Category: Bransdale
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Poplar Hawk Moth
A distinct lack of sleep last night. Bat surveys at sunset and sunrise followed by an inspection of a moth box left on all night. This little beauty was the king of the box, Poplar Hawk Moth. I guess a 3-inch wingspan. But there are not many poplar trees in Bransdale. Open Space Web-Map builder…
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Bransdale Mill
The National Trust is currently finishing off the renovation of Bransdale Mill as bunkhouse accommodation but the waterwheel and milling mechanism is badly in need of preservation to prevent further deterioration. The mill dates from the 18th-century and rebuilt in 1842 according to a datestone although a mill probably existed on the site since medieval…
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Dry stone wall curiosity
Bransdale, the heart of the North York Moors, and a discovery of a peculiar arrangement of dry stone walling. I am on top of a double wall. To my left, a 5′ drop, to my right about a 10′. Not a particularly steep natural slope but the gap between the walls, about 4′ at the…
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Stork House, Bransdale
Glorious sunshine in Bransdale. Across the dale, the ruinous Stork House soaks up the warmth. This must be perhaps the most desirable site for development on the North York Moors. Of course, being a National Trust property it can not be sold and renovation would be very expensive. The Trust acquired the Bransdale property in…
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Standing stone in Bransdale
An isolated standing stone in the middle of a small field. Could quite well be the exact centre. Unmarked on the map. I don’t think it’s an old gatepost, quite wide with no holes or ironmongery. So a bit of a mystery. At High Lidmoor in Bransdale. Open Space Web-Map builder Code
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Bransdale
A pair of Scots Pines in Bransdale. Scots pines are the only truly native pines in Britain although the tree was believed to have become extinct in England about 300–400 years ago so these two are the result of re-introductions possibly self-seedlings from the nearby Barker Plantation on Groat Hill. It is only in Scotland,…
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High Lidmoor
A lovely spring day in Bransdale. Moor Houses, viewed across Shaw Beck from High Lidmoor, an 18th-century farmhouse which is now available as a holiday let for the National Trust. At one time the two sides of the dale belonged to different parishes. This east side of Bransdale was part of the township of Farndale…
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Smout House Dovecote
A dull start to the day at the National Trust’s offices in Bransdale but a shaft of sunlight fell on the white dovecote. First used by the Romans, dovecotes were used traditionally to provide a source of meat and eggs but this one I think is modern and purely ornamental. The wind was raw, thirty…
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High Lidmoor
Job done, time for a bit of rest and recuperation for these pair of tups at High Lidmoor in Bransdale. A view northeast across the lush green intake fields alongside Shaw Beck to the bleak moorland of Shaw Ridge. Open Space Web-Map builder Code
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Tom's Bransdale Fell Race
A 12km running race dreamt up by Tom Watson, a surveyor for the National Trust, and in whose memory the race is now held and organised by his friends and colleagues. The race is largely off road and involves 400m of climbing. It starts from the Trust’s Bransdale Mill, a charming spot in a charming dale. The photo was taken…