-
Bilsdale from Cold Moor
An out and back run along the Cold Moor ridge giving a super view of Bilsdale. If the proposal for The Ingleby, Bilsdale and Helmsley Railway had come to fruition the far side of the dale would have been forever scarred. The railway would have joined the North Eastern Railway at Ingleby station and tunnel…
-
Hen Harrier Day 2020 Mural
A YouTube video provided the excuse for a visit to what must be one of the quietest dales on the North York Moors. Hartoft, or should it be Hartoft-dale, is a shallow v-shaped tributary of Rosedale. It could be said to be a Rosedale in miniature, and without the crowds. And the video was an…
-
Ash Bank
The last time I used this track up to Highcliff Nab, was several winters ago, in the dark. It was then, as I’ve always remembered it, a quagmire, enclosed by tall forestry conifers. So it was quite surprising to find the bank clear-felled revealing a surprising view of Guisborough. And removed from the perpetual shade,…
-
Standing stone on the south slope of Roseberry
Volunteering all day with the National Trust on Roseberry. Path clearing and repairing a dry stone wall. The stones are getting heavier. I grabbed this photo on the walk home. I can find no listing for the standing stone. It’s of dressed sandstone and stands at around the 230m contour on the southern flank of…
-
Rosedale west side
This feature on the west side of Rosedale below the old mineral railway has always intrigued me. A ridge, perhaps a kilometre long, running parallel to the slope. It’s such an obvious feature yet it seems to have gone unobserved, or at least unrecorded as far as I can tell. I was once asked if…
-
River Leven, Stokesley
On my bike today, on the country lanes around the Rountons. I need to go onto the flatlands occasionally to help me appreciate the hills. Stokesley town centre was prone to periodic flooding until the flood diversion scheme was built in the late 70s. 1930 was a particularly bad year I understand. When the river…
-
Percy Rigg Farm
In 1806, Sir Charles Turner of Kirkleatham had a cash flow problem and was forced to sell his Kildale and Westerdale Estates. His family had owned them since 1662 when they were brought from the Earl of Northumberland, who would have been Algernon Percy, the 10th Earl. The Sale Advertisement exists and makes interesting reading.…
-
Hutton Hall
Sir Joseph Pease had this pile built in 1866, and lost it in the banking crash of 1902. It was subsequently repurchased by his son, Sir Alfred Pease, in 1935, and has since been converted into flats and apartments. In 1937 Sir Alfred agreed for it to become home for 20 refugee children aged between…
-
A Gulp of Swallows
One of those joyous moments is when nature comes so close. It may be fleeting, so quick you’ve barely time to register. Or it may last longer, with time to appreciate the colours, sounds and textures. It is said that when swallows skim low over water, rain is coming. Conversely, a high flight signifies fine…
-
The Harebell
No garden cultured flower e’er seems to me More graceful than the Harebell growing wild. It help’d to form my posy when a child, And I now love to gather it to be Part of a grandchild’s; for I would fain to teach The love of flowers to all. With fancy free, One may imagine…
Care to comment?