was particularly impressed with Great Howgarth Moor. The terrain includes small country roads, forest tracks, National Trail and boggy heather stomping. It took me just less than 8 hours which was bang on my target of 3mph. Its nice feeling the strength building in my legs again and the after effects didn’t have me hobbling around the house.

Not many pictures due to forgetting to juice up the iphone.