Category: Basedale
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The Bridge at Baysdale: A Relic of a Lost Priory
This bridge in Baysdale is more than a quaint curiosity. Its single arch spans Black Beck with quiet dignity, yet the quirky little parapets give it certain character. These are later additions, added in the seventeenth or eighteenth century by someone with a flair for decoration but little sense of symmetry. The bridge was originally…
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When the Beck Runs Dry: Hob Holeâs Ancient Ford Revealed
The word was that Baysdale Beck at Hob Hole Wath had dropped so low the old ford surface was showing. Thank you, Stephen. I could not resist. Hob Hole has drawn picnickers since the Edwardian age. The name alone â âhobâ, likely from âhobgoblinâ â conjures something hidden and tricky, a haunt of creatures best…
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Baysdale and a Digression into the Art of Grave Digging
Baysdale today, perhaps the remotest dale in the North York Moors, accessible by car only from its head. This is Shepherdâs House, the last in the daleâor perhaps the first, depending on oneâs perspective. I have already posted about Baysdale ad nauseum, so instead, I shall give you a little snippet from the Newcastle Guardian…
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Armouth Wath: âHere Coal was Expectedâ
In March of 1803, a notice in the York Courant trumpeted the forthcoming sale by auction of the âMANOR and DEMESNE of BASEDALE ABBEY,â an estate furnished with a âCOALMINE supposed very considerable.â One imagines that the allure of a rich seam of coal lent the whole sale a dash of speculative glamour. The âconsiderableâ…
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The Baysdale Barn That Time Forgot
Ah, the approach to the decaying edificeâotherwise known as a barnâfamiliar to anyone who has spent time wandering this remote part of Baysdale. Here I am, hurrying along a bridleway on the northern side of the dale, with the tantalising memory of veering off and subjecting myself to the rigours of climbing over into the…
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A Glimpse of Baysdale
This morning’s short walk along Battersby Moor offered this view towards the upper reaches of Baysdale, formerly known as Basedale. From here, you can see the two main tributariesâBlack Beck and Gain Beckâseparated by the ridge aptly named Middle Head, while the moorland edge is dominated by commercial plantations that create a stark contrast to…
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The Wayward Nuns of Baysdale Abbey
This rickety cairn seems to teeter precariously over Baysdale but it has stood for at least half a century. A former resident once informed me that it was constructed by Roland Close, an estate worker and renowned local archaeologist who grew up in Shepherd’s House, the âlastâ house in the dale. Close would pass by…
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Gin Garth â A Smugglersâ Retreat
In the 17th through to the 19th centuries, Yorkshire’s coast was notorious for smuggling, and today, places like Saltburn, Staithes, and Whitby all have their smuggling attractions and yarns. They had this intricate operation going on, and it was no secret â everyone knew about the ‘coopering’ business in the North Sea. Dutch ships, sailing…
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Wildlife in Peril: The State of Nature Report/The Felling of the Sycamore
Two pressing matters have graced the headlines this week. First, the State of Nature report has been published, casting a dire shadow upon the condition of the UK’s wildlife. The findings are nothing short of catastrophic â one in six species teeters on the brink of potential extinction. The population of 753 land and freshwater…
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On the lookout for fairies in Baysdale
An early morning saunter around Baysdale, that remote dale in an expanse of moorland, its lush fields gleaming in the sunlight. In the distance, Ingleby Moor draped in a shroud of clouds, though it would disperse within the hour, leaving with a bright and dry morning. But this tranquil scene is soon to be disrupted,…