Tag: heather burning
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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…
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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,…
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Glorious winter sunshine
Today nature was in her calmer moods with snowdrops covering the woodland floor, the sun shining under a cloudless blue sky, giving a primaveral feel to the winter’s day. With the passing of high noon, basking in the warmth, the ‘keepers burning the heather try to hide the sun and raise the temperature still. Every…
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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…
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Mount Vittoria
Another overcast and windy day with just the one brief glimpse of the sun. It happened when I was perambulating Cringle Moor, with Cold Moor getting the benefit. Or should I call it Mount Vittoria, the name on the 1857 map for the plantation which covered it. A much preferable name. I’m guessing that it…
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Moor burning on Commondale Moor
With the advent of the autumnal fine weather, the heather burning season has quickly got underway. At least half a dozen fires could be seen from Ainthorpe Rigg today with smoke was creeping down on to Guisborough and the Esk valley. A sharp contrast to just six weeks ago when the North York Moors National…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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Nesting time on the moors again
They are still burning on the moors. Several people have commented to me that they did not think burning was allowed at this time of the year. Surely it is nesting time? Well yes, burning can still take place, until the 15th April, and yes, it is nesting time. The normal time that burning in…