“Witches cast their spell over many a sleepy hamlet…”

So said the narrator of “The Cleveland Way”, a Public Information Film produced by the Central Office Of Information (COI) in the 1970s and shown frequently, usually in the afternoons between programmes on (I think) BBC1 throughout that decade. This marvellously evocative one minute thirty second masterpiece with a haunting flute-solo soundtrack made a big impression on me in pre-school years (even though I didn’t know exactly what the film was about being so young), certainly the idea, reinforced by the film's earnest documentary style, of witches being real (they must be – one had left her broomstick on the wall) scared me quite a bit!


No date is mentioned for the year of production but the Cleveland Way opened in 1969 and the North Riding Of Yorkshire, mentioned in the film, was abolished in 1974 as part of local government reorganisation. The announcement of this had been made as early as 1972 so it is unlikely the COI would have mentioned the old county after this date, so this (and the hippie-ish young couple featured towards the end) would point to around 1970-1971. Initially referred to by some as the "Acorn Route", this symbol would be subsequently used for all National Trails in England and Wales (The Cleveland Way was the second; the first, The Pennine Way, opened in 1965)
One thing that particularly strikes about this film is the walking gear - canvas rucksacks, pointy wool hats, corduroys tucked into thick woollen socks. No technical base layers back then. It's all somewhat reminiscent of those school trips to the Yorkshire Dales and Lake District back in the late 1970s/early 1980s.


Another similarly evocative Public Information Film from the same era was one about the Yorkshire Dales National Park, narrated by Frank Windsor of "Z-Cars" fame. This has yet to turn up on any compilations such as the "Charley Says" series but I live in hope. An interesting film that has appeared (on "Charley Says 2") is one promoting The Ridgeway path. I don't remember seeing this as a child, so it is likely the broadcast of these items was regionally targetted; doubtless those promoting trails/National Parks in The North were not broadcast in The South and vice versa.

The opening frames of "The Cleveland Way" - Whitestone Crag across Gormire Lake. Watch the whole film here:

Sparing no expense, I recently had the opportunity to walk part of The Cleveland Way. As luck would have it most of the sights featured in the Public Information Film are in the first ten miles of the trail, so it was possible to see many of them as they are today - as well as some of the spectacular views the film omits.
Click below to view:



Sadly we didn't have the sun-drenched landscape the 1970s camera crew had (I wonder how long they had to wait for a decent day?) but as you can see-now, as then - "Little has changed.."


"Look for this sign, to make sure you're on the right track."