Category: Bridestones
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Rainbow, rainbow,
Brack an gang hame …The dark clouds to the north east have been ominous all day. Kept at bay by the bitterly cold nor-westerlies. There’s always something striking about a rainbow. They are always in the opposite direction to the sun and a ‘Rainbow in the morning gives fair warning’ indicates rain in the west and generally heading your…
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Grime Moor
On rather dull overcast day with the National Trust on their Bridestones property. Quite a windy day and, for a fleeting moment, the sun came out. To the west of the small secluded valley Dovedale Griff, which was once known locally as the ‘Doodle‘, is what remains of Grime Moor. The effect of the ploughing…
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Bridestones Moor
Bridestones Moor has been managed for nature since 1943 when the National Trust was bequeathed the 165 acre estate including the small farm of Low Staindale. The Times reported that “this is a wild and beautiful region, the haunt of curlew and grouse, with lovely stretches of heather, attracting many visitors for its own sake…
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A tale of two trods
They say that sheep will blindly follow the sheep in front. It’s part of their gregarious instinct. Yet will they follow the exact same route day after day? For surely this sheep-trod has taken many weeks to develope. And if they do, then they must have a terrific terrain memory. It be wrong to…
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The prehistoric linear boundary at Bridestones
Working on the prehistoric linear boundary at Bridestones Moor for the National Trust today and this morning I got drenched. My 20-year-old waterproofs let me down. It rained so heavy we sat it out at one point in the pickup. But the good news is the new fencing is now finished. It has taken three…
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Rampike, Bridestones Moor
A rampike is the skeletal remains of a dead tree, in this case, a triple trunked birch standing alone on a windswept moor. The word comes from Canada but probably originated back in England in the 16th-century. It is thought the “ram” element means raven, i.e. as a perch favoured by these birds. It was…
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High Bride Stones
Out and about in the sun all-day catching butterflies and moths for a survey at the National Trust’s Dovedale and Bridestones property. Finds of the day were a Marbled White and a Dark green fritillary but both were not very co-operative for photography. This is the first time both species have been recorded on this…
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Shed skin of an adder
On Bridestones Moor near Dalby Forest. Find of the day a sloughed or shed skin of an adder, a process which snakes regularly need to do. Such a find would have once been of some value as it was believed that it had healing powers. Cast off snake skins were once used by labourers as…
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Bridestones Moor
Spent the day on Bridestones Moor, just north of Dalby Forest. It’s so easy to forget that it’s still only February. A glorious day. Buzzards soaring high, ladybirds active and sap rising from the newly cut trees. Tree felling and scrub clearance are now almost finished for yet another winter. Time to give the wildlife…
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Bridestone Griff
A slight covering of snow completely transforms the otherwise drab winter colours of Bridestones Moor. The is the upper reaches of Bridestone Griff. A griff is a North Yorkshire term for a deep, narrow valley, said to have formed by glacial melt-water, and sure enough, lower down, the glen does become steep but here, high…