60’s Rubbish

Rye Hill, Great Ayton. In the late 19th century the North Eastern Railway company began operated a gravel pit on this sloping field below Cliff Ridge Wood. By the 1940s a small tramway was operating to the sidings for Whin’s quarry, a few hundred metres north-west. Sometime later the gravel pit was abandoned, filled in and “reclaimed”. It’s been pasture as long as I can remember; I’ve been using the footpath that runs alongside since I moved up north in ’73. I noticed today that the field has been ploughed and a hard job it must have been. Lumps of reinforced concrete and other rubbish have been unearthed along with half a kiddies bike. It looks a bit of a mess, it is actually in the National Park but would make an interesting field walk project.