So, yesterday was Costa and today is the North Yorkshire Moors. I love both and you’ll see why…
It’s.about 5 miles and and I’m joining my chums at the car park. Carol has promised an excellent day of blue skies and sunshine but it is tempered with a cool wind.
The track is well defined and the team are in good spirit and if you couple this with the weather you’ve got an excellent day for a walk. There is an initial climb but it is adjacent to a wall and on the other side is gorse in full bloom, the yellow is like a beacon and lifts the spirit. As we approach the top of the moor we’re exposed to a fabulous view of the Vale of Mowbray and our target, Roseberry.
The view reminds me of a Dave Cousins song “Glimpse of Heaven”. The words without the music are poetic and if you look for the actual song on YouTube you’ll hear what’s going through my head right now:
The hillside was a patchwork quilt
Neatly stitched with tidy hedge
And crumbling grey stone wall
The trees were bare, but Spring was near
To conjure up its endless strings
Of green magic handkerchieves
Could you only see what I’ve seen
You would surely know what I mean
I think I must have caught a glimpse of heaven.
A string of diamonds formed a stream
That tumbled down the daunting cliff
To sparkle bright on the beach.
New born lambs that sweetly played
Speckled eggs all newly laid
But for you I would have stayed
I think I must have caught a glimpse of heaven
Click on any image to make it full size and be able to page through…
This is a walk that is good for anyone of reasonable fitness but there are some serious climbs; however, what I’m seeing is fabulous. Roseberry stands against blue sky, green fields and yellow rape, the whole thing is like a closing scene from the Simpsons. There’s the occasional grouse making a huge noise as they try to draw attention away from their nests and in the distance the sound of a curlew.
We walk over Newton Moor and turn left on the Cleveland way spur towards Roseberry with Little Roseberry on our right. The path is heavily used, easy to follow and rather beautiful in its zig zag progression down over 200 feet (70m) then up again only more than that.
The ascent to Roseberry’s summit is heavy going but does include some beautiful views and we stop a couple of times but now we’re quite fit and the stops are more to do with appreciation of the wonderful scenery and less to do with breathlessness that did hold us up from time to time a couple of years ago. My point here is that it is never too late to take this up.
At the top Hayden explains that this is his first Captain Cook and. Roseberry adventure; we congratulate him and ask how he feels. His response is priceless, “If I’d know I wouldn’t have come!” He’s joking of course and it keeps us amused but it does illustrate that this is not easy but it is fantastic. There are two seventy year olds and both of them are living proof of the fact that if you want to do something enough then barring genuine physical or mental impediments, it can be done.
We spend a glorious 30 minutes at the top looking out over the Vale of Mowbray, I’m still in Costa del Folk mode having returned from Ibiza yesterday and appreciate both the views here with the cold wind compared with the warmth in Spain but without these views; I like both.
We’re settled behind some rocks when a contingent of schoolchildren appear over the ridge. They’re well managed but the thought of being responsible for them fills me with dread. George tells me about doing this walk more than once and on one occasion with over 60 kids and I smile.
We’re on our way way back and the sun is high in the sky. Looking down there are cows with their calfs and their shadows gives scale to our height.
Pees are necessary so Lou, our personal radiographer and medic would be proud of our consumption of liquid.
The return is as pleasant as the approach and we take the opportunity of appreciating the views from this direction; the sun is still shining and all is still well with the world.
We close the walk and agree a rendezvous at Lordstones above Carlton in Cleveland where there are bacon sandwiches of renown and a good selection of beers and lagers.
As we meet outside there is much reminiscence of early mating routines and romances from nearly 50 years ago as one of our group remembers an adventure from the Dales and encourages another chum to focus his thoughts.
“Oh yes”, said I, “She had beautiful breasts”
All is quiet as I re-emerge from a silent reverie. I look around the assembled faces now coming back into focus and riveted with interest:-
“Err…did I say that out loud?”
This was a good day…G..x
Glimpse of Heaven is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8uc5GJYSKmk
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