Category: Cliff Rigg
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S by W and beyond — the view from Roseberry
Sundays are not my preferred days to climb Roseberry, as they tend to draw throngs of visitors, making the summit less quiet than I prefer. Nonetheless, this morning, helping the National Trust with their ‘Tea on the Topping’ event, I found myself on the summit, and briefly took in the view towards Cliff Rigg and…
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The Cleveland Dyke
A view that looking northwest from Cliff Rigg along Langbaurgh Ridge, both part of that striking intrusion of igneous rock known as the Cleveland Dyke. Formed when molten magma flowed like a fiery torrent from a volcanic fount near the distant island of Mull in Scotland, a staggering 58 million years ago. A remarkable journey…
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Hey, it’s good to be back home again
John Denver could have sung about this old hill being like a long-lost friend. OK, I’ve paraphrased. He was actually singing about his farm. A month away and the changes around here have been absolutely dramatic. The bluebells, the mayflowers, and the primroses. They’ve all had their moment and moved on. But the bracken, of…
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A view along the Cleveland Dyke
A view looking down on Gribdale Terrace, a row of white cottages built to accommodate the quarrymen employed at the adjacent whinstone mine and quarry. The line of the Whinstone or Cleveland Dyke can clearly be seen in the photograph, stretching from Cliff Rigg in the distance to behind the cottages where it follows the…
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An early run taking in the top of the quarry at Cliff Rigg
A super morning, dry and sunny with some noticeable southerly winds. To the west, a large bank of cloud looks ominous but kept its distance. The quarry, now under the custodianship of the National Trust, is the result of the extensive extraction of Whinstone or dolerite, an extremely hard igneous rock that was ideal for…
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Sunset from Cliff Rigg
A very wet run this morning over the Cleveland Hills. And after lunch, the sun came out. Blue skies. So I dragged the dog up to Cliff Rigg for the sunset. And she repaid me by thorough belching — I made that phrase up, inspired by the 18th-century expression of a ‘thorough-cough‘ which is coughing…
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The talus of sandstone boulders at the foot of Roseberry Topping resulting from the landslip that occured in 1912
A scene of rocky confusion. ‘Talus’ is a strange word. It’s a word I actually find uncomfortable to use, long past its sell-by date. In this context it means the slope of rock debris but an alternative meaning is an anklebone. Each derives from different Latin words. Until 1830 talus was more often referred to…
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The Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill 2022
So a new PM is inflicted upon us. One part of this government’s growth agenda was the ditching of environmental protections. So far there has been no indication of any reversal of this agenda with the coronation of the new PM. On the day when fracking was being debated in Parliament ‘The Retained EU Law…
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Johnny Longstaff
This photo of Cliff Rigg quarry looks along the whinstone ridge of the Cleveland Dyke towards Stockton-on-Tees where it crosses the Tees at Preston. I’ve posted about the Dyke many times before, so today I will write about a Stocktonian — Johnny Longstaff, who on this day in 1938 was shot and seriously wounded while…
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Ground hugging mist slowly dissipating as the day warms
Roseberry was busy this morning. Along with the usual Sunday climbers, there was an abseil down the rock face going on and runners in the ‘Hanging Stone Leap‘ race. It was the 31st running of the event, although the inaugural race was run in 1988. So there’s been a bit of a gap. Today’s race…