Search results for: “"cliff rigg quarry"”
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The Scar on the Hill: Cliff Rigg Quarry
A dreich veil hung over North Yorkshire this morning, so I look back instead to yesterday, when the sky was clear, the air still, and the sun at least toyed with the idea of shining. Cliff Rigg Quarry looms above Great Ayton, a cavernous rent in the hillside left behind by an industry that has…
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Sliding into Oblivion: Adventures in Cliff Rigg Quarry
Ah, Twelfth Night at last—perhaps now we can be rid of those garish Christmas lights for another ten months, though no doubt someone will cling to their festive cheer until next month. After all the news programmes whipped themselves into a frenzy last might over the impending snowstorm and freezing rain, waking up here in…
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Cliff Rigg Quarry
A shortish walk up to Cliff Rigg, to the great hole left from the extraction of whinstone in the 19th-century. The whinstone is from a dyke, about 25m wide, of igneous rock that was injected through the local sedimentary strata about 59 million years ago, originating from a volcano centred on the Island of Mull…
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Cliff Rigg Quarry
Feeling under the weather so haven’t ventured far. Two ascents of Cliff Rigg with its huge hole left by the whinstone industry. The tooth of rock is the remnant of a wall of whinstone left as shoring to stop the weaker shales from collapsing. In the distance, is Capt. Cook’s Monument of Easby Moor Open…
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Cliff Rigg Quarry
It was the extensive quarrying of whinstone during the 19th and early 20th centuries that created this massive gash in Cliff Rigg. Extremely hard, this narrow wall of igneous rock was formed by molten larva protruding through the sedimentary layers and was much valued for cobble setts and in road building. It has been almost…
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Cliff Rigg Quarry
Former whinstone quarry that dominates the modest Cliff Ridge overlooking the village of Great Ayton. The whinstone seam is part of the Cleveland Dyke, a protrusion of very hard volcanic rock cutting through the surrounding soft sedimentary rocks. It was formed 58 million years ago from a volcano near the Isle of Mull and can…
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Sunset on Cliff Rigg Quarry
Headed up to Cliff Rigg to view the sunset which sort of fizzled out. The ridge is part of the Cleveland Dyke and is a protrusion of very hard volcanic rock cutting through the surrounding older sedimentary rocks. Formed 58 million years ago from a volcano near the Isle of Mull, it outcrops in many…
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Gribdale — Gorse, Ghosts, and Geology
A view looking down onto Gribdale Terrace — a neat row of white cottages built for the quarrymen who toiled in the nearby whinstone mine and quarries. Picturesque, if one forgets what they were built for. And where exactly is Gribdale, you ask? A good question, though clearly one nobody has bothered to answer properly.…
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Cliff Rigg Scallywags Hideout
A year ago, I wrote about the Great Ayton Scallywags Patrol, a secretive Auxiliary Unit stationed in the area during the Second World War. Unlike the familiar, shambolic image of “Dad’s Army,” these men were part of a covert Home Guard unit. If the Germans had invaded, they could expect to last about a week—hardly…
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The National Trust’s Never-Ending Battle
The Lake District, known for its beautiful scenery, made the BBC news this morning, but not because of its peaceful views or poetic charm. Instead, the news was about the rubbish left by people pretending to be campers. The shores of Buttermere are now covered with abandoned camping gear like mattresses, clothing, and even an…