Out & About …

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

Category: Great Ayton Moor

  • Beyond the Mist — The Battle of Stokesley

    Beyond the Mist — The Battle of Stokesley

    This morning, the air on Great Ayton Moor was crystal clear, but away in the south-west, a low mist crept up the Vale of Cleveland, making the wind turbines at Seamer look like they’re levitating. That white house yonder caught my eye. Turns out, it’s Howe Hill. Now, I can therefore take a brief detour…

  • When Satnavs Lead Astray: A Tale from a Trail Race

    When Satnavs Lead Astray: A Tale from a Trail Race

    Great Ayton Moor, a dull overcast day but dry. That’s Capt. Cook’s Monument is the distance. I found myself thinking about an observation I made over the weekend. I found myself manning a checkpoint on a trail race that traversed my local moors. This particular checkpoint was strategically positioned at the intersection of public bridleways,…

  • On this day in 1804: Jane Ewbank’s Journey to Whitby

    On this day in 1804: Jane Ewbank’s Journey to Whitby

    Hardly a week goes by without news of some historical document being digitised. Recently, a diary of a lady named Jane Ewbank who lived in York during the time of the Napoleonic Wars has been published. Jane was born in 1778, and her father, George Ewbank, was a well-known druggist and banker in York. He…

  • And so the Ling season begins

    And so the Ling season begins

    It’s that Ling season. Suddenly, in spite of the damp weather over the last week, the heather blooms have emerged, although they haven’t reached their fullest splendour just yet. Expect more photos of the purple haze to come in the month ahead. Heather, in a wholly natural habitat, gives off a modest display compared to…

  • Cercy Pross Rigg and its chet warm

    Cercy Pross Rigg and its chet warm

    On this day in 1844, a man named William Archibald Spooner was born. He later became an Anglican clergyman and warden of New College, Oxford. What made him famous were his ‘Spoonerisms,’ where he accidentally switched letters in phrases, resulting in amusing expressions like ‘It is kisstomary to cuss the bride,‘ and ‘a well-boiled icicle.‘…

  • Ayton Bank — and a delve into the world of ‘Tumblers’

    Ayton Bank — and a delve into the world of ‘Tumblers’

    This morning, I was lucky enough to get dropped off in Guisborough, and decided to walk back home, a one-way trip; avoiding, of course, the more popular paths since it’s a Sunday. Ayton Bank is off the beaten track that offers a quiet location. In the distance is Easby Moor, topped with Capt. Cook’s Monument.…

  • In 2013, David Cameron said that he wanted to talk about the future of Europe

    In 2013, David Cameron said that he wanted to talk about the future of Europe

    It was ten years ago today that Cameron said the British people must “have their say” on Europe when he pledged an in/out referendum if he is re-elected . The leader of the opposition, Ed Miliband said it would  “put Britain through years of uncertainty, and take a huge gamble with our economy“. And the…

  • Everytime I go up to Capt. Cook’s Monument I find another area of clear felling

    Everytime I go up to Capt. Cook’s Monument I find another area of clear felling

    This is on Little Ayton Moor, above Hunter’s Scar — note to self: have a look at this feature — revealing a view of the whole of the short valley between Roseberry Topping, Black Bank and Great Ayton Moor. A view that has not been seen for perhaps half a century. To me, a view…

  • Clear felling on Little Ayton Moor has opened up super views across Great Ayton Moor all the way to Highcliff Nab

    Clear felling on Little Ayton Moor has opened up super views across Great Ayton Moor all the way to Highcliff Nab

    A light overnight snowfall hides the debris from the forestry work. I guess the remainder of the forestry will go in due course. Great Ayton Moor has a wealth of archaeological features which I’ve posted about many times before. A chambered cairn, a cairnfield , an Iron Age enclosure, and numerous tumuli. Elgee thought that…

  • There is nothing as exhilerating as being out in the snow

    There is nothing as exhilerating as being out in the snow

    Well ok, it was only a smattering, a ‘greymin‘, barely enough to cover the rocks on this Bronze Age tumulus on Great Ayton Moor. ” ‘Twas frost and thro leet wid a o’ greymin snaw“. On my walk up Roseberry through Newton Wood, the feathery pruinescence of the dead bracken fonds meant I was not…