Category: Bilsdale
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A view east from Hawnby Hill
Bilsdale Moor West. A beam of sunshine is shining on Wethercote Farm which must be one of the highest farms in the area. The land is recorded as belonging to Rievaulx Abbey around 1145 and contains quarries from which stone was used in the construction of the abbey. In the 18th century, coal was mined…
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Tripsdale
Another fine morning but a day of indecision. Driving up Clay Bank and into Bilsdale I had no idea where I was heading. Chop Gate I suppose but the car park was ignored and in the end, I parked at Fangdale Beck and headed east up onto Coniser Howl, a huge large expanse of heather…
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Bridestones
A climb up to Nab Ridge between Bilsdale and Tripsdale. Ended up trying to wade though a thistled rough pasture whilst following a diverted path around the manicured lawns of Cam House. And the pet llamas took a dislike to the dog. I was aiming for the Bride Stones, a Bronze Age round barrow, long…
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Seave Green
Blue skies, an inquisitive bullock and the sandstone cottages of Seave Green, an hamlet in upper Bilsdale, make an idyllic scene. A scene which, if the Victorian speculators had had their way would have looked quite different. In 1874 a railway was proposed running down the valley through the fields on the far side of the beck. The railway was to…
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Urra Moor
A drab misty start to the week with rain threatening. The boundary stones across Urra Moor probably mark the limit of the Feversham estate. Bilsdale below is only just visible.
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Swaledale sheep, Bilsdale
At least I think these are Black Faced sheep, one of the traditional breeds of the Northern hills. Other contenders could be Swaledales and Rough Fells. Quite frankly after looking at scores of photos on Google they all begin to look the same. All three are found on the North York Moors and all are said to be descended from a…
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Joseph Wade’s Hut, Bilsdale West Moor
Joseph Wade’s Hut, the feature looked interesting on the map, but all I could find was just a cairn on a bronze age round barrow. Round barrows generally occupy prominent positions in the landscape and are thought to have had a funerary function although they may have also marked the boundaries of prehistoric peoples. The view is overlooking Ryedale…
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Long Barn, Bilsdale
Working in the East Midlands over the weekend so had to get my hill and dale fix before heading south. Ran over Urra Moor and along the edge of Bilsdale. I like this long barn, above the hamlet of Town Green; I don’t think I’ve since anything like it elsewhere on the moors. Well constructed…
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Brian’s Pond
On Bilsdale West Moor, an oasis on a warm spring morning. I often disturb ducks and wild geese here. But not today. The obvious question: who was Brian? I’ve no idea.