Out & About …

… on the North York Moors, or wherever I happen to be.

A high-angle outdoor shot shows a vast, rolling landscape under a cloudy sky. In the foreground, the ground is covered in low-lying vegetation, a mix of green bilberry and brown heather, with a narrow, gulley snaking into the midground. This disused hollow-way leads towards a dense cluster of tall, dark green coniferous trees. Beyond the trees, the landscape opens up into a patchwork of fields and scattered woodlands, extending to a distant horizon line marked by undulating hills. The overall impression is one of natural beauty and expansive open spaces.

A Hidden Hollow-Way on Coleson Bank

This morning’s constitutional threw up a surprise. I have used the so-called ‘Green Lane’ on Coleson Bank before, climbing out of Battersby, and even posted about it. You can just make out a glimpse of it in the photo. But I do not go that way often. The narrow gulley attracts off-road motorbikes, which makes it less than peaceful.

What caught me off guard today was the old hollow-way running parallel to the modern track. Completely hidden, it has the feel of something much older. The National Park’s Historic Environment Record puts it at Medieval and suggests “that the banks represent a cutting for a track rather than the earthwork banks of a hollow-way.”1Hollow way or trackway in Battersby Plantation. NYM NP HER No: 14120

I found myself imagining Bernard de Balliol—yes, the one from Barnard Castle—riding this route in the 12th century, linking his manors at Stokesley and Westerdale, which included the hamlet of Baysdale2British-history.ac.uk. (2021). Parishes: Westerdale | British History Online. [online] Available at: https://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/yorks/north/vol2/pp413-417#h2-0001[Accessed 11 Dec. 2021].. Then again, perhaps he had better things to do than come all the way out to this remote corner of the moors.

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2 responses to “A Hidden Hollow-Way on Coleson Bank”

  1. Kath avatar
    Kath

    I live in Battersby so I read your previous post about Coleson Banks as well. “A deep sunken track from Battersby up and over the moor to Baysdale. It gives an impression of some age, but its original purpose has been lost in antiquity.” We were told by locals whose families had lived here for generations that it was the original ‘road’ to Baysdale, before the motor car, and the current access road from Kildale is relatively recent.
    I believe the repairs carried out a couple of years before your previous blog followed from the forestry operations that had more or less destroyed the track, and assume the contractor paid for them. The timber was taken out via Kildale and that road had to be resurfaced as well.

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    1. Fhithich avatar
      Fhithich

      Thank you so much for your feedback! It’s really helpful to have a clearer understanding of this routeway.

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