Out & About …

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

Category: Westerdale

  • From a Templarsā€™ Retreat to a Cobblerā€™s Last Stand: The Many Lives of Brathwatte

    From a Templarsā€™ Retreat to a Cobblerā€™s Last Stand: The Many Lives of Brathwatte

    I see a rock outcrop on the crest of a hill and feel a maddening urge to investigate. So, naturally, I ended up on Tor Hill Crags, gazing down over Westerdale. Or, perhaps, that should be Camisedaleā€”a name found in the Domesday Book, while Westerdale, notably, is not. The general presumption is that they are,…

  • Shadow of suspicion: gamekeepers and the Red kite’s plight

    Shadow of suspicion: gamekeepers and the Red kite’s plight

    As I cycled my way through picturesque Westerdale, I held out a glimmer of hope, albeit a rather optimistic one, for a sighting of magnificent Red kites. More specifically, I yearned to catch a glimpse of that one resilient Red Kite who may had managed to survive the cruel onslaught of illegal, heartless, and downright…

  • Hunter’s Sty Bridge

    Hunter’s Sty Bridge

    The River Esk has a few single-arched bridges, but the best one is probably the Hunter’s Sty Bridge. It’s located at the bottom of Huntersty, the ‘steep path of the hunters,’ just past the northern end of Westerdale village. Hunter’s Sty Bridge was most likely built in the late 13th century to provide access to…

  • The old road to Westerdale

    The old road to Westerdale

    The moors are filled with standing stones that span across different periods in history. You can find prehistoric monoliths, medieval structures, and even contemporary edifices scattered throughout the vast terrain. According to the 1853 6″ O.S. map, there is a boundary stone labelled Stockesley Cross located near the ruins of a supposed smugglers’ hideout called…

  • The hills look down on Westerdale, and Westerdale looks at the hills

    The hills look down on Westerdale, and Westerdale looks at the hills

    So the Whitby gazette wrote in 1911, borrowing heavily from Lord Bryon’s poem about the battle at Marathon. Today it’s such a sleepy village, home to about a hundred and thirty retirees and professionals, with a handful of working farms. Its location is not conducive as a base for walking, so most of us fly…

  • Lingcote End

    Lingcote End

    An unfamiliar view of the lower portion of Westerdale, taken whilst being buffeted by Storm Malik, the latest of this winter’s storm. I am on what is named as Grange Bank on the old O.S. map descending into the dale after a slog over Baysdale Moor. The photo gives a good overview of the medieval…

  • Westerdale Hall

    Westerdale Hall

    Originally built as a shooting lodge by Colonel Duncombe in the “Baronial Tudor style”, sometime before 1874, between 1946 and 1992, Westerdale Hall was a youth hostel but now it is a private residence. Today, the hall is largely hidden, surrounded by mature trees, but would, in its day, have commanded good views over the…

  • Orthostatic walling, Westerdale

    Orthostatic walling, Westerdale

    An orthostat, in the true sense of the word, is a large upright stone, think of a standing stone or menhir, but one that has been built into a structure or wall. There’s a few in Stonehenge. However, the term hasĀ been applied vernacularly to any huge stones that are built into walls such as this…

  • Crown End, Westerdale

    Crown End, Westerdale

    The rigg separating Westerdale and Baysdale is mapped as Crown Head. That’s it on the right, rising to 236 metres (774 feet) at its highest point. Baysdale is the nearer valley, Westerdale straight ahead. Crown Head is best known as a site of pre-historic remains, representing activity between the Bronze Age and late Iron Age.…

  • Round Hill Iron Age hillfort, Westerdale

    Round Hill Iron Age hillfort, Westerdale

    Although a much brandied term, believe it or not there are only a handful of prehistoric fortified sites recorded within the North York Moors. All, with one exception, are ‘Promontory Forts‘, the exception being Round Hill in Westerdale. These Promontory Forts are generally located on the Cleveland and Hambleton Hills: Eston Nab, Roulston Scar, Boltby…