The parking is on the right next to the wooden finger post sign pointing to the camping barn at Park Farm.
Park sensibly on the right making sure you do not block any gates. (DA)
Cross over the stile and walk through the field towards Park Farm. At the bottom of the field ignore the metal gate in front of you and follow the rutted track diagonally right to another gate, go through this and then in front of the farm buildings, passing the camping barn, until you see a stile on your right leading into a field. (1)
Go diagonally across the field, passing a natural water spring. You are heading for the point where the line of trees running across the field meet the hedge at the bottom. There is a slab over the stream and a stile leading onto the farm track to Low Farm. (2)
Follow the track to Low Farm, go over a stile or gate into a field and follow the the left hand side to the corner where you will cross another stream and enter a new field. Cross the corner of this to a stile behind an obvious large oak tree and enter a third field.(3) Walk through this field with the fence on your right to an obvious gate and a continuation through a narrow field. This leads to another gate and Battersby village. You will enter the village on a bend in the road with a white house in front of you.(4)
Walk through the quiet and picturesque village but remember that you are on a road so take care with any traffic. The road bends steadily right and then sharply left crossing a ford (dry when we did the walk). Continue past the Old Hall and Eure Farm. As the road bends right look out for two gates on your left. The path goes through the second gate and is marked. Go diagonally over the field towards some trees in the right hand corner. The path at this point can be overgrown with nettles, go over the stream into a cultivated field.(5) Keep to the field boundary and walk with the stream and hedgerow on your left. (The OS map indicates that you should cross the stream and go into the adjacent field but ignore this, stay in the field and continue with the stream on your left until you are almost at the corner). When you are almost at the corner you will see a path marked over a stile and into another field which is pasture. (6) (This new field had cows and calves in when we did our walk but the farmer had put an electric fence up to keep the livestock away from the path; if you have a dog with you keep it on a lead). Follow the field with fence on your right and it will join a track, walk past a tumbled down building and some newer barns and then through two gates as you pass through a small strip of trees. This brings you into another field, cross this towards Bank Foot Farm and cross onto the road via a ladder type stile.(7)
The path is opposite you on the left and it cuts across the field in front. There were horses in this field when we did the walk so we turned right and walked a few meters to the junction with the road coming down from Ingleby Incline and then followed that. (Note there is some good car parking at this point on the road and it is an alternative place to start this circular walk or even to ascend the incline and back) Follow the road/track and note that it is private and no vehicles are allowed past the section where cars can park near the junction. You will soon have Battersby Plantation on your left and you will now be walking ever so slightly uphill, keep on, passing a gate and some delightful cottages on your left to another gate and a continuation of the track. Eventually you will come to a section where the track splits (8) Take the left hand track and start more steeply up the incline.
Note that up until 1929 wagons containing iron ore were hauled empty up the incline and returned full back down. The moor at the top of the incline has the remains of the track beds which are now footpaths leading over to Rosedale and this part of the North York Moors contains the evidence of man's quarrying and digging for iron rich rock.
The incline is about a mile in length and is a steady gradient. You will pass through another gate about 2/3rds of the way up and at the top there are the remains of buildings which housed the workings and men who operated the incline machinery. (9)
At the incline top take the track just before the ruined buildings and this curves to the right and then left to join the Cleveland Way. Turn left and follow the obvious track North West, passing grouse butts and tracks leading off right onto the grouse moors. Eventually you will come to a wooden finger post pointing the Cleveland Way on your right (10) You can take this but it is better to continue straight on downhill. The views to you left are better but the path deteriorates somewhat. At the bottom you will come to another marker (11) where the track turns sharply left, turn right and take the track over the moor and uphill with a couple of bends until you join the Cleveland Way again. (12)
Turn left and follow the Cleveland Way again until you come to gates leading onto the road from Park Nab to Baysdale Abbey (13) Follow the road (quiet but narrow so take care with traffic) slightly uphill to where it bends left and starts its descent back to down to the starting point.
