I came across this little clump of daffodils on Little Roseberry. Way off the path. Curious to know how they got there. Seems an arbitrary place to have been planted. But how would the seeds have got up here?
I have often wondered if our pre-historic ancestors climbed Roseberry. It must be assumed they did so, it would have been a good vantage point to spot aurochs and other animals. The altitude would have been no problem, after all there have been Mesolithic finds on Highcliff Nab, but did they climb it ‘because it’s there’ as George Mallory replied when asked why he wanted to climb Everest.
The same could be said, of course, about our first journeys along the coasts of Doggerland or to the source of the Tees. Curiosity and exploring must be a basic human trait.
Venturing into the unknown is dangerous. Mallory and Andrew Irvine disappeared on 8 June, 1924 whilst attempting to climb Everest, 29 years before Edmund Hilliary and Tenzing Norgay were successful. Poorly equipped by todays standards, in tweed coats and hob-nail boots, they were last seen 2,000 feet from the summit before the view was obscured by cloud obscured1“The Guardian Book of Mountains”. Edited by Richard Nelsson. Guardian Books 2007..
They were never seen again.
On this day in 1999, an American expedition found the frozen corpse of Mallory near the summit of the mountain, but his Kodak camera was missing, dashing hopes of some evidence that the pair reached the summit and perished on the way down. The speculation continues.
- 1“The Guardian Book of Mountains”. Edited by Richard Nelsson. Guardian Books 2007.
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