This week
The Giant’s Boot 8th April 2020 Northern Ireland’s most visited attraction is the iconic Giant’s Causeway, polygonal columns of basaltic rock formed sixty million years ago when molten lava spread across the land and created clouds…
16th April 2024 It struck me as a bit peculiar that explicit directions to Highcliffe Nab were considered necessary. One might conclude that folks have frequently found themselves inadvertently ending up at the…
From Warren House to Toft Hill Scout Camp 17th April 2024 From the vantage point up Kirby Bank, one’s eyes are drawn across the Vale of Cleveland to the iconic silhouette of Roseberry Topping. Closer though, in this picturesque view, stands…
From a 19th Century Cottage to a Smoke-Free Future 19th April 2024 This peaceful cottage hides a story: 1 resident in 1911, an “Engine Driver Oil” worker. And thoughts on the proposal to ban cigarette sales to create a smoke-free generation. Laws…
Great Ayton Moor: big skies and an avian nesting ground 21st April 2024 Great Ayton Moor offers vast open views like rural Suffolk, but closer. Moorland provides tranquility and habitat for birds like lapwing, golden plover, curlew and red grouse. In August, the…
New Marske 14th August 2018 A rare visit to Beacon Moor, the high point above Errington Wood giving fine views over New Marske to the left and Redcar in the distance. Many believe the name,…
Great Fryup Head 15th October 2018 A vague plan hatched. Mooch up to the head of the dale through Canon Atkinson’s undercliff. End up at Yew Grain, the waterfall on the left. But The Hills proved…
Fell Ponies, Ullswater 30th October 2018 A Cumbrian Fell Pony grazes on the slopes of Moor Divock overlooking Ullswater in the Lake District. They are semi-wild, on the hills all year round. Someone “owns” them, they…
Old Kirk Shore 15th June 2019 Woke up to a sea fret but by the time I set off to explore the coastline north of the former fishing town of Stonehaven, it was well on the…
Roseberry Ironstone Mine 8th January 2020 The site of the Roseberry Ironstone Mine which operated from 1871 to 1926 although, in the early years, there is some doubt as to whether the mine actually produced any…
Miners’ Bait Table 19th June 2021 Has it really been 50 years since the potash mine at Boulby was opened? If so, it was before my time, I was still at uni. I can’t ever remember…
Duck Bridge 19th September 2021 I can’t believe I haven’t posted about this classic packhorse bridge before. But an otherwise dull overcast day did not provide much other opportunity for photography. Duck Bridge, although substantially…
A day which started with me looking for a Medieval… 12th November 2022 Had a wander around Roppa Moor, north of Helmsley. The cross turned out to be a little disappointing, just the recessed base and a piece of the shaft. This is…
The Old Fish Pond, Kildale 17th May 2023 Welcome to the picturesque col, or pass, connecting Commondale and Kildale. Here, the nascent River Leven gracefully meanders through this marshy terrain, making its entrance from the right, just this…
Checking on Medusa: A Slippery Slope to the Ancient Oak 26th September 2023 Caught on Greenhow Bank in a shower and finding myself taking more time than anticipated, I decided to take a shortcut by descending the bank directissimo, which led me to…
This year
Duncombe Park Army Camp 5th April 2021 About 3km after crossing Rievaulx Bridge with its opportunity to gaze at the majestic abbey, the Cleveland Way crosses a concrete road at Griff Lodge. Here the National Trail bears…
From Barbados to MorrisonsâThe history of Thimbleby… 11th August 2023 The agricultural landscape of the Vale of Mowbray stretches across to the Dales , a view made visible through the recent felling of what was called ‘The Big Wood’ on…
Capt. Cook’s Monument 14th February 2019 “In memory of the celebrated circumnavigator Captain James Cook F.R.S. A man of nautical knowledge inferior to none, in zeal prudence and energy, superior to most. Regardless of danger he…
The sight of low cloud from Bilsdale pouring over… 24th January 2023 This is looking down on Green Bank, a flattish ring contour rise marking the head of Raisdale, and separating Cringle or Cranimoor from the steep slope up Carlton Bank. The…
Calcining Kilns, Rosedale East Mines 30th May 2016 A bit of a dilemma. Parked at the Lion Inn and went for a circuit of Rosedale with visibility less than the width of the road and the temperature below 10Âșc. And so it…
Round Barrow, Live Moor 2nd January 2018 A new plaque has been fixed to a stone by the National Park asking visitors not to disturb the Bronze Age burial mound on Live Moor near Whorlton. Not to…
“Murder by a Farmer in the North-Riding”… 3rd March 2021 So ran the headlines on the morning of Saturday, 24 October, 1863 in provincial newspapers throughout the country. From Guernsey to Stornaway. Reports were syndicated in those days, often repeating…- The Giant’s Boot 8th April 2020 Northern Ireland’s most visited attraction is the iconic Giant’s Causeway, polygonal columns of basaltic rock formed sixty million years ago when molten lava spread across the land and created clouds…
Battersby Crag 20th November 2020 I first came across this old rusty gate many years ago when I was planning a night navigation exercise. That must have been in the 1990s. I had waded down…
Christmas Contemplations 24th December 2023 On this eve of Christmas Day, I found myself deep in thought. It seems a mere five minutes since last year. Maybe it’s just because of that old chestnut: “time…
A Kepwick Mystery 22nd October 2023 For your delectation, another folk tale of the North Riding of Yorkshire from the pen of Richard Blakeborough. This story appeared in an article in the Northern Weekly Gazette on…
From Scugdale to America 17th October 2023 Trudging wearily along the rugged landrover track across Whorlton Moor, passing by patches of scorched heather, you could smell the aftermath of yesterday’s burns. At long last, I reached the…
Ayton Banks Ironstone Mine â its legacy 7th January 2024 Playing with my new tripod, a Christmas goodie. I do like the motion blur effect of long exposures. The water is draining from the Ayton Banks ironstone mine, the stone…
Starfish Decoy Command Bunker 5th December 2019 A rather gloomy morning and a fall back on a recycled subject. I last posted about this Starfish Decoy Command Bunker almost three years ago to the day. It looked…
Middlesbrough’s Dark Past: the 1961 Cannon… 21st August 2023 A reminder popped up on my phone today that back in 1961, things had hit a boiling point on Cannon Street in Middlesbrough. Three nights of rioting had built up…