Category: Roseberry Topping
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Winter’s last stand?
The brief return to Winter didn’t last long, but the last stubborn snow patches are hanging on for dear life on the fields of Aireyholme. But Roseberry Topping’s sandstone cap is clear, anxious to let go of winter fashion. Ah, Roseberry Topping, the hill that thinks it’s a volcano. With its unique shape, it’s the…
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An echo of the past silenced as hawthorn trees are felled — a loss for nature and history
Three years ago I lamented on the felling of a patch of semi-open woodland on the southern flank of Roseberry Topping. It was a parcel of scattered trees, mostly Hawthorn, the felling of which was a significant loss, not only in terms of its wild beauty but also its ecological importance. Hawthorn trees provide food,…
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Odin’s necklace
Deep shadows from the winter sunshine emphasise the contour features on the northern face of Roseberry. There are three lines of pits. One follows the 200m contour above Cockle Scar, I’ve posted about these before. Their origins remain unclear, from a supposed British settlement by Victorian antiquarians to military, defensive or ritual. Next up, at…
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Roseberry Mine Tramway
What a difference when the sun comes out. An otherwise dull walk around a regular route of mine taking in Capt. Cook’s Monument and Roseberry, although I avoided the summits as it’s the weekend. And crossing the field at the top of Thief Lane, brilliant sunshine. To my right, Roseberry was still in dark shadow…
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“T’ biggest hill in all Yorkshur”
It is generally accepted that the now populous district of the North Riding which we call Cleveland is bounded on its southern extremity by the Cleveland Hills. This is not so. Historically, the district of Cleveland comprises the archdeaconry of that name, which extends considerably farther south, as far as Pickering, retaining in part the…
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A poem wot I rote
There have been much enthusiasm recently about AI (artificial intelligence) generated text using companies such as ChatGPT. Always on the lookout for a lazy opportunity, I thought I would give it a go and downloaded the app. So to accompany today’s photo of the summerhouse below Roseberry Topping I thought I would get the AI…
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On this day in 1933, Hitler was appointed chancellor, the head of the German government
A short wander up Cliff Rigg this, reflecting on happenings 90 years ago today, Then, the elderly Weimar President, Paul von Hindenburg, was persuaded by the conservative elite to appoint Hitler as chancellor, the head of the German government. An appointment that was entirely legal and constitutional. At the same time, one of those conservative elite,…
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Roseberry Directissimo
The main path up Roseberry Topping, stairway into the cloud. Deteriorating badly. The path was improved in 1993, when a helicopter was used to airlift 200 tonnes of stone from the lane past Aireyholme Farm. The zig-zag path was then pitched using a “technique used since Roman times” and the verges revegetated. The work was…
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I ought not allow this day to pass without mentioning Rabbie Burns, born on this day in 1759 in Ayeshire
But I won’t quote the National Bard of Scotland’s poem most associated with Burns Night and recited worldwide on this day: ‘Address to a Haggis‘. Instead a poem in which Burns reflects on the treatment of nature and the fortunes ‘Of Mice and Men’, a line later immortalised in the title of John Steinbeck’s 1937…
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A view from today’s constitutional
No prizes for guessing that it was taken the summit of Roseberry looking north towards Pinchinthorp. A lovely cold winter’s day, with a smattering of overnight snow. This was actually my second ascent of Roseberry — here’s a photo from the same spot on that first climb: So no prizes available today but a certain…