This week
“Take Me To The Forest” 30th September 2024 In a move that is sure to leave the squirrels bewildered, the National Portfolio Organisations‘ Wild Rumpus and Festival of Thrift have unveiled their grand plan to transform the tranquil…
Echoes of the Leven: A River’s Memory 1st October 2024 A quick photo before raindrops splattered the camera lens. The River Leven is high, a few determined souls brave the weather, and the paths are mostly puddles. I have taken…
Guibal fan-house, Skelton Shaft ironstone mine 13th July 2021 A great visit around the surface remains of the Skelton Park and Skelton Shaft Ironstone Mines, guided by the knowledgeable Simon and Steve from the Cleveland Mining History Society (CMHS).…
Creag an Fhithich 13th August 2016 Lochan Fuar lies at an altitude of just 110m above Slieldaig in Wester Ross but it’s the dominant crag that overlooks it is the true reason for today’s posting. It’s…
Nanny Meyer’s Incline 15th December 2017 I saw the name on the map and I just knew I had to see. I had a few hours to kill in Durham so decided to drive up to…
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…
Dunsinane Hill 8th March 2023 Macbeth shall never vanquisb’d be, until Great Birnam Wood to high Dunsinane hill Shall come against him. Shakespeare, Macbeth Act IV, Scene I. Did the son of a glove-maker from…
Empire Day: a forgotten anniversary for an… 24th May 2023 In the last century, for a period of more than 50 years, children were granted a half-day off from school on May 24th to commemorate ‘Empire Day.’ This celebration was…
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…
The Battle of Rannerdale 28th April 2020 Nicholas Size, in his 1930’s novel ‘The Secret Valley’, tells the story of Norman attempts to quell the armed resistance of the Norse settlers of Lakeland. In the 1070’s Boethar…
Garfit Gap and upper Bilsdale 22nd February 2022 In spite of the blue sky and sunshine over upper Bilsdale, Urra Moor was decidedly gloomy and showery this afternoon. Ahead is Garfit Gap, the col between the Wainstones and…
Armouth Wath 14th July 2020 The North York Moors is not renown for its coalfields, but in the late 18th-century, coal was being mined here but on a much smaller scale than the deeper coalfields…
The Harebell 15th August 2020 No garden cultured flower e’er seems to me More graceful than the Harebell growing wild. It help’d to form my posy when a child, And I now love to gather…
The Hackness Shame 27th August 2020 I had a look around the Forge Valley near Scarborough, a place I’ve always wanted to see but never had the opportunity. I must admit, I wasn’t that overwhelmed. A…
Roseberry Common: Reliving an old training route… 20th March 2023 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 year
From Barbados to Morrisons—The 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…
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…
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…
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…
“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…
On Dead Man’s Hill 20th February 2019 Or the continuing story of Jenny Twigg and her daughter Tib. We parked up at Scar House Reservoir at the top of Nidderdale last night and from across the reservoir,…
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…
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…
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 10ºc. And so it…
Jenny Twigg and her daughter Tib 20th February 2019 Ee, I love maps me. I happened to notice the name “Jenny Twigg and her daughter Tib” marked on the map of Fountains Earth Moor overlooking Nidderdale, and so I…
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…- 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…
- The Hackness Shame 27th August 2020 I had a look around the Forge Valley near Scarborough, a place I’ve always wanted to see but never had the opportunity. I must admit, I wasn’t that overwhelmed. A…
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…