Category: Cold Moor
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1772: A Path, A Stone, A Hanging
The so-called âMinersâ Trodâ, with Cold Moor rising beyond it, cuts a broad, unsightly scar along the hillside courtesy of the forestry workers. The pathâs name comes from the nineteenth-century jet-miners, though it is unlikely they were its first users. That large boulder to the left bears the date â1772â and a scatter of initials,…
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POW! WHACK! The Circus Returns to Town
On this day in 1966, the campy spectacle of Batman made its debut on American television. Adam West donned the cape, Burt Ward chirped as Robin, and Cesar Romero refused to shave his moustache to play the Joker. Although by the time it hit British screens, I was too old, but I remember it well.…
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A Ruined Shelter, a Romantic Name, and some Random Latin
An opportunistic photograph, captured during a rare moment when the winter sun managed to pierce the unrelenting gloom of an overcast day. Here I am on Cold Moorâor, if you are feeling fanciful, Mount Vittoria Plantation. I prefer the latter; it has that pretentious 19th-century flair. This narrow strip of heather moor overlooks the Donna…
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Welkinâs Cheek
Before “sky” became the common term for the vast expanse above us, it was poetically known as “welkin”âa word closely related to the German “Wolke,” meaning cloud, and even more so to “Wölkchen,” meaning little cloud. Today, the welkin offered a breathtaking sight for those who gazed upward. Shakespeare himself was no stranger to this…
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From Cawdma to Cranimoor
Cold Moor, often overlooked, is a vast and rugged moorland offering stunning views. Its historical name, Mount Vittoria, hints at forgotten stories. A pit and boulder field on its peak adds to the mystery. Cringle Moor, a nearby peak with a distinctive shape, is a geological marvel.
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Cold Moor Lane â Hollow Way and Medieval Trod
Taking a respite from the biting easterly breeze while in the shelter of Cold Moor Lane, a sunken bridleway climbing out of Chop Gate, a debate unfolded about its origins. Well, if we concede that its sunken characteristic stems from centuries of human and animal movement along this route, then I suppose one could argue…
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Morning Sun on Cold Moor
A panorama of Cold Moor from the vantage point of the Wainstones; to the right, the col known as Garfit Gap. What caught my eye in this view is the way the morning sun, hanging low, highlights the remains of the old jet mining drifts. These drift entrances, now long collapsed, appear as V-shaped scars…
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Barbed Wire’s Impact on Land, Livestock, and Liberty
In 2003, the heavy metal band Iron Maiden released their album, Dance of Death, which including the epic âPaschendaleâ [sic]: Whistles, shouts and more gun fire Lifeless bodies hang on barbed wire Battlefield nothing but a bloody tomb Be reunited with my dead friends soon Many soldiers eighteen year Drown in mud, no more tears…
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A Windy Morning Pondering Mount Vittoria’s Secrets
A wander up here in the dark the other day reminded me of the old name for this long ridge descending deep into Bilsdale, which most people know today as Cold Moor. The prevailing conditions today wasn’t particularly cold, but rather characterised by gusty windsâremarkably soâsufficient to blow the cobwebs away, as the saying goes.…
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Prehistoric Rock Art at Garfit Gap
Garfit Gap, that well-known col on the Cleveland Way nestling between Cold Moor and the Wainstones, is one of the four natural routes climbing up from the Cleveland Plain, southward over the barrier of Cleveland Hills into Bilsdale. Each route involves a formidable climb. Nowadays, though, the Clay Bank route, aided and abetted by the…