With its prominent outlook over the town, Highcliff Nab is in the heart of all Guisborians. This huge sandstone crag is a magnet for the townsfolk. It’s a popular climbing venue where many Cleveland climbers learnt the ropes. Yours truly included. It would have been attractive to the first visitors to Cleveland, at a time when the moors were open woodland Mesolithic man camped at the top leaving his flints behind. There he could survey the dense tree canopy that covered the lowlands below on the lookout for roaming animals to hunt.
I don't think there would be a vein of ironstone within this sandstone outcrop. The ironstone seams occur much lower with drifts at around 150m. Highcliffe Nab is at 300m.