Category: North York Moors
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Roseberry Topping
The Matterhorn of Cleveland. It is commonly thought that the name, Roseberry Topping derives from the Old Norse god, ‘Óthinn’ or ‘Odin’, and berg meaning a hill but Walter White wrote, in his 1858 book, A Month in Yorkshire, that the name comes from ‘ross’, a heath or moor, and ‘burg’ a fortress. Does anyone…
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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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Blacksmith's Forge, Chop Gate
A single storey sandstone building with date 0f 1826 on the door lintol. It underwent restoration in 2008 after a gable had collapsed in storms the previous year. It is unused but still contains the original functionality although the beehive-shaped firehood was destroyed by the collapse. The building contains element of an earlier construction indeed a 1781…
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Grosmont
A belated birthday treat. Sunday dinner on the North York Moors Railway. A very relaxing afternoon. And we picked a ‘steam extravaganza’ weekend. Lots of shunting, not a diesel in sight, and a lot of patience needed for anyone trying to use the level crossing at Grosmont.
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Scarth Wood Moor
Early morning mists dissipate over Scarth Wood moor, a National Trust property near Osmotherley. The clear blue skies soon gave way to Autumn showers.
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Transporter Bridge
A trip into Middlesbrough town and an opportunity to revisit once familiar places along the banks of the Tees. Much has changed, buildings demolished, waste ground landscaped, signposts for footpaths: the England Coast Walk and the Eight Bridges Walk. That’s a new one on me. But some things remain the same. The white horses on the river…
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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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Rowan tree, Lonsdale Quarry
The striking red berries of the Rowan tree stand out against the drab Autumn colours of the moors. The Rowan or Mountain Ash has long been associated with superstition and folklore. In Greek myology the goddess of youth, Hebe, lost her cup of ambrosia, said to rejuvenate youth. It was stolen by demons and the gods sent…
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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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Blakey Topping
The story goes that a giant by the name of Wade had an argument with his wife and in a fit of temper he scooped by a handful of earth and threw it at her but missed creating Blakey Topping in the process. And the hole left became the Hole of Horcum. Elgee writing in the 1930s recounts a…