Month: July 2025
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On this Day in 1974 — When Health & Safety Went Mad
Just over fifty years ago, in 1974, I was into my first year of full-time work. Newly settled in North Yorkshire, it may have been then that I first looked down the short, wide dale of Greenhowe, maybe from this very spot, perhaps at this very season, when the ling is beginning to flare into…
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Dorothy’s Stone
Turkey Nab, near Ingleby Greenhow, is one of the steepest “road” climbs in Cleveland. The loose stony track that winds up it is not for the faint-hearted. Any driver attempting the ascent needs both patience and a steady nerve, for there is little room between the track and the sheer drop of the Nab’s edge.…
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From Thornborough Henges to the Marmion Tower
A visit to the Thornborough Henges, a trio of massive Neolithic earthworks near the River Ure, offered little for ground photography. Though the banks rise up to four metres, their layout is best seen from the air, so I have linked to this Wikipedia image. Once standing above wetlands, the site is now surrounded by…
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The Windmills Are Winning
Ah yes, a truly legendary clash of minds and metal, as the supremely rational, astoundingly gifted Don Quixote—sharp as ever—heroically attacks a gang of… consults notes… windmills. Indeed. Definitely windmills. Not, say, wind turbines, or anything remotely threatening like giant knights in armour. From atop Roseberry Topping, the view is tragic. The frontline of windmills…
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Upleatham’s Old Church
This tiny church at Upleatham is believed to be the second on this site and is often claimed to be the smallest in England—just 18 feet long and 15 feet wide. Though “smallest” is a loose term, depending on what one measures—floor space, pews, or whether it still hosts services—this particular church no longer does.…
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Quid Mirum!
The so-called Surprise View from Otley Chevin must have long since lost its element of surprise. Today was not my first visit to the Chevin but then I avoided this view. I have taken a somewhat unusual route: walking the winding path through Caley Deer Park, climbing up past the crags, spotting Almscliff Crag on…
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The Enigma of Elizabeth Caroline Brown
I had a few minutes to kill before a meeting at Ormesby Hall, so I wandered over to the nearby church. There I found the elaborate grave of one Elizabeth Caroline Brown (1834–1905), set among the usual Victorian gravestones. On Church Lane, not far away, stood a stone cross, neglected and rather out of place.…
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Kirby Knowle: A Castle with Two Names and One Too Many Stories
Towering above the western edge of the quiet village of Kirby Knowle, this brooding grand house is marked on Ordnance Survey maps as “Newbuilding.” The estate agents, less taken with that name, now refer to it in brochures as plain Kirby Knowle. The asking price is ÂŁ7 million, in case you are tempted. The “New…
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Over Silton Church
Alfred J. Brown, that tireless chronicler of the North York Moors, once suggested the little church at Over Silton was tucked away in its hollow below the village to avoid the attention of marauding Scots. Given the long history of Scottish raids into northern England—starting as early as the 11th century under King Malcolm III—it…
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Reflections at Lonsdale Quarry
Lonsdale Quarry was fully operational during in 1874, run by a Mr Grievson. It was likely the source of stone for Christ Church in Great Ayton, opened in 1877. The quarry is now quiet, a place for solitude and reflection. But it also holds a bleak memory. One Monday in May 1874, quarryman James Smith…