This walk to the Wainstones is made much easier due to a starting point at the car park at Clay Bank. Climb the slopes on to Hasty Bank where a short moorland stroll brings you to the rock formation known as the Wainstones.
I was intrigued by the Wainstones, unsure what they would be like aside from a vague description of a collection of exposed sandstone boulders. I had passed them on the Coast to Coast walk but failed to notice them, I was exhausted on that particular day. It was a pleasant surprise to find an attractive scattering of sandstone rocks seemingly thrown randomly on to Hasty Bank for no rhyme or reason. ‘Wain’ may have come from ‘wagon’. The story is probably ingrained in local folklore but that is something I have never discovered.
What I did find is an excellent picnic spot and and a great area to explore (for children and the child within us all). Even more impressive than the Wainstones is the wonderful views, in particular the view down Bilsdale. There is a lovely return walk on the south side of Hasty Bank.
Unless the rain is falling take the open path to the south back to Carlton Bank. The views are good and it is a pleasant path. Avoid the dark, predictable forest track to the north recommended by most, leave it for a rainy day.
Planning a walk yourself, rather than reading a guide book or following a GPX route, makes it much more enjoyable. However good the guide book/GPX is, it is only by consulting a map that you can visualize the walk properly. In this case I was keen not to repeat the walk from the Wainstones on my return. Looking at the map a return via its southern slopes looked interesting. So it proved.
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