Out & About …

… on the North York Moors, or wherever I happen to be.

Category: Baysdale

  • The Bridge at Baysdale: A Relic of a Lost Priory

    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…

  • The Pike Stone: From Waste to Common Land

    The Pike Stone: From Waste to Common Land

    The Pike Stone marks the boundary between the common land of Westerdale and the “wasteland” of Baysdale Moor. At first glance there is little difference: both are heather moor, both are Open Access. Yet the distinction matters, and the Open Spaces Society is seeking to have Baysdale Moor registered as common land. Common land is…

  • When the Beck Runs Dry: Hob Hole’s Ancient Ford Revealed

    When the Beck Runs Dry: Hob Hole’s 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 — ‘hob’, likely from ‘hobgoblin’ — conjures something hidden and tricky, a haunt of creatures best…

  • Baysdale and a Digression into the Art of Grave Digging

    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 Shepherd’s House, the last in the dale—or perhaps the first, depending on one’s perspective. I have already posted about Baysdale ad nauseum, so instead, I shall give you a little snippet from the Newcastle Guardian…

  • Armouth Wath: “Here Coal was Expected”

    Armouth Wath: “Here Coal was Expected”

    In March of 1803, a notice in the York Courant trumpeted the forthcoming sale by auction of the “MANOR and DEMESNE of BASEDALE ABBEY,” an estate furnished with a “COALMINE supposed very considerable.” One imagines that the allure of a rich seam of coal lent the whole sale a dash of speculative glamour. The “considerable”…

  • The Baysdale Barn That Time Forgot

    The Baysdale Barn That Time Forgot

    Ah, the approach to the decaying edifice—otherwise known as a barn—familiar 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…

  • A Glimpse of Baysdale

    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 tributaries—Black Beck and Gain Beck—separated by the ridge aptly named Middle Head, while the moorland edge is dominated by commercial plantations that create a stark contrast to…

  • The Wayward Nuns of Baysdale Abbey

    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 ‘last’ house in the dale. Close would pass by…

  • Smoke Signals from Baysdale

    Smoke Signals from Baysdale

    I am always saddened when I see those great plumes of smoke drifting across the skyline. It’s a stark reminder, according to the State of Nature Report 2023, that the UK has earned itself a reputation as “one of the most nature-depleted countries on Earth“, with biodiversity taking a significant hit. A good three-quarters of…

  • Gin Garth — A Smugglers’ Retreat

    Gin Garth — A Smugglers’ 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 — everyone knew about the ‘coopering’ business in the North Sea. Dutch ships, sailing…