Category: Kildale
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Lilac Cottage and Other Euphemisms for the Necessary
This humble structure, built around 1780, at a discrete distance from the Warren farmhouse, was none other than the privy â or, as we might say today, the lavatory. It served the necessary purpose of waste disposal, likely relying on what was known as an âearth closet.â Now a Grade II Listed Building, it has…
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Nature’s Nightmare: The Environmental Impact of Pheasant Shooting
A jaunt in the countryside typically leaves one with an idyllic sense of peace, a quaint communion with nature. But this morning, I encountered a rather more disquieting spectacle. A bevy of young pheasants, dozens of them, darting about with all the coordination of those small, ravenous Compsognathids from “Jurassic Park.” These birds, though one…
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Maiden Hair: From Dye to Deficiency
While the day was still fresh, as I wandered across Warren Moor, a vivid expanse of orange-yellow caught my eye. The bog asphodel, with its star-like blooms, presented a scene of rare splendour. Singularly, these flowers might escape notice, but en masse, they transform the landscape. Never before have I witnessed such a display on…
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Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?
Perish the thought. In a recent study published by University College London, the projected climate change for Richmond & Northallerton over the next decade shows some notable shifts. Summer rainfall is anticipated to increase by 2.7%, while the annual temperature to rise by 0.76°C. To place this in context, historical data from 1981 to 2010…
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From Blue Fields to Empty SkiesâThe Plight of Pollinators
Blue tansies, a splendid sight, brightens up this field in Kildale. Belonging to the borage family, Phacelia tanacetifolia, though not native to Britain, is cultivated as a cover crop and green manure. Its nectar-rich flowers bloom sequentially, ensuring an extended flowering period that attracts insect pollinators such as bumblebees. Meanwhile, wildlife experts raise an alarm…
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Woolgathering under the big oak
“Your brains are gone woolgathering,” once described a person deemed foolish or confused, as noted in the 1852 volume, âA Dictionary of Archaic and Provincial Words, Obsolete Phrases, Proverbs, and Ancient Customs, from the Fourteenth Centuryâ. Woolgathering also denotes daydreaming, a state of drifting into idle thoughts and fancies. The term itself is colourful. One…
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Percy Cross Rigg’s Hut Circles
I thought I would take a re-look at the Percy Rigg Iron Age hut circles. It has been quite some time. Alas, the perimeter fence lies in disrepair, casting a pall of melancholy over the entire site. Located on the Percy Cross Rigg, just 460 metres down from the remains of the medieval cross, this…
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Source of the Leven
A rarely seen view of the upper reaches of the River Leven, that tributary of the Tees, before it begins its winding journey through the lowlands south of Middlesbrough. Beginning high on Warren Moor at the edge of Cleveland Hills, this river is unique as the only one north of the Humber that flows westward…
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Smelly Farm and the 18th Century Enclosures
A rather drab photograph capturing a drab-looking collection of barns, reflecting an exceptionally drab overcast day. The presence of a strong wind and rain in the air adds to the overall drabness. Lounsdale â sometimes spelt Lonsdale â stands before me in all its aromatic glory. The barns, once known to my friendship group with…
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The Scented Secrets of ‘Mousse de ChĂȘne’
What a delightful day! Bitter, raw, cold enough to freeze your marrow. The wind, a so-called “lazy wind,” doesn’t bother taking the scenic route around you; it simply chooses the direct route, right through your very being. Upon Coate Moor, amidst a gap in the trees, a view up Kildale. The young trees hereabouts, mostly…