Category: North York Moors
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Sunday serenity in the rain
“When Roseberry Topping wears a cap, All Cleveland is in for a clap.” Or so the old saying goes. Yet, today, it wore more than a mere cap—the whole moors lay beneath a thick duvet of cloud, lost in obscurity. My memory fails to recall when the rain last poured relentlessly throughout the entire day.…
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Cercy Pross Rigg and its chet warm
On this day in 1844, a man named William Archibald Spooner was born. He later became an Anglican clergyman and warden of New College, Oxford. What made him famous were his ‘Spoonerisms,’ where he accidentally switched letters in phrases, resulting in amusing expressions like ‘It is kisstomary to cuss the bride,‘ and ‘a well-boiled icicle.‘…
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The Stones of Lamentation
One of the contenders for the most iconic landmark of the North York Moors must be the Wainstones – a rock-climbing wonderland adorned with jumbled columns of Middle Jurassic sandstone, once the ocean’s ancient bed. Legend has it that the name ‘Wain-stones’ might have derived from the Saxon word ‘wanian,’ meaning to howl, and hinted…
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18th-Century stables and cartshed at Bransdale Mill
If you’ve ever been to Bransdale Mill, you will have seen the old barn propped up for years by scaffolding to prevent collapse. This has been necessary since the Public Footpath passes directly below the north end gable. Now the barn is stable at last, its scaffolding gone. And a fine sight it is. One…
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An encounter with the gamekeeper
The North York Moors Historic Enviroment Record describes this ruin as a “post medieval sheep fold identified from historic mapping with slight structural remains,” but the dressed stones to me point to a more substantial building. I am on Warren Moor looking down on the secluded Leven Vale. Now, the “field” beyond that fence isn’t…
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Staithes’ transformation into an artists’ mecca
In the distant past, back in 1415, when the world was a taciturn place, the medieval village of Staithes was first recorded under the name ‘Setonstathes‘. This coastal community thrived as a fishing haven during the 16th century, only to prosper further in the 19th century as local ironstone, alum, and jet mining took hold.…
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St Nicholas’s church, Bransdale
Volunteering today with the National Trust in Bransdale. Delightfully, I took the opportunity to have a look around the quaint St Nicholas’s church, perched at the head of the dale. St Nicholas’s church may be squat but it stands proud, casting a discerning gaze down the valley below. Its Grade II listing records that it…
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Bell Heather—The purple beauty of the North York Moors
Bell heather is my most favourite of the heathers. I love thee richness of its purple hue, and unlike the more prevalent and lilac-coloured ling, which The North York Moors is renowned for, bell heather boasts an extended display. It blooms earlier in June and lingers longer, often extending into September. The National Park proudly…
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Little Raisdale, Hall Garth Farm and the ‘Farming Parson’
More often than not, my decision regarding which photo to share is primarily based on the likelihood of returning to the same spot. Such was the case this morning. Today’s image captures the western side of Cold Moor, offering a view down onto Cold Moor Cote in Raisdale. On the left, you’ll see this farm,…
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Shadow of suspicion: gamekeepers and the Red kite’s plight
As I cycled my way through picturesque Westerdale, I held out a glimmer of hope, albeit a rather optimistic one, for a sighting of magnificent Red kites. More specifically, I yearned to catch a glimpse of that one resilient Red Kite who may had managed to survive the cruel onslaught of illegal, heartless, and downright…