Category: North York Moors
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The Forgotten Incline of Ingleby Moor
I had heard the National Park was up to something on the old railway incline up Ingleby Moor, so I went to see what the fuss was about. This is not the famous incline that once carried ironstone from Rosedale. It is one that runs roughly 350 metres to the south, leading to the Ingleby…
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The Terminal Moraine at Kildale: Elgee Revisited
An early morning climb up Park Nab before the dayâs work began at the Kildale chapel archaeological dig (Out & About passim). I shall wait until later in the season to write properly about thatâwhen we have found something to write about. Instead, as I looked out over the valley, I found myself returning to…
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Of Brass Monkeys, May Blossoms and Other Perils
Growing up in Nottingham in the early 1960s, I shall never forget me mam barking ânaer cast a clout till May is outâ whenever I dared venture into the Spring air without full Arctic gearâduffle coat, string vest, probably a balacalva too. She assumed, and I dutifully followed, âMayâmeant the month, which made sense given…
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A Boundary Stone on Great Ayton Moor
The weather has finally turned, quite refreshing from the stifling heat we have suffered over the past week. I found myself traversing Great Ayton Moor again, a route so familiar I could walk it blindfolded, past the same early 19th-century boundary stone I have already photographed more times than sense would justify. The gamekeepers, in…
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Teeth of the Lion: Natureâs Yellow Peril
Raisdale is not known for its dandelionsâTeeth of the Lion. But this is a splendid crop. Beloved by children for their time-telling attribute and wish-granting parachute seeds, as if horology and magic come naturally to plants. Its garish yellow flowers chase the sun like sycophants and offer pollinators an early-season breakfast. Every part of it…
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When War Came to Teesside: The Night the Zeppelins Roared
On the night of 2nd May 1916, the New Moon cast an eerie darkness over the coastal towns and villages of the Yorkshire Coast. As the tranquil evening unfolded, an unsettling noise gradually erupted from the sky, until it echoed like the roar of an express train. Moments later, a series of random explosions were…
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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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A Boundary Stone of 1860 and a Chaloner Legacy
A one-way walk to Guisboroughâinfinitely preferable than a circular route. Todayâs image features Highcliff Nab, seen from just below Black Nab across the fields of Codhill Farmâor Highcliffe Farm, depending on whom you wish to offend. One must name both or risk mild social unrest. The boundary stone, engraved âT.C. G 1860,â of course refers…
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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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Haggâs Gate, Clay Bank or Whatever itâs Called This Week
Another photograph from yesterday. I am standing on White Hill, the easternmost bump of the so-called Four Sisters of the Cleveland Hills and gazing across the col at Haggâs Gate, or at least what used to be called Haggâs Gate, towards Carr Ridge and the highest point of the North York Moors on Urra Moor.…