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G. Ward & Son, Blacksmiths of Carlton
Took the road bike out today which gave me a chance for a more closer look at the villages of Cleveland than I can get from a car. Carlton has a pub and a school but no shop. But what it does have, and perhaps one of the last villages to do so, is a village blacksmith.…
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Brian’s Pond
On Bilsdale West Moor, an oasis on a warm spring morning. I often disturb ducks and wild geese here. But not today. The obvious question: who was Brian? I’ve no idea.
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Mount Grace Priory
National Trust volunteers cleaning moss and other plant growth from the ruins of this medieval Carthusian priory which is owned by the Trust but managed by English Heritage. Mount Grace Priory is unique in that it wasn’t destroyed by the new owner, one James Strangeways, after being sold by the government after the dissolution on the monasteries in 1540.…
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Skelton Beck
Skelton Beck flows down a gorge through Crow Wood and Valley Gardens before joining Saltburn Gill Beck and entering the North Sea. Below the Riftswood viaduct carrying the mineral railway to the potash mine at Boulby the beck flow over the remains of a weir used to provide a head of water to drive the Marske corn mill. Marske Mill…
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Codhill Slack
For those who walk, or run, the Cleveland Way with your head held high concentrating on the top of your next climb, Highcliff Nab or Percy Rigg, or admiring the view across the bogs of Codhill Slack to Sleddale, you will miss this. If however you walk head down looking at your feet you may notice an unusual paving slab or,…
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Bolton Castle
Located in Wensleydale, the castle dates from the late 14c when it was built by Sir Richard le Scrope, Lord Chancellor of England to Richard II. It is still owned and lived in by the Scrope family. Its most famous guest was Mary Queen of Scots although many castles up and down the country can…
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Saltburn Pier
A classic view of Saltburn pier with the funicular railway in front. The pier was opened in 1869 and was originally 1500 feet long. It quickly became popular and a stop on the Bridlington to Hartlepool steamer route. In 1875 the pier was battered in an October storm and was reduced to 1250 feet. In 1924 the…
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Fair Lady’s Pool
A windy day, with snow showers. Fair Lady’s Pool would have once a significant feature on Rievaulx Moor but has been hidden for decades within a plantation of spruce trees. Recent clear felling has opened up the pond and exposed nearby the wreck of a military vehicle. It looks like a tank to me and is probably a Valentine tank used by the 11th Armoured…
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Ward Nab
A stunted oak tree precariously growing out of a crag at Ward Nab on the south eastern edge of Easby Moor. The rock athletes are perhaps more familiar with the name of Cook’s Crags but Ward Nab is the name that appears on the OS Map. Overlooking the forestry plantations of Coate Moor and Kildale.
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Great Ayton Bridge
Didn’t venture far today, after my exertions of yesterday. Spanning the River Leven, Great Ayton bridge was built in 1909, replacing an earlier one. The word “Ayton” on the parapet was removed during the Second World War so as not to aid German paratroopers should we have been invaded.
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