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VE Day: 80 Years On
Eighty years have passed since Victory in Europe Day, a moment etched in the collective memory by black-and-white newsreels showing ecstatic crowds flooding the streets of London and other major cities. But away from the capital, in the quieter corners of Cleveland and North Yorkshire, the mood was more restrained — though no less meaningful,…
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The Terminal Moraine at Kildale: Elgee Revisited
An early morning climb up Park Nab before the day’s work began at the Kildale chapel archaeological dig (Out & About passim). I shall wait until later in the season to write properly about that—when we have found something to write about. Instead, as I looked out over the valley, I found myself returning to…
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How to Dress in the Water—Edwardian Advice from the Shoreline
Cattersty Sands looked perfect this morning. The sun was out, the beach was almost empty, and the North Sea glittered like it wanted to be inviting. It was not. Nobody so much as dipped a toe in. I had half expected to see someone bobbing about in neoprene—open-water swimming being all the rage now. Not…
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Of Brass Monkeys, May Blossoms and Other Perils
Growing up in Nottingham in the early 1960s, I shall never forget me mam barking “naer cast a clout till May is out” whenever I dared venture into the Spring air without full Arctic gear—duffle coat, string vest, probably a balacalva too. She assumed, and I dutifully followed, “May”meant the month, which made sense given…
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A Boundary Stone on Great Ayton Moor
The weather has finally turned, quite refreshing from the stifling heat we have suffered over the past week. I found myself traversing Great Ayton Moor again, a route so familiar I could walk it blindfolded, past the same early 19th-century boundary stone I have already photographed more times than sense would justify. The gamekeepers, in…
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Teeth of the Lion: Nature’s Yellow Peril
Raisdale is not known for its dandelions—Teeth of the Lion. But this is a splendid crop. Beloved by children for their time-telling attribute and wish-granting parachute seeds, as if horology and magic come naturally to plants. Its garish yellow flowers chase the sun like sycophants and offer pollinators an early-season breakfast. Every part of it…
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When War Came to Teesside: The Night the Zeppelins Roared
On the night of 2nd May 1916, the New Moon cast an eerie darkness over the coastal towns and villages of the Yorkshire Coast. As the tranquil evening unfolded, an unsettling noise gradually erupted from the sky, until it echoed like the roar of an express train. Moments later, a series of random explosions were…
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The Postgate School
Here’s one I’ve been saving up, not for a rainy day, for today has been anything but rainy, positively sweltering, but a day when being Out & About has been a touch limited. It is a photo of the hallowed “village schoolroom museum” of Great Ayton, proudly preserving the educational shrine where James Cook—local boy…
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Yorkshire’s Pride: The Enduring Allure of Roseberry Topping
It has been some time since I inflicted a post about Roseberry Topping upon the world, the conical-shaped hill that looms over this northeastern corner of what is the historical county of Yorkshire, albeit a recycling of previous posts. Local pride being what it is, they have long called it “t’ highest hill i’ all…
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A Boundary Stone of 1860 and a Chaloner Legacy
A one-way walk to Guisborough—infinitely preferable than a circular route. Today’s image features Highcliff Nab, seen from just below Black Nab across the fields of Codhill Farm—or Highcliffe Farm, depending on whom you wish to offend. One must name both or risk mild social unrest. The boundary stone, engraved “T.C. G 1860,” of course refers…
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