WALK 4 KILDALE TO CASTLETON via Cleveland Way, Baysdale Abbey & Sloethorne Park

Image produced from the Ordnance Survey Get-a-map service. Image reproduced with kind permission of Ordnance Survey and Multi Media Mapping.

 Alight the train and leave the station up the bank on to the main road where you turn right past the post office leaving the village behind. After about a quarter of a mile turn off the main road to the left on to a side road which sign posted Cleveland Way.

Keep on this road for about two miles over two cattle grids climbing steadily all the time until you come to a definite sharp right turn with a gated track straight in front. The track is still   the Cleveland Way so you must go round the first locked gate and immediately in front go through the pedestrian gate next to another locked gate.

Follow this track for about three miles to where you turn off  [on the left is a track bearing left which you may take to shorten the time by about one hour.] Later on you are joined at a gate by a track coming in from your right and later still you may see a sign on the left supported by two posts saying no public right of way. After a short sharp climb bearing right the track bears left and it is just after it straightens out that you will see a sigh on two posts advising that this is a public bridleway no motorcycling.

You take this track which is clearly marked on the ground for about a mile until it bears left and goes down hill to join another track at right angles. You turn left here and follow the track for about two miles first slightly up hill and than down hill all the way to the end. [It is at the start of the down hill that you will see a track on the left which is the other end of the short cut mentioned earlier.]

Once at the end of the track you come upon a grassy area where in front and at about 11 o’clock you see a gate in a stone wall into a wood. Go through and follow the well worn path first right and then left to another gate. Go through this gate and turn right down a field where you will see a large stone building reputedly built from the stones which were  Baysdale Abbey.

In front of you is a mound and a gate into another field so you should make towards it via the right hand side of the mound. Once through the gate go at two o’clock towards the left hand end of the building where you come to a gate on to a farm road.

With the large building behind go straight on ignoring the road to the left past the farm house on your right and then turn right over a stream and left to continue on with the stream on the left. You must keep the stream on the left through two gates until the track bears right up hill towards a farm.

At this point you will see a gate on the left which you must go through, down and over the stream. Once over the stream you will see a large pile of stones on the horizon which you must make towards severely up hill past a disused barn on the right. At the top of the hill is a gate in a stone wall which once through you should turn right and carry on keeping the wall on the right until you reach a small stone building.

At the building you carry straight on in the same direction along a well defined track until in about a mile you reach a metalled road. You cross the metalled road and follow it for about a mile until you come to a junction coming from your left. Carry on down hill past the junction over a bridge over the river Esk and up hill taking the first left down hill over the Esk again and on to the Eskdale Inn for a well earned pint before the train home