Wainstones Walk

From the car park the route heads into Chop Gate and passes behind the chapel, then climbs steadily onto Cold Moor. You follow the moor top to the escarpment edge and join the Cleveland Way, crossing the Wainstones and continuing over Hasty Bank. Beyond that the walk leaves the main route for a bridleway that curves around the top of Urra Moor before dropping back down to Chop Gate. The payoff is a long stretch of open ridge with views across the Tees Valley, into Bilsdale and out over the surrounding moors.

This is a difficult walk in the local classification, and the grading is fair. The climb onto Cold Moor is sustained, and there are steep, rocky ascents and descents at the Wainstones and on Hasty Bank. Tracks on Cold Moor and Urra Moor are clearly defined, and the Cleveland Way section is largely stone surfaced and well waymarked. There are no stiles. Heather tracks can be wet or boggy, so expect soft, sticky ground in places and wear walking boots.

The route spends hours on open, exposed moorland, climbing from roughly 160 m at Chop Gate to around 380 m on the tops. Visibility can drop quickly and conditions can change fast, so carry windproof and waterproof layers. Waymarking on the Cleveland Way is good, but the moor and bridleway sections reward attention. Carry an OL26 map as a backup to mobile mapping.

Early morning and late afternoon light suits the escarpment best, picking out the sandstone shapes and the long drop into the valley. Clear, settled days give the widest views over Bilsdale and the Tees Valley. In poor visibility the ridge loses its main attraction, so it is worth waiting for a better window if the tops are clouded in.

The Wainstones are a cluster of weathered sandstone outcrops, including climbing pillars known as the steeple and the needle, and they are one of the defining features of this stretch of escarpment. On Cold Moor you pass Three Howes, a group of Bronze Age burial mounds, and along the Urra Moor edge there is a long bank and ditch of uncertain age. The heather moorland is important ground for nesting birds in spring and early summer.

Start and finish at Chop Gate Village Hall car park on the B1257, where there are toilets. The Buck Inn is a short walk from the car park and is passed near the end of the walk.

Dogs are allowed but should be kept on a short lead or close to heel throughout. A short lead is required from 1 March to 31 July for ground-nesting birds and around livestock, and a lead is also safest where cyclists and horse riders share the tracks.

If 8.2 miles and 423 m of climbing is more than you want, the Lord Stones Walk is a 4.4 km circuit with similar moorland views and far less commitment. It is a separate walk, not a shortcut on this loop.