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Highcliff Nab and Guisborough Moor from Commondale

North York Moors Walk

Nat Park - North York Moors - North York Moors West

County/Area - North Yorkshire

Author - Andy Chaplin

Length - 11.1 miles / 18 km    Ascent - 1090 feet / 330 metres

Time - 6 hours 40 minutes    Grade - moderate

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Walk Route Description

Photo from the walk - Highcliff Nab and Guisborough Moor
Click image to visit gallery of 3 images.

This walk in the North York Moors National Park is a circuit around the Skelderskew, Guisborough and Commondale Moors with a slight detour to take in Highcliff Nab to enjoy the great views northwards to the coast. The walk starts at the parking area (grid ref. NZ656105) just west of the village of Commondale. From here you walk east along the road back into the village. Bear left at the junction in front of the Cleveland Inn and continue along the road to the village church.

Do not take the first path off on the left but continue parallel to the road until a track heads off northwards along the east side of a fence. The path soon follows a line of boundary stones then angles off eastwards to join the road. Almost immediately you go left on? Quakers Causeway path which becomes a paved footpath after a half mile.

Branch left at the intersection of paths (grid ref. NZ659130) then follow this path to Westworth Wood. The paths were not particularly clear in the wood so, if in doubt, try to stay near the eastern edge and if you start to follow a beck valley then you need to get further over to the east.

The entrance into Guisborough woods is a gate and enclosure at grid ref. NZ635144. From there you take a path straight over the top of the hill to pick up the Cleveland Way. Then follow the Cleveland Way it all the way to Highcliff Nab. There are spectacular views north all the way along the top.

From the Nab head south on the Cleveland Way until it goes into Guisborough Moor where you leave the CW and follow the moor track east along the northern fence towards the trig point. From here you follow moors tracks south over Penrod Hill then east and south again towards North Ings. For all of this section you exchange the great views north to the coast for great views south across the moors towards Levendale and Sleddale.

At the farm at North Ings, the footpath goes around the east of the property and then picks up the track again as it makes its way down to the parking place near Commondale.

Other walks nearby

Walk 1538 Baysdale Circularmoderate9.5 miles
Walk 3187 Esklets and Rosedale Head from Westerdalemoderate11.0 miles
Walk 3737 Commondale & Esk Valleyeasy/mod8.2 miles
Walk 1050 Highcliff Nab & Roseberry Topping from Slapewathmoderate10.5 miles
Walk 1467 Cleveland Way - Roseberry Common to Tidy Brown Hillmoderate15.0 miles
Walk 1450 Little & Great Fryup Dalesmoderate8.3 miles
Walk 1330 Roseberry Topping & Captain Cook's Monumenteasy/mod6.5 miles
Walk 3160 Roseberry Topping and Captain Cook's Monumenteasy/mod6.3 miles
Walk 2930 Roseberry Topping from Newton under Roseberryeasy3.2 miles
Walk 1452 Leaholm Moor & Scaling Dammoderate9.8 miles

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Trail and Fell Running in the Yorkshire Dales

Trail and Fell Running in the Yorkshire DalesGuidebook to 40 of the best trail and fell runs in the Yorkshire Dales National Park. Ranging from 5 to 24 miles, the graded runs start from bases such as Ribblehead, Dent, Sedbergh, Malham and Grassington and take in the region's diverse delights, from castles and waterfalls to iconic mountains such as Whernside, Ingleborough and Pen Y Ghent.
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