Category: Newton Wood
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What Stripped the Trees? A Woodland Whodunnit
Not my usual kind of post, but here is a photo from Newton Wood showing two oak trees standing side by side. The one on the left looks as it should in mid-June: full canopy, dense green. The one on the right, though, is barely clothedâjust a sparse fringe of leaves at the crown, the…
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Yorkshire’s Pride: The Enduring Allure of Roseberry Topping
It has been some time since I inflicted a post about Roseberry Topping upon the world, the conical-shaped hill that looms over this northeastern corner of what is the historical county of Yorkshire, albeit a recycling of previous posts. Local pride being what it is, they have long called it âtâ highest hill iâ all…
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Roseberryâs Kissing Oaks
When two tree trunks or branches rub against one another long enough to wear away their bark and expose the cambium â the cellular plant tissue â they sometimes fuse into a single entity, forming what is charmingly called a natural graft. This process, termed âinosculation,â is derived from the Latin for âto kiss,â as…
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Bracken, Oaks, and their Folklore
Brackenâour most invasive ground cover, steadily browning itself to perfection. How marvellously it complements this oak woodland on Cockle Scar, on the west-facing slope of Roseberry. Who needs daffodils or bluebells when you can have a decaying fern carpeting your view? And did you know that bracken is charmingly referred to as the âoak fernâ? Apparently,…
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Newton Woodâs Hidden Industrial Heritage
This morning’s low cloud cover meant there was no chance of capturing any stunning shots of the Cleveland Hills, so I turned my attention to something closer to the ground. Folk often ask me about this brick and concrete structure at the Cliff Rigg end of Newton Wood, recently cleared of bracken and brambles by…
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Framing the Landscape â A Nine-Year Retrospective
Nine years. Nine long years in which the world has undergone remarkable transformations: Brexit, Covid, Ukraine, the rise andâlet us hopeâfall of Trump, and the conclusion of Tory turmoil. Yet, some constants endure. For nine years, “Framing the Landscape,” that quintessential piece of modern art, that obtrusive metallic eyesore placed in a nature reserve, has…
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A Sea of Cotton on Newon Moor
One of the summer spectacles of acid bogs and wet heaths is the Common cottongrass, Eriophorum angustifolium. This plant, with its silky white seed-heads, creates a striking scene, whitening whole patches of bog. Beyond this visual charm, Cottongrass is rather unremarkable and underutilised. Efforts to produce usable thread from the seed-plumes have failed due to…
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Rescue at Roseberry: The 1929 Shale Slide
Back in sunny Cleveland, and I am in search of a new morsel of information to accompany a familiar sight. On this day in 1929, Ralph Elliott, a miner from Great Ayton, had a narrow escape. Working with several others at the âRoseberry mine bank bottomâ, he ascended a spoil tip to release shale. Suddenly,…
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The Silent Standoff â An Unexpected Thrill of a Roe Deer Encounter
I lack the patience for birding or hiding for hours in wait of a fleeting glimpse of wildlife. However, stumbling upon the sight of a bird or creature feels like a rare privilege. Such was the case this morning when I spotted a yearling roe buck. Or rather, he spotted me. We engaged in a…
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The merry month of May
Bluebell season has undoubtedly arrived, yet the spectacle seems somewhat diminished compared to previous years. Perhaps it’s premature to judge. If May proves to be as chilly as April, the following proverb may come to mind, though its exact significance eludes me. A cold May and a windy, Makes a barn full and a findy.