Category: Cringle Moor
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Cringle Moor and the Cult of the Drone
A splendid day upon the Cleveland Hills, warm, sunny and kissed by a breeze so genteel it could almost be mistaken for civility. Cringle Moor was heaving, of course, the Viking Chase Fell Race transforming it into something between a checkpoint and a human anthill. And there, above the sweating masses, hovered the latest curse…
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Autumn: The Killing Season
Green Bank â not very green on this first day of so-called meteorological autumn. The almanac though insists that autumn does not officially begin for another three weeks, though nature is already ahead of schedule. The harvest is in, or at least half of it, since some yields are reported at a dismal fifty per…
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Green Bank: Where the Ice Met its Match
Yesterdayâs post about Haggâs Gate set me off thinking, descending yet another rabbit hole: about the time the last glacier flowed down the Vale of York and slammed into the Cleveland Hills. About the time that ice sheet politely stopped at the hillsâ feet. About the time these great north and west escarpments of the…
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Crannimoor: A Hill, a Café, and a Case of a Misplaced Apostrophe
On Cringle or Cringley Moor, or if one wants to sound particularly archaic, Crannimoor. A Victorian writer hailing from the West Riding once claimed this was pronounced âCreenay.â As for its origin, the modern thinking is that it comes from the Old Norse âkringla,â meaning a âcircle.â However, the ever-reliable Reverend R. C. Atkinson, walking…
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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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From Beak Hills to the Cotswolds: A Tale of Unequal Farming
Cringle Moor, as seen from Cold Moor across the eastern sweep of Raisdale. Below sits Beak Hills farm, your archetypal North York Moors operation. According to their website, they mostly breed sheep on 125 acres of valley pasture, with another 300 acres of shared grazing rights on Cold Moor. They have also embraced modern farming…
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Kirby Bank: A Slice Through Time
Youâre looking at a slice of history. The summit steps of Kirby Bank consist of hard sandstone, descending to softer shale below, both formations dating back to the Jurassic period. During the last Ice Age, the Tees glacier reached the top of the Bank, creating a ‘randkluft‘ as ice melted against the warmer rock. As…
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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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From beacons to buried treasureâTales of Drake Howe
At the highest point of Cringle Moor’s flat summit is a Bronze Age round barrow named Drake Howe. A cairn overlooks the hollow left by Victorian antiquarians in this ancient monument. “Howe,” a term with a Scandinavian etymology, means a mound. But “Drake,” is that a name that carries a folk memory recalling the age-old…
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From Green Bank to Cranimoor
Descending Carlton Bank, I dismounted the trusty bike to capture this photo of Green Bank, resplendent in the May sunshine and revealing its toponymic origin. Beyond is Cringle End, the steadfast nose of the moor of the same name. The old maps record this as Cringley Moor but an even more archaic name is Cranimoor.…