Category: Whorlton
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The Falconer and the Whorlton Elves
Prepare to be delighted and delectated by another tale from that master wordsmith of the North Riding of Yorkshire: Richard Blakeborough (1850-1918), writer, poet, and dramatist. Now, I did have a notion to modernise this story for you, but I quickly found myself struggling by how to handle some of the terms, such as “dark-faced”…
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Neil’s Howe
It was pleasing to see the Nelson Stone restored to its correct postion. Or should I say the 19th-century boundary stone. One of the last times I was here, in 2017, it had vanished. I learnt later it had unceremoniously been dumped in a nearby pond. That act of vandalism must have taken some doing.…
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A view of Swainby from Scarth Nick …
… but the point of interest is not the village of Swainby, nor the wooded Whorl Hill on the far right. It is the field visible in the between the gap in the treeline on the left. Or more specifically the isolated tree in that field. It is around about here that a stone coffin…
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Whorlton Castle
Another dreich morning so I thought I had better grab a few shots of Whorlton Castle before I trudged up Whorlton Lane into the cloud. I’ve covered this impressive ruin several times before. What we see today is just the gatehouse of a once magnificence castle, of the motte and bailey type, but which was…
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Burns Night
Cleveland is a land of glacial outliers. Roseberry Topping, Freeborough Hill, Blakey Topping and, of course, Whorl Hill. Apparently, at a mere 237m high, it is the 2226th tallest hill in England, which I must admit I do find hard to believe. To the right of the hill are the ruins of Whorlton Castle which…
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Avenue of Yews, Whorlton Churchyard
Yew trees have been long associated with churchyards. They are believed to be the longest living organisms in Europe, the oldest have been shown to be over 4,000 years old. Which begs the question which came first, the church or the tree? It is known that the yew was sacred to native Britons so it…
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Huthwaite Green
Also known as Heathwaite, names which are as Yorkshire as a name can be, the ‘thwaite’ element coming from the Old Scandinavian word for a clearing: thveit. Heathwaite means a high clearing and Huthwaite a hill clearing. This view over the buttercup meadows of Scugdale is a familiar sight for walkers on the Cleveland Way,…
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Public Bridleway through Coalmire Wood
This annoys me. Intimidating signs erected across a Public Right of Way, clearly shown as such on the O.S. maps and on the North York Moors National Park’s own mapping portal. I took the photo above at point A, and the one below, of a padlocked gate, at point B. Both maps indicate a Public Bridleway…
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Scarth Nick
The road from Swainby to Osmotherly climbs Scarth Nick, a col on the escarpment of the Cleveland Hills. The name itself derives from the Old Norse ‘skarthi‘ meaning a notch or cleft. This view is looking down on the cleft from Whorlton Moor. The road is following a route dating from antiquity, following the old…
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Live Moor and Whorlton Hill
The low lying cloud was playing tricks this morning. Great Ayton, Stokesley: sunshine and blue skies. Carlton, just 4 kilometres down the road, dense fog obscuring the sun. Then, climbing up Carlton Bank into the sun again. Brilliant. Open Space Web-Map builder Code