Tag: river
-
Himalayan balsam on the banks of the Leven
The clump of pink flowers on the far bank is Himalayan balsam, a notorious invasive plant, the scourge of conservationists and environmentalists. The plant was particularly rampant on this stretch of the river about six years ago and they did have a blitz to eradicate it but it has returned. There are more clumps further…
-
Whitbread Memorial Bridge
One for posterity, tomorrow work begins on replacement of the Whitbread Memorial Bridge. The High Street is due to be closed for 5 days while the work is carried out. The existing footbridge over the River Leven into Waterfall Park is a war memorial. It was presented in 1919 by the Under-Manager of the Ayton…
-
Low Force
Another day, another waterfall. Less dramatic than its big brother, High Force, Low Force is another of the waterfalls in this dramatic landscape of upper Teesdale. It’s a popular tourist destination. The predominant geology of Teesdale is Carboniferous sedimentary rock but it has been intruded by a number of distinct igneous rocks. It is the…
-
Cauldron Snout, Teesdale
In the Times, 20 April 1960: VICAR APOLOGIZES TO PARENTS, CURATE’S INCENTIVE TEST, FROM OUR CORRESPONDENT, SUNDERLAND, APRIL 19, The Vicar of St Thomas’s, Pennywell, Sunderland, the Rev. M. P. Kent, tonight apologized to the parents of 37 children who had been taken by his curate the Rev. Michael Fox, aged 29, to Teesdale, 50…
-
The River Leven at Great Ayton
I’ve never seen these on the Leven before. Presumably after trout. A bit pretentious for my liking, in the middle of the village. There’s a difference of opinion as to the original of the name Leven. Both say it’s Celtic. One possibility is ‘llevn’ meaning smooth, or another is ‘Leuan‘, a water-nymph. It’s interesting that…
-
Taking advantage of a nice mild day …
… before the weather comes in again. So out on the bike, the first time this year. I stopped off at the Leven Bridge at Hutton Rudby. One village, two ancient townships separated by a river in a deep cleft. On the west side, Hutton; the ‘ton’ ending indicating that this was an Anglo-Saxon settlement so the…
-
Leven Falls
In search of the “Leven Falls” somewhere downstream of Hutton Rudby. I recall reading of its existence in at least one guide book to Cleveland. Apparently, it was a popular Edwardian picnic spot. The falls are located just a few hundred metres downstream from Foxton Bridge, a crossing of the Leven which I have done…
-
Tiers of a Clown
Ah, one of the songs from my teenage years. In fact, it could be a contender for the Motown section of my desert island discs. The phrase is used to describe a person, traditionally Pierrot the sad clown, who appears cheerful and lively but, underneath the makeup, is emotionally distraught. Like the pun? Maybe I…
-
Allt na h-Eilde
‘The stream of the hind’, swollen and tumultuous as it begins its plunges down towards Loch Leven. Its source is Loch Eilde Mòr, which I think translates as ‘the big loch of the hind’. Perhaps the shelter and grazing here are favoured by nursing hinds. Such a large volume of water coming down the ‘stream’.…
-
Suggitt’s Bridge
A day for keeping local. With a flood alert issued for Stokesley last night, I had expected the river to be a little higher. Upstream the level had at least another 15 inches to rise before it would start to flow into the flood overflow bunds. The river has claimed many lives. A boy and…