Author: Fhithich
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Falls of Falloch
Parked up hoping for a brief wander on the hills but scope restricted by rivers, roads and rail to within 50 metres of the car park.
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CCTV operating
The Inglorious 12th minus one, to borrow from the title of Mark Avery’s book. Tomorrow will mark the beginning of the annual slaughter on the moors. On Farndale Moor signs have gone up advising of CCTV monitoring. No matter I don’t own a horse and have no intention of biking along the track, I find these…
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Blue sky, golden fields
Harvesting at Aireyholme Farm. Wheat I think. The skyline is the escarpment to Great Ayton with Gribdale Gate to the right.
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Coots
Confined to the canal towpath again. Rain has kept the bike under cover. I have felt closer to wildlife these last two days than a week on the moors. Foxes yesterday, herons, cormorants, and plenty of ducks, swans, and coots. This pair was hitching a ride in the rain on a log. The saying “as…
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Lee Navigation
Not my usual habitat. Down in London for a couple of days. After the drive down the Lee Navigation canal provided some fresh air of a sort. It flows from Hertford to the River Thames sometimes alongside the River Lea, sometimes parallel with it. A shortage of hills but I did see a pair of…
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Boundary Stone, Great Ayton Moor
Sorry but I just couldn’t resist another photo of the purple swathe of a heather moor. The ling is now in full bloom and for just a few weeks the colour is glorious. Highcliff Nab is in the distance and in the foreground is a sandstone boundary marker dating from the 19th century. ‘R C’…
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Sunday afternoon on Roseberry
Roseberry summit, Sunday afternoon, a honeypot for the crowds, in spite of the threat of rain. Attracted by the prospect of tea and cakes provided by the National Trust.
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Tick magnets
There seems to be less sheep on the moors nowadays. Not sure if this is a deliberate policy. Certainly, in other upland areas, there are concerns about over grazing. At one-time moorland farmers were actively encouraged to graze their sheep on the moors by gamekeepers. The sheep would act as magnets for ticks which also…
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Sleddale
For a brief few weeks the moors are a sea of purple heather which is now at its best. Seen from Highcliff Gate, Sleddale Farm appears an island of lush green pasture. The name means a wide flat valley and was probably a meadow of summer pasture before being given to the priory to be…
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Scar House Reservoir
Scar House was the third reservoir in upper Nidderdale to be built for the Bradford Corporation Waterworks. Construction work took 15 years finally completed in 1936 with one million tons of masonry being quarried from on Carle Fell opposite. The incline leading to the large quarry can be seen in the photo. The workers and…