Category: Cleveland Hills
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Cliff Rigg Quarry
Former whinstone quarry that dominates the modest Cliff Ridge overlooking the village of Great Ayton. The whinstone seam is part of the Cleveland Dyke, a protrusion of very hard volcanic rock cutting through the surrounding soft sedimentary rocks. It was formed 58 million years ago from a volcano near the Isle of Mull and can…
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Cushat Hill
A glorious Christmas Day in Cleveland. Not sure the weather was so good in Bilsdale. It looks as though the dale was filled with cloud and overflowing the col between White Hill and Urra Moor. Most refer to the pass as Clay Bank but old maps show it as Cushat Hill. Viewed from some distance…
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Módraniht, a pagan tradition of Christmas Eve
To our pagan Anglo-Saxon ancestors, December 24th was the Night of the Mothers or Módraniht when thanks were given to the mothers of the tribe. It was attested to in Bede’s 8th-century manuscript and probably involved a sacrifice. The tradition may have roots today in the Orkneys where Helya’s Night sees the children of each…
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Carr Ridge and Hasty Bank
A menhir or standing stone on Urra Moor right next to the Cleveland Way. I suspect this stone has been erected in modern times simply because I can find no mention of it which I am sure there would be if it was indeed historically significant. As it is it gives a good foreground to…
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Well, there’s good news and there’s bad news
The good news is that it looks like the Traffic Regulation Order restricting off road motorbikes and vehicles from using the medieval trod that climbs Kirby Bank has finally been issued and is in force. The trod was part of a pannierway connecting Rievaulx Abbey in Bilsdale with the River Tees. Off road motorcycles have…
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Park Nab from Percy Rigg
Park Nab, like a sleeping dragon with its breath creeping up the hillside. A dismal forecast. A day for keeping local. Open Space Web-Map builder Code
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Cleveland Hills
The Cleveland Hills always look good after a few days away. I still get very irritated when I have to state Middlesbrough as my postal address followed by Cleveland. I can just about cope with a postcode beginning ‘TS…’ but I live in North Yorkshire, I pay my rates to North Yorkshire, not Middlesbrough. And…
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Stony Wicks Boundary Stone
A morning run up Scugdale and over to the Lords Stones, where I was to meet my wife. “Did you see the rainbow?”, she asked. Wanting to avoid pedantry I replied I had but I could have said: “no, but I saw a rainbow”. I took a photo of it and this is it. It…
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Rotten Scar
Last Sunday I posted a little question where was I when I took the photo. I thought the hill would be a giveaway but for once no one came close. Further back and a little bit higher on the edge of Urra Moor and Hasty Bank becomes more obvious. The valley is the top end…
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When Roseberrye Toppinge weares a cappe …
Towards the weste there stands a highe hill called Roseberry Toppinge, which is a marke to the seamen, and an almanacke to the vale, for they have this ould ryme common, “When Roseberrye Toppinge weares a cappe Let Cleveland then beware a clappe.” For indeede yt seldome hath a cloude on yt that some yll…