Out & About …

… on the North York Moors, or wherever I happen to be.

Tag: Burning

  • Smoke Signals from Baysdale

    Smoke Signals from Baysdale

    I am always saddened when I see those great plumes of smoke drifting across the skyline. It’s a stark reminder, according to the State of Nature Report 2023, that the UK has earned itself a reputation as “one of the most nature-depleted countries on Earth“, with biodiversity taking a significant hit. A good three-quarters of…

  • The keepers have been at it again.

    The keepers have been at it again.

    This is somewhere near to the WW2 bunker on Great Ayton Moor. The smoke was heading straight towards Guisborough. Now it’s been a year since the Government committed to banning rotational burning on peatlands. However, nothing has happened. This is perhaps not surprising since it has had the coronavirus to deal with, but there is…

  • More moor burning

    More moor burning

    As soon as the weather improves so the heather burning resumes. The left-hand plume is, I think, on Cold Moor, the right, on Snilesworth. A further one, behind me to the east is Gisborough Moor. Six weeks to go before the season ends for this winter, on 15th April. If you want some good news,…

  • Siss Cross

    Siss Cross

    A beautiful January but marred by the smell of burning heather. And on a Sunday too. It seems like we’re just spitting in the face of the Australians. And all to maximise the grouse bag. There are some rules: heather should not be burnt where the smoke is likely to damage health or cause a…

  • Jemmy Coulstin’s Hill

    Jemmy Coulstin’s Hill

    A chance opportunity to run across Eston Nab from Flatt’s Lane to Guisborough. My visits to Eston are very irregular, and I quickly remembered why. The lower slopes were linear gloops created by offroad motorcycling enthusiasts but I soon left these climbing up above the sandstone strata. Eston Moor, with its high point of the…

  • More moor burning

    More moor burning

    Dear Tony Juniper CBE, Congratulations on your appointment as Chair of Natural England. I very much admire and respect your work as one of the country’s leading environmental campaigner and writer. I must admit however I am a bit cynical of Michael Gove’s motives. I appreciate your to-do list will be very long but I…

  • Hanging Stone, Danby Dale

    Hanging Stone, Danby Dale

    When the Reverend J.C.Atkinson became the vicar of the parish of Danby in 1847 there was no village of Danby and as far as he could ascertain there had never been one. There was a Danby Dale, a Danby Rigg and a Danby Castle. There were several hamlets: Dale End, Little Fryup and Ainthorpe, and…

  • Upper Ryedale and Snilesworth Moor

    Upper Ryedale and Snilesworth Moor

    The gamekeepers have taken advantage of the vernal weather to burn the heather on their moors. Plumes of smoke can be seen right across the skyline, creating a haze. The smoke from these burns on Snilesworth Moor was drifting as far as Sheepwash, spoiling the day for families enjoying half term walking around the reservoir.…

  • Bronze Age Round Cairn on a scorched moor

    Bronze Age Round Cairn on a scorched moor

    Sunday before last (18th) was a glorious November day. Blue skies, little wind with many walkers taking to the moors. I recall standing on Cliff Rigg and noticing the number of folk on Roseberry. But the scene was marred by dense black smoke coming from the direction of Newton and Great Ayton Moors. The periodic…

  • Moor burning, Stanghow Moor

    Moor burning, Stanghow Moor

    The Farming Today program on BBC Radio 4 on Wednesday covered moorland management (it’s available here as a podcast for 28 days). On it was a representative from the Moorland Association who said that rotational burning of grouse moorland had been “voluntarily suspended”. If you are not aware, rotational burning is the practice when our…