Category: North Yorkshire
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Plaque on the Levenside, Stokesley
I remember feeling very uneasy when I first read this plaque. And I feel just as uneasy today posting a photo of it. Is it too controversial, or am I just being over wary of offence? I googled Henty and found a Wikipedia page for the town of Henty in Victoria which says “The Henty…
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Whorl Hill, Whorlton Castle and Toft Hill
This view, from Live Moor, is interesting. On the right is Whorl Hill and to its left 1km away is Whorlton Castle. You might be able to just make it out, the extreme left of the photo. I was at the National Civil War Museum in Newark the other week and in an interactive display…
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Synchronised swimming
Except that one member of the quintet needs a bit more practice. Canada geese are more often associated with larger bodies of water but this flock has taken up residence on the River Leven by the Low Green in the village. And already there are complaints about their droppings on the green. Canada geese are…
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Small Tortoiseshell on a thistle
A pretty little butterfly, generally widespread but in decline in recent years, particularly in the south. The underside of the wings are more sombre and when closed look like dried leaves concealing them from the eyes of predatory birds. Small tortoiseshells hibernate through the winter in sheds, wood piles and hollow trees. This tortoiseshell was…
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Marwood School
The stone building overlooking the River Leven is Marwood school, opened in 1851. It was endowed by the Rev. George Marwood of Busby Hall to provide Anglian education for the children of Great Ayton. Open Space Web-Map builder Code
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Great Ayton Village Fete
It’s carnival day in the village. A biennial event. The procession begins to leave the Low Green on its slow progress up to the High Green. Open Space Web-Map builder Code
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Easby Moor
It’s that mellow time of the year with every other field growing rapeseed. Used for animal feeds, vegetable oil and biodiesel. Easby Moor in the distance with Captain Cook’s monument. Open Space Web-Map builder Code
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Grey Wagtail
Spotted this little beauty along the River Leven, feeding on insects and invertebrates amongst the gravels. But disappointed to discover it was only a “grey” wagtail. Surely the yellow on its underside would have warranted a better, more expressive name. Scientific name Motacilla cinerea. Open Space Web-Map builder Code
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Holme Beck, Great Broughton
Or it may be Broughton Beck, so named on the Ordnance Survey map downstream. Upstream of the village, the map says Holme Beck. And closer to the Cleveland Hills where it tumbles down from its source below Donna Cross the watercourse is called Trows Beck. Three name changes in as many miles. The series of…
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Quaker Graveyard, Great Ayton
The Religious Society of Friends was first recorded in the village in 1689 with the ending official persecution when the magistrates at Thirsk issued a certificate to establish a place of worship. This would have been a room in a private house but by the turn of the century, a specific meeting house had been…