‘I could easily have been a monk rushing along this very path (now known as the Cleveland Way) to attend the latest sermon by the formidable abbess, St Hild’
Duration
Two nights
When
April 2024
Why?
Superb coastal landscapes and fascinating local history to discover
I keep my eyes focused on the few feet ahead of me. I’m acutely aware of the 200ft drop down into crashing waves a metre or so to my right. And if not crashing waves, then the kind of beach few people would dare to venture across to rescue you, should you somehow manage to survive the fall.
And yet the path is visibly crumbling in places. It’s not what I would expect from a National Trail. To help matters along, the farmer owning the field to the left has surrounded it with an electric fence. I need to be careful I don’t get zapped.
Added to that, a furious wind, truly biting even if we are nearing the end of April, is making me wonder if I should have ventured out at all. Perhaps I should have stayed at the campsite.
Yet at the same time, I can’t help thinking how much worse it would have been to be on this path dressed in nothing but a monk’s habit. Because that is exactly how many people braving this trail would have been dressed