Author: Fhithich
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Kirkham Priory
The ruins of Kirkham Priory are idyllically situated beside the River Derwent, just before it enters a gorge through Corallian limestone. The priory was founded in the 12th-century by Sir Walter l’ Espec, supposedly after the death of his only son after a fall from his horse. L’ Espec was prominent in Norman England, controlling…
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Cliff Rigg Quarry
It was the extensive quarrying of whinstone during the 19th and early 20th centuries that created this massive gash in Cliff Rigg. Extremely hard, this narrow wall of igneous rock was formed by molten larva protruding through the sedimentary layers and was much valued for cobble setts and in road building. It has been almost…
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Battle of Stockton
Not my usual haunt but as today is the anniversary of the Battle of Stockton and I had an errand nearby I thought why not. The Battle of Stockton? I hear you ask, what’s this, some obscure skirmish in the English civil war? No, far more recent. In 1933 Britain was in the midst of…
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Great Ayton High Green and the former Friends’ School
In 1997 The Friends’ School closed its doors and the large complex of buildings were converted into apartments. It had dominated Great Ayton High Green and had been an important part of village life since 1841 when it was established by Quakers as the North of England Agricultural School “to cater for the children of…
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Waldeinsamkeit
A few days ago there was a posting on the village FaceBook page about a new “mindfulness” group being set up. When I enjoy the quiet tranquillity of the woods and moors that are right on our doorstep I find that I’m just a bit sceptical of the desire to find contemplation and peacefulness in…
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Carlton Bank
It is hard to imagine that 150 years ago this would have been a scene of intense industrial activity. For over a century there had been quarrying of the Jurassic shales needed in the production of alum crystals for use as a mordant in the dyeing of textiles and as a tanning curing agent. Alum…
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Airy Holme
A view from Roseberry Topping to Capt. Cook’s Monument across the great bowl of Airy Holme, Slacks Wood and Ayton Bank, just before a tremendous downpour. The National Trust boundary of Roseberry is the fence line in the foreground just before the bracken limit. Aireyholme Lane can just be made out crossing left to right.…
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Why do sheep always face the same way?
It was almost a failure to post today. I have been at the National Trust property of Thompson’s Rigg near Dalby building leaky dams and sheep gates across Crosscliffe Beck. Sheep gates to prevent sheep from passing under the new fence where it crosses the beck and leaky dams to slow down the water flow…
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Birk Dale
The upper end of Borrowby Dale which drains into the North Sea at Staithes. On old maps, it is Birk Dale, on modern Birch Dale. I prefer to use the old name. The high point on the coast in the distance is Beacon Hill between Staithes and Port Mulgrave. Hinderwell is the village on the…
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Lonsdale
There is a wonderful phrase in Hebridean Gaelic, rionnach maoimi, meaning literally a mackerel panic but used to refer to the shadows cast on a hillside by clouds moving across the sky on a windy day. I am sure there must be a kindred word for a shaft of sunlight falling on the ground through…