Month: March 2021
-
Cammon Stone
Good views of Bransdale from the Cammon Stone. I haven’t been into the National Trust valley since lockdown. All volunteering for the Trust has stopped. The Cammon Stone is considered to be one of the oldest standing stones on the moors. Probably dating from before the end of the Bronze Age; microliths, small worked pieces…
-
Great Dinnod
It’s good to feel freed from the restrictions of lockdown and the warmth of the spring sunshine. Not many crowds out here. I’m exploring the moors to the south west of Scaling Dam. Waupley Moor, Easington High Moor, Danby Low Moor and Lealholm Moor. I do like these moors. They’re more varied than those on…
-
What’s in a name?
It must be at least a week since I’ve posted a photo of Roseberry Topping. My inference, a few days ago, that the name ‘Roseberry’ was derived from a personal name (well, OK, the name of a god) was challenged. I thought it common knowledge, perhaps it needs an explanation. It was put to me…
-
The River Leven at Great Ayton
I’ve never seen these on the Leven before. Presumably after trout. A bit pretentious for my liking, in the middle of the village. There’s a difference of opinion as to the original of the name Leven. Both say it’s Celtic. One possibility is ‘llevn’ meaning smooth, or another is ‘Leuan‘, a water-nymph. It’s interesting that…
-
Cattersty Sands
The container ship that’s currently stuck fast in the Suez Canal reminded me of a photo from the East Cleveland Image Archive I have seen recently. This was the SS Sylviana which went aground on Cattersby Sands, Skinningrove on 18 December 1902 after losing her propeller. Now I know that at 360 feet (110 metres)…
-
The Beast of Ingleby Moor
Well, I think it looks like a beast, a cat or lion maybe. I woke up needing some inspiration for today’s outing. In 1484, Richard III was on the throne. The last of the Plantagenets, he who ended up under a carpark in Leicester. Whenever I think of Richard III, I think of a quip…
-
Circulus inextricabilis
Remember back in October when I commented on the estate padlocking their newly constructed steps down to the Old Meggison waterfall in Kildale? Well, the steps have now gone, and a hundred metres or so of post and wire fencing has been erected along the riverside of the track in an attempt to restrict access…
-
Sexism in the office in the 20th century
After the Susan Everard murder and subsequent vigil on Clapham Common, I realised I had never really given that much thought to women’s experience both of sexism, but in particular, their vulnerability to men’s violence. I was brought up in the 50s/60s and fortunately had little experience of outright misogyny. I do remember the teenage…
-
Orange peel
“It is a sober commentary on the British way of life that the National Trust has to spend £250 a year picking up litter on its properties in the Lake District. People presumably visit these places to drink in the especial beauty of the scene, but apparently they leave them more or less covered in…
-
The Badger Stones
A vernal fresh feel to the moors today with celestine skies. An overnight frost but the day is warming nicely. The Badger Stones are a collection of huge sandstone boulders in the upper catchment of Hodge Beck in Bransdale. A highly visible landmark surrounded by a sea of heather moorland. They must always have had…