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Avoiding the Plunge at Buckstones Jum
I seem to have become a regular visitor of open-water swimming spots, though I’ve yet to sully my person with an actual dip. I am sure that one need not plunge into icy water to commune with nature. The gentle rustling of the murmur of streams, and the occasional squelch of boggy earth beneath one’s…
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Slate, Sheep, and Silence: The Legacy of Tranearth Quarry
The tranquil Tranearth Quarry, where wild swimmers now glide through waters once surrounded by industry. Amid Bronze Age cairns and abandoned slate, nature reclaims what human ambition left behind, watched only by sheep and time.
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High Wray Bay: A Picture of Purity Beside Tainted Waters
A morning walk by Windermere’s Wray Castle reveals the grandeur of a Victorian retreat built on industrial wealth, while downstream, untreated sewage serves as a reminder of modern neglect.
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Harrop Tarn: A Tale of Heroic Miscalculation
Recalling a previous visit to Harrop Tarn, armed with a map and misplaced confidence. Faced treacherous fells, dreadful weather, and my own ineptitude. The result? A near brush with hypothermia and, naturally, fond memories.
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The Rise and Fall of Cod Beck Reservoir
Given the recent weather, I was quite taken aback to find Cod Beck Reservoir so low, although this is by no means unprecedented. I have a sneaking suspicion that Yorkshire Water has intentionally carried out a water release, perhaps as part of a scour test or some other enigmatic plan. I’ll resist from drawing any…
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Grenfell — Reflections
While following a trail carved out by mountain bikers through a dark plantation in Hutton Lowcross, I came across upon this lively burst of green pushing its way through the thick blanket of fallen larch needles. I believe it might be the northern buckler-fern, Dryopteris expansa. But meanwhile … The report into the Grenfell fire…
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Lilac Cottage and Other Euphemisms for the Necessary
This humble structure, built around 1780, at a discrete distance from the Warren farmhouse, was none other than the privy – or, as we might say today, the lavatory. It served the necessary purpose of waste disposal, likely relying on what was known as an “earth closet.” Now a Grade II Listed Building, it has…
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The Forgotten Rebellion: Winter Hill’s Mass Trespass of 1896
Another delightfully dreich day on the North York Moors. In the murk, we stumbled upon two workers labouring away on the new footpath up Roseberry. The path, prepared to its subsoil, resembles some sort of glutinous purgatory, offering a walking experience only slightly less pleasurable than a swim in wet cement. The workers mentioned the…
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By Hammer and Hand: A Slice of Hutton-le-Hole‘s History
A return trip to Hutton-le-Hole turned out to be great timing, since the weather has been pretty dreich. This little village is known for its Quaker history in the 1700s and has that classic English yeoman feel with sturdy stone cottages that really seem to embrace a spirit of independence. The Ryedale Folk Museum is…
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Fierce Climbs and Fervent Crowds: A Tour of Britain Reflection
A cracking day, following Stage 2 of the Tour of Britain. As dusk descends, I find myself utterly depleted, drained not by the effort of following the race itself, but by the sheer spectacle of enthusiasm displayed by the crowds, who, not unsurprisingly, chose to congregate at the top of the brutal ascent out of…
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