Category: North York Moors
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Commondale
Commondale is quite a short valley. Commondale Beck is barely 2 miles long from the meeting of Ravensgill Beck and Sleddale Beck and its confluence with the River Esk. The hamlet of the same name lies at the “head” of the valley. This photo was taken on Commondale Moor with some old drainage ridges noticeable…
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Robert Aske Memorial Seat
It’s amazing how a little bit of snow transforms a scene. I’ve had my eye on this bench as a subject since first starting this blog but have always been disappointed with the resulting photo. I first came across it many years ago when I glanced at the little brass plaque: TO THE GLORY OF…
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A Simmer Blink
I had lain in bed before dawn listening to the rain on the roof. On the garden two inches of slushy snow. A forecast of more rain. Not very inspiring. Even the dog kept her head down refusing to look at me. A cold, sloppy run up into the clag. But the day was brightening,…
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Snowstorm at Hagg’s Gate
I was reminded today of a popular knick-knack of the 60s: a snow globe. A half dome of glass filled with water and snow confetti. Inside was a small scene, maybe including a reindeer or a Disney character. Given a shake, the scene would be transformed into a snowstorm. I am looking down through a…
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Park Plantation Quarry
First snow of the year. Nothing more than a flurry but still snow. Went searching for the site of a plane crash on Ingleby Bank. On 9 June 1941 an Armstrong Whitworth Whitley Mk. V from the No.51 Sqn. RAF. flew into the hillside in poor visibility. It was returning to RAF Dishforth from a…
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Great Fryup Dale
After several trips of exploration around Great Fryup Dale this is becoming one of my most favourite views in the North York Moors. An example of a geological undercliff on the left, providing a complex area of knolls, re-entrants and depressions, just ripe for an orienteering map. A glorious frosty morning, followed by a Great…
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Urra Moor
It was very peaceful on Urra Moor today, once I had cleared the sound of a shoot in upper Bilsdale. Blue sky, puddles frozen, no wind, all quiet except for the occasional ka, ke, ke, ke, ke, kekekerrr of a grouse taking flight. But then a group of motorcyclists spoilt the atmosphere. Being on a…
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Rievaulx Abbey
The image of the life Cistercian monk is one of austerity, hard manual work and self-sufficiency, and one of the first Cistercian monasteries to be founded in the North of England was in the valley of the River Rye at Rievaulx, in 1132. Seen here from the National Trust’s Rievaulx Terrace property, it grew to…
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Broughton Bank
Dull muted colours with a splash of vibrancy
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Bridestones Moor
Bridestones Moor, a National Trust property north of Dalby Forest, is a large area of unintensively managed heather moorland almost unique of the North York Moors where moors are usually either burnt too frequently for the benefit of grouse production or are overgrazed. The result is a moor with a terrific diversity of flora and…