...nothing but footprints

Over the past couple of years we've walked several sections of the Cleveland Way, both across moorland and along the coast.  The route of this popular National Trail starts (or finishes) in the North Yorkshire market town of Helmsley, meanders its way through the North York Moors National Park before reaching the coast at Saltburn-by-Sea from where it then follows the coastline southwards, all the way down to Filey Brigg.  It's a 110 mile walk of spectacular, contrasting natural beauty and the fact that much of it is very familiar to me just makes me want to complete the entire trail all the more. Last year we walked three portions of the coastal section of the Cleveland Way - from Ravenscar to Robin Hood's Bay, Cloughton to Ravenscar and Scarborough to Filey.  In mid-March this year we decided to walk the section from Robin Hood's Bay to Whitby, returning via a former railway line. It was one of those mornings when the weather didn't seem quite able to make up it...

Ravenscar is a small rather quirky little village perched on the North Yorkshire coast, midway between the seaside towns of Scarborough and Whitby.  Until 1897 Ravenscar was known as Peak and was home to one of the earliest chemical works in the country, producing alum for use in the textile industry.  In the late 19th century a group of businessmen formed the Ravenscar Development Company with the aim of building a large seaside resort to rival the likes of nearby Scarborough.  Roads were built, sewers were constructed and a railway station was opened, but by 1913 the company had gone into liquidation, leaving Ravenscar (as it had been renamed) to be thereafter known as "the town that never was". On a chilly morning in early March we drove out to Ravenscar and parked on the cliff top just as a heavy rainstorm blew in from the North Sea.  Thankfully this quickly passed over and the sky began to brighten as we set off to walk inland, pausing to admire the sweeping v...