Tag: National Trust
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Feeding Time at Clumber Park
Our annual family pilgrimage to the Dukeries of Nottinghamshire took place on a day so bitterly cold it felt as if the wind was personally attacking us. Two years since our last visit to Clumber Park, and it seems the National Trust has turned the festive season into a commercial extraganza. Extra off-road parking, a…
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Roseberry Toppingâs Hedgerow: A Conservation Success Story
Hedgerows, those underappreciated lines of greenery crisscrossing the countryside, are not just decorative. They actually serve a purpose: holding soil in place, shielding livestock from the elements, and making rotational grazing less of a logistical headache. They also connect habitats, encourage biodiversity, and even drag a bit of carbon out of the atmosphere. Of course,…
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Roseberryâs Kissing Oaks
When two tree trunks or branches rub against one another long enough to wear away their bark and expose the cambium â the cellular plant tissue â they sometimes fuse into a single entity, forming what is charmingly called a natural graft. This process, termed âinosculation,â is derived from the Latin for âto kiss,â as…
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Rievaulx Abbey: A Picturesque View from an 18c Vanity Project
Charles Dickens, ever the enthusiast, was beside himself with admiration for Rievaulx Abbey, and who could blame him? This Cistercian marvel, nestled in a lush green valley and surrounded by dense woodland, is a particularly fine ruinâcourtesy of Henry VIIIâs systematic penchant for tearing down monasteries. Perched above it, Rievaulx Terrace lords over the scene,…
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An Overlooked Old Quarry on Scarth Wood Moor
What a difference from yesterday morning, with super lighting on Scarth Wood Moor. Here we have a disused sandstone quarry, now absorbed into the landscape, grazed by sheep and cattle. According to the National Park Heritage Records, it dates to the early 19th century. Meanwhile, the National Trust, who actually own the moor, appear to…
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The Timeless Elegance of a Spray-Painted Phallus
This brilliant display of human ingenuityâsprayed haphazardly onto the ancient rock face on Roseberry Toppingâis truly a sight to behold. The âartist,â undoubtedly a revolutionary thinker of his age and who clearly imagines himselfâundoubtedly masculine, of courseâas the Teesside Banksy, has chosen this timeless canvas to bless us with his daring vision. The frantic scrawls…
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Roseberry Common and the âTragedyâ of Our Shared Resources
âRoseberry Commonâ â the name, so familiar, may scarcely remind us that this is indeed Common land, open for grazing, fuel, and other resources by the Commoners. Though now under the care of the National Trust, Commoners with lingering rights to this land persist like relics, a living exhibit the Trust must tread carefully around,…
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Bracken, Oaks, and their Folklore
Brackenâour most invasive ground cover, steadily browning itself to perfection. How marvellously it complements this oak woodland on Cockle Scar, on the west-facing slope of Roseberry. Who needs daffodils or bluebells when you can have a decaying fern carpeting your view? And did you know that bracken is charmingly referred to as the âoak fernâ? Apparently,…
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After the Rain: Life on Newton Moor
A sky of blue is like a breath of fresh air after the dreary weather weâve been enduring for the past week. It lifts the spirits, reminding us that sunlight still exists. It is not every day that one sees standing water on Newton Moor. While the ground is often damp and there are always…
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Bagged for Your Convenience
After a return from just a few days away in the Lakes, I was delighted to find that the National Trust, in their usual brilliance, had thoughtfully helicoptered in around 40 large bags up the main path of Roseberry. Each one, of course, containing roughly a ton of aggregate to ensure they did not have…