Month: March 2023
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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…
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Roseberry Common: Reliving an old training route over the bracken
One of my favourite training routes used to be a circuit around Roseberry Common, where I would carefully choose the best path through the varied terrain. I like to revisit this route before the bracken becomes too thick to navigate. When I look at the Topping from this viewpoint, the dominant colours are those of…
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Cock Howe and beyond — A bimble down Arnsgill
A day spent manning the last checkpoint on Cock Howe on the Bilsdale Fell Race. A long day, but I managed to have a bimble down Arnsgill beforehand. At the top of Arnsgill stands Head House, a remote farmhouse that dates from the late eighteenth century and heightened in the first half of the nineteenth…
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“Blackbird singing in the dead of night”
Blackbirds are one of those enchanting creatures that we all seem to have a soft spot for. You can spot these feathered friends in all sorts of habitats, from woodlands to our gardens. Interestingly, blackbirds have been part of our cultural consciousness for centuries – just think of the famous nursery rhyme that dates back…
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The Enigmatic Charm of Scarth Wood Farm — A Love Nest?
Scarth Wood, located above Ingleby Arncliffe, can be a perplexing place to navigate. The footpaths in the area are challenging to follow, which led us to take an unusual route down to Scarth Wood Farm. I have only passed through this farm a few times in the past. Scarth Wood Farm is an intriguing building.…
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The Winter of 1947: How the R.A.F. Mountain Rescue Squadron Saved Bransdale from Isolation
As we stepped out of the car in Bransdale this morning, the air was thick with dampness. The high moors that loomed in the distance were shrouded in a blanket of clouds, giving the dale a gloomy feel. Looking up Bransdale’s East Side, Spout House stands isolated on the right. Spout House gained national attention in…
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The Legacy of Marske Aerodrome: its role in WW1
Back in October 1973, I entered my first orienteering event, which happened to be in the bramble-infested maze of Errington Wood. Needless to say, I got hopelessly lost, but that experience marked the beginning of my lifelong love of the sport. Unfortunately, the course that day didn’t take us up to the high point of…
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Andrew Carter: A Story of Canny Yatton 270 Years Ago
Another story from the works of Richard Blakeborough set in Canny Yatton, the local name for Great Ayton. Blakeborough wrote this account in 1902, stating that the event took place approximately 150 years prior, in 1752. At that time, James Cook, the most well-known resident of Great Ayton, was just 24 years old and had…
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Ryston Nab
Ryston Nab, or Hanging Stone, overlooking Guisborough. A bit dreich on the tops, with rain and gale force winds. Guisborough is a market town and civil parish in the Borough of Redcar and Cleveland. Even though it has been over half a century since it lost its Yorkshire association, for many folk, Guisborough will always…
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Winter’s last stand?
The brief return to Winter didn’t last long, but the last stubborn snow patches are hanging on for dear life on the fields of Aireyholme. But Roseberry Topping’s sandstone cap is clear, anxious to let go of winter fashion. Ah, Roseberry Topping, the hill that thinks it’s a volcano. With its unique shape, it’s the…