Category: North Yorkshire
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The Lake, Studley Park
John Aislabie first began to create the landscaped gardens of Studley Park around 1716 but it was only after he retired from Parliament under dubious circumstances that he was able to devote fully to the task. During his time as Chancellor of the Exchequer, Aislabie guided the bill through the House of Commons whereby the…
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Confluence of the Ripon Canal with the River Ure
At the height of the boom of canal and later railway construction in the 18th and 19th centuries all railways and canals had to have its own Act of Parliament to ensure purchase of land and rights of way. Even the right to navigate rivers had to be the subject of an Act of Parliament.…
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I wandered lonely as a cloud …
… That floats on high o’er vales and hills, When all at once I saw a crowd, A host of golden dandelions; Apologies to William Wordsworth and I must admit the rhyming doesn’t work but to me, the profusion of dandelions on roadside verges at this time of the year is just as good as…
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Monkey Stand
It would be interesting to know why this semi-circular wall is called the “Monkey Stand”. The name appears in a heritage leaflet published by the Kirby, Great Broughton and Ingleby Greenhow Local History Group. It’s probably on the site of the village pump although it is not one of the several wells, springs and troughs…
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Mallard ducklings, Low Green
Winter returned this morning with a smattering over wet snow on the North York Moors, but new life on the River Leven in the village. The first brood of the year, Mallard ducklings I guess, must have been seven or eight of them, independent, parents nowhere to be seen. Open Space Web-Map builder Code
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Fallow deer, Studley Royal Park
There are three herds of deer in Studley Royal Park, Sika, Red and Fallow, about 600 in total. This morning they arrived to greet the National Trust ranger’s feeding tractor together in one massive pack yet still each herd sticking close together. They are currently being fed every other day but this will soon stop…
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Busby lambs
First of the Spring lambs. These do look a week or so old. Near to Great Busby. Lambing is planned so that the best price is obtained when the lambs are eventually sold as a glut of lambs coming to market at the same time will mean a lower price. Some farmers in the south…
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Burns Night
Cleveland is a land of glacial outliers. Roseberry Topping, Freeborough Hill, Blakey Topping and, of course, Whorl Hill. Apparently, at a mere 237m high, it is the 2226th tallest hill in England, which I must admit I do find hard to believe. To the right of the hill are the ruins of Whorlton Castle which…
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Greenhow Burton
A crisp cold magical morning to climb Roseberry. Fleeting breaks in the clouds allow the winter sun to reveal the frosty fields of Greenhow Bottom. Sometimes mapped as Greenhow Botton, the name derives from the Old Norse ‘botn‘ meaning a bottom or depth such as the innermost recesses of a dale. The oldest Ordnance Survey…
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Ingleby Manor
Quite a rare site. Seen from Turkey Nab, Ingleby Manor, basking in the winter sun, but come the summer this Grade II* listed house will be hidden by trees. The architectural historian Nikolaus Pevsner describes it as “an interesting building, though much pulled about”. Parts date to its original construction in around 1580, when it…