The Cleveland Way is a

National Trail National Trails are long distance footpaths and bridleways in England and Wales. They are administered by Natural England, an agency of the Government of the United Kingdom, UK government, and Natural Resources Wales, a Welsh Government, Welsh ...

in the historic area of

Cleveland Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–U.S. maritime border and approximately west of the Ohio-Pennsylvania st ...

North Yorkshire North Yorkshire is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in Northern England.The Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority areas of City of York, York and North Yorkshire (district), North Yorkshire are in Yorkshire and t ...

, Northern England. It runs between Helmsley and the Brigg at

Filey Filey () is a seaside town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in North Yorkshire, England. It is located between Scarborough, North Yorkshire, Scarborough and Bridlington on Filey Bay. Although it was a fishing village, it has a large ...

, skirting the

North York Moors The North York Moors is an upland area in north-eastern Yorkshire, England. It contains one of the largest expanses of Calluna, heather moorland in the United Kingdom. The area was designated as a national parks of England and Wales, National P ...

National Park.

History

Development of the Cleveland Way began in the 1930s when the Teesside Ramblers' Association pressed for the creation of a long-distance path in the north-east of Yorkshire linking the Hambleton Drove Road, the Cleveland escarpment and footpaths on the Yorkshire coast. Subsequently, in 1953, a formal proposal to create the route was submitted to the North Riding of Yorkshire Council by the National Parks Commission. The trail was officially opened in 1969. It was the second official

to be opened.

Route

The trail can be walked in either direction linking the trailheads of Helmsley () and

() in a

horseshoe A horseshoe is a product designed to protect a horse hoof from wear. Shoes are attached on the palmar surface (ground side) of the hooves, usually nailed through the insensitive hoof wall that is anatomically akin to the human toenail, altho ...

configuration. The trail is waymarked along its length using the standard

acorn The acorn is the nut (fruit), nut of the oaks and their close relatives (genera ''Quercus'', ''Notholithocarpus'' and ''Lithocarpus'', in the family Fagaceae). It usually contains a seedling surrounded by two cotyledons (seedling leaves), en ...

symbol. The trail falls into two roughly equal sections. The inland section leads west from Helmsley, then north, then east around the west of the North York Moors National Park. It then leaves the National Park near Guisborough to meet the coast at Saltburn. It re-enters the National Park just north of Staithes; the coastal section follows the coast from Saltburn to

Whitby Whitby is a seaside town, port and civil parish in North Yorkshire, England. It is on the Yorkshire Coast at the mouth of the River Esk, North Yorkshire, River Esk and has a maritime, mineral and tourist economy. From the Middle Ages, Whitby ...

, then leaves the National Park for the final time at Cloughton Wyke to reach

Scarborough Scarborough or Scarboro may refer to: People * Scarborough (surname) * Earl of Scarbrough Places Australia * Scarborough, Western Australia, suburb of Perth * Scarborough, New South Wales, suburb of Wollongong * Scarborough, Queensland, sub ...

and Filey.

Flora and fauna

The

moorland Moorland or moor is a type of Habitat (ecology), habitat found in upland (geology), upland areas in temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands and the biomes of montane grasslands and shrublands, characterised by low-growing vegetation on So ...

sections of the trail provide a habitat for species including

red grouse The red grouse (''Lagopus scotica'') is a medium-sized bird of the grouse family which is found in Calluna, heather moorland in Great Britain and Ireland. It was formerly classified as a subspecies of the willow ptarmigan (''Lagopus lagopus'') ...

, curlews and emperor moth caterpillars. The coastal sections may provide sightings of seabirds such as great cormorants, shags,

Atlantic puffin The Atlantic puffin ('), also known as the common puffin, is a species of seabird in the auk family (biology), family. It is the only puffin native to the Atlantic Ocean; two related species, the tufted puffin and the horned puffin being found ...

s, common guillemots and herring gulls.

Connecting trails

Gristhorpe Cliff Tops on the Cleveland Way

The Cleveland Way connects with various other long-distance footpaths. These are listed in order from Helmsley to

. The Ebor Way goes from Ilkley (where it connects with the Dales Way) to Helmsley. The White Rose Walk from Kilburn White Horse to Roseberry Topping crosses the Cleveland Way. The whole coastal section of the Cleveland Way forms part of the North Sea Trail. The route of the White Rose Way follows the same coastal section. The Esk Valley Walk from Castleton ends at

. The Coast to Coast Walk starts or ends at Robin Hood's Bay, and the Lyke Wake Walk crosses the moors from Osmotherley to Ravenscar. The Tabular Hills Walk, a regional route developed by the

National Park Authority, links the two southerly ends of the Cleveland Way, enabling walkers to walk the complete perimeter of the North York Moors National Park. The Yorkshire Wolds Way goes from Filey to Hessle, near Hull, where it connects with the Trans Pennine Trail which forms part of the European walking route E8.

Races

The Hardmoors Race Series features ultramarathons,

marathon The marathon is a long-distance foot race with a distance of kilometres ( 26 mi 385 yd), usually run as a road race, but the distance can be covered on trail routes. The marathon can be completed by running or with a run/walk strategy. There ...

s and shorter races based on the Cleveland Way route. Included in the ultramarathon series are a race circumnavigating the entire length of the Cleveland Way, and a and race which race between Helmsley and Guisborough, and Guisborough and Filey respectively in differing directions. There are also longer routes which link up to other trails including the Yorkshire Wolds Way.

Circular walks

Official circular walks along the Cleveland Way include:
Ravenscar Round

Great Ayton Try a Trail

Osmotherley and the Drovers Road

Gallery

File:2024 05 13 - Cleveland Way (View of Roseberry Topping with a rabbit) 1.jpg, Roseberry Topping File:2024 05 14 - Cleveland Way (Hummersea cliff scars and sea view) 1.jpg, Hummersea Cliff File:2024 05 14 - Cleveland Way (Huntcliff - Charmed Bracelet) 1.jpg, Richard Farrington's Charmed Bracelet File:2024 05 14 - Cleveland Way (Port Mulgrave mine ruins - view from cliff) 1.jpg, Mine Ruins at Port Mulgrave File:2024 05 17 - Cleveland Way (Sign Southern Start of Cleveland Way).jpg, Starting point from Filey

References

External links

*
Long Distance Walkers Association
{{Coastal paths of Britain Footpaths in North Yorkshire Long-distance footpaths in England Coastal paths in England North York Moors Yorkshire coast