Cockayne Head is the head of the Bransdale Valley, and this is its highest altitude, which is 441m. This is where a well made track joins the Coast to Coast path, close to Hodge Beck. The path is parallel to Hodge Beck until reaching an intersecting path between Bransdale and Todd Intake Moor.

This is a major path junction on Cockayne Ridge. Turning west (left) will lead to the Badger Stone and thence to Black Hill, Stump Cross and Bransdale Ridge. Going straight across (south) will lead to High Plantation on the tip of Cockayne Ridge and the exit from the Moor and into the hamlet of Cockayne. Turning left (east) will lead to the north tip of Bloworth Wood and then to Bloworth Crossing.

From the Badger Stone, a sweep across the heather to the east unveils Cockayne Ridge atop Bransdale Moor. The steady level of the ridge follows the 430m contour and then begins, to the south, a rapid descent into High Plantation at the foot of the Moor.

Walking the westbound track across Cockayne Ridge allows a view over north Bransdale towards Bloworth Crossing, just coming into visibility around the curve of the track in the background.

The tops of the trees of Bloworth Wood peek over the top of Bransdale as you look south when reaching the sharp north bend towards the ford over High Bloworth. Bloworth Crossing is only a quarter mile further north from the ford which is just up ahead.

From the top of the dip approaching the ford over High Bloworth the tall signage at Bloworth Crossing can be seen on the 400m ridge. In the image the tops thereof can just be seen on the horizon. The intervening moorland is Bransdale Moor.

The small gill, called High Bloworth, lazily makes its way to Bloworth Wood. High Bloworth becomes Bloworth Slack once in the Wood and on leaving the Wood it is subsumed by Hodge Gill at Bransdale Mill. The path crossing Cockayne Ridge is seen in the background.

Coast to Coast Trail Guide

"Hiking the Coast to Coast" is a digitally enhanced eBook available from Apple Books for all people who have either a Mac, an iPhone or an iPad, and is designed to accompany you on your walk of the Coast to Coast path. The trail guide contains Ordnance Survey maps and other advanced mapping features, step by step directions, hundreds of colour photographs, details of the route, its conditions in different weather and research snippets relating to places of interest along the way.