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Hob on the Hill cross ridge dyke
The heather moorland between Commondale and Guisborough are among the quietest on the North York Moors yet it is rife with prehistoric remains, round burial barrows, ancient field systems and a cross ridge dyke marked by this alignment of standing stones. The dyke is a Middle Bronze Age earthwork, a little over 400m long and…
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Scarth Nick
The road from Swainby to Osmotherly climbs Scarth Nick, a col on the escarpment of the Cleveland Hills. The name itself derives from the Old Norse ‘skarthi‘ meaning a notch or cleft. This view is looking down on the cleft from Whorlton Moor. The road is following a route dating from antiquity, following the old…
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Litter picking at Bridestones
Volunteering with the National Trust at their Bridestones property. One of the tasks today was a litter pick. Now you might think that as it takes a bit of an effort to get to these fascinating wind shaped sandstone outcrops, £8 entry into Dalby Forest, resisting the temptation of the visitor centre, a mile walk…
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Motherly love
Motherly love Motherly love Forget about the brotherly and other-ly love Motherly love is just the thing for you You know your Mothers’ gonna love ya ’til ya don’t know what to do Frank Zappa From the Mother of Invention’s debut album. Not really my music but an apt quote for these heelin’ coos at…
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Daldinia concentrica
A dull and miserable day, so my eyes were drawn to the forest floor. I came across these turds on a log. Actually, I know them as coal fungus, excellent for use as tinder for lighting fires. The 1-2 inch hard balls need to be dried out and scrapings from the inside can then be…
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The Folly and the Banana Tree
The mysterious sandstone building below Roseberry Topping. Most likely a folly built to enhance the landscape. But no one knows for sure. And the Banana Tree as it is affectionately known by children. Open Space Web-Map builder Code
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A Green Goddess
Headed to Wheeldale Moor to look at the standing stone known as Blue Man-i’-th’-Moss but minded of a comment from my wife that this week has been rock week I diverted to seek out a goddess, a Green Goddess. During the hot dry summer of 1976, the North York Moors became tinder dry resulting in…
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Round Barrow, Codhill Heights
A Bronze Age burial mound and possible territorial marker. A large standing stone can be seen on the left. The has been excavated and is capped by a modern cairn. It stands on a slight rise, with a prominence of a mere 12m, on a ridge of Gisborough Moor, overlooking Sleddale.
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Stone Age rock art or a gamekeeper taking pot shots?
Another gloomy day, dry but poor visibility. I came across this large sandstone boulder on Ingleby Moor pitted with small holes, particularly on the north-east face. Stone Age rock art? Or a gamekeeper taking pot shots? Google comes up with a clue. There is an assumption among the rock climbing fraternity that they’re bullet holes.…
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The Pepperpot, Bridestones
Of the fascinating sandstone columns and rock outcrops that are known as the Bridestones, the Pepperpot is perhaps the most photographed. The Bridestones are the last remnants of a Jurassic sedimentary rock layer deposited some 150 million years ago that have been eroded over the millennia by wind, frost and rain. The name is not…
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