Out & About …

… on the North York Moors, or wherever I happen to be.

Popular Posts

This week

  • SE0478 On Dead Man's HillOn Dead Man’s Hill 20th February 2019 Or the continuing story of Jenny Twigg and her daughter Tib. We parked up at Scar House Reservoir at the top of Nidderdale last night and from across the reservoir,…
  • Thimbleby and the Vale of MowbrayFrom Barbados to Morrisons—The history of Thimbleby… 11th August 2023 The agricultural landscape of the Vale of Mowbray stretches across to the Dales , a view made visible through the recent felling of what was called ‘The Big Wood’ on…
  • A high view capturing the vast, green, hilly landscape of the Outer Hebrides. In the foreground, large, grey, flat rocks are scattered amidst patches of grass. The midground features rolling green hills with visible sheep paths, leading down to a cluster of small white houses with dark roofs. Beyond the houses, a calm blue loch, dotted with several small boats, extends towards the horizon, where more hills rise. To the left, a turquoise bay with a sandy beach glistens. The sky is partially cloudy with patches of blue.Crash on Vatersay: The Lost Catalina of 1944 7th June 2025 I had hoped to photograph the tombolo that links the two high points of Bhatarsaigh—a narrow strip of machair, that low, sandy grassland so typical of the Outer Hebrides. But…
  • A wide view over Kildale valley from a bracken-covered hillside, with green fields and woodland running along the valley floor, hazy moorland hills stretching to the horizon under a mostly clear blue sky, and trees framing the foreground on both sides.Shadows Over Kildale: The Colonial Slave Trade Links… 27th September 2026 Beneath the moors of the Cleveland Hills lies Kildale, a dale that looks as though nothing has ever happened there. Something did happen, though. In 1662 the estate was bought…
  • Colour photograph of the same view, taken from a narrow sandy footpath bordered by tall, dense bracken and a birch tree. A wooden gate with a footpath waymarker sign stands partway along the path, with the dry-stone wall now gone. Roseberry Topping rises in the background under a grey sky, its slopes now backed by mixed trees and shrubs in autumn colour.Same Gate, Different Century 26th September 2026 An old photograph has been doing the rounds on Facebook, so I thought I would have a go at recreating it. The original is in monochrome, underexposed and a bit…
  • WoodfieldForgotten Fields and Stolen Commons: The Tragic… 8th August 2023 On this day in the year 1845, Parliament passed the Inclosure Act 1845, an ominous piece of legislation that concluded a grim transformation to the country. This Act, a tool…
  • Ruins of Mount Grace Priory church in North Yorkshire under a bright blue sky with scattered white clouds. A square, battlemented stone tower with narrow pointed windows rises on the right, beside roofless walls that keep a large empty Gothic window. Low lines of foundation stones cross the neatly mown lawn in front, with a white wooden bench near the base of the walls. Longer ruined walls stretch away to the left, and a steep wooded hillside rises behind.Locked Up at Mount Grace 21st September 2026 Mount Grace Priory feels like the quietest place in Yorkshire. That was rather the point. Thomas de Holland, nephew of Richard II, founded it in 1398. It is now the…
  • A sunny outdoor shot shows a large flock of sheep with black faces and legs, and thick white woolly bodies, many marked with red dye, standing in a green field. Some sheep are closer to the viewer and in focus, while others are further back. In the background, there's a low stone wall, and behind it, a few trees with green foliage and some dry, dead trees. The sky is blue with some white clouds.Yan Tan Tether Mether Pip … 16th July 2025 Old Molly Metcalfe counting sheep Yan tan tether mether pip she counted Up upon Swaledale steep and bleak Yan tan tether mether pip she said… So sang Jake Thackray about…
  • A colour photograph of an area used by BMX and motorcycle scrambling in a wooded area. The track is muddy and features banked turns and small jumps. Tyre tracks are visible in the dirt. The surrounding woodland is open with tall, bare trees and brown leaves covering the ground. The sky is overcast and grey.A Short History of the Ormesby Ironstone Mine and… 15th February 2025 After many years, I finally returned to Flatts Lane Country Park and was astonished to find it looking clean and free of litter. This was undoubtedly the work of the…
  • Alt-text: A tranquil reservoir with significantly reduced water levels, surrounded by a dense forest of evergreen trees. The shoreline is exposed, revealing sandy terrain and a small stream flowing into the lake. The sky is overcast, creating a peaceful and reflective atmosphere. The water's surface reflects the surrounding landscape, creating a mirror-like image of the trees and the distant hills.The Rise and Fall of Cod Beck Reservoir 9th September 2024 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…

All Time

  • Thimbleby and the Vale of MowbrayFrom Barbados to Morrisons—The history of Thimbleby… 11th August 2023 The agricultural landscape of the Vale of Mowbray stretches across to the Dales , a view made visible through the recent felling of what was called ‘The Big Wood’ on…
  • The Giant's BootThe Giant’s Boot 8th April 2020 Northern Ireland’s most visited attraction is the iconic Giant’s Causeway, polygonal columns of basaltic rock formed sixty million years ago when molten lava spread across the land and created clouds…
  • Duncombe Park Army CampDuncombe Park Army Camp 5th April 2021 About 3km after crossing Rievaulx Bridge with its opportunity to gaze at the majestic abbey, the Cleveland Way crosses a concrete road at Griff Lodge. Here the National Trail bears…
  • RoseberryMiddlesbrough’s Dark Past: the 1961 Cannon… 21st August 2023 A reminder popped up on my phone today that back in 1961, things had hit a boiling point on Cannon Street in Middlesbrough. Three nights of rioting had built up…
  • SE0478 On Dead Man's HillOn Dead Man’s Hill 20th February 2019 Or the continuing story of Jenny Twigg and her daughter Tib. We parked up at Scar House Reservoir at the top of Nidderdale last night and from across the reservoir,…
  • Lochan of the Lost SwordLochan of the Lost Sword 25th September 2023 Beneath the reflections of the autumnal hues rests an abandoned sword, a long-sword, the claymore that belonged to Robert the Bruce. Near this wee loch lies Dal Righ, a place…
  • A high view capturing the vast, green, hilly landscape of the Outer Hebrides. In the foreground, large, grey, flat rocks are scattered amidst patches of grass. The midground features rolling green hills with visible sheep paths, leading down to a cluster of small white houses with dark roofs. Beyond the houses, a calm blue loch, dotted with several small boats, extends towards the horizon, where more hills rise. To the left, a turquoise bay with a sandy beach glistens. The sky is partially cloudy with patches of blue.Crash on Vatersay: The Lost Catalina of 1944 7th June 2025 I had hoped to photograph the tombolo that links the two high points of Bhatarsaigh—a narrow strip of machair, that low, sandy grassland so typical of the Outer Hebrides. But…
  • 2019-02-19 SE1274 Jenny Rig and her daughter Tib.jpgJenny Twigg and her daughter Tib 20th February 2019 Ee, I love maps me. I happened to notice the name “Jenny Twigg and her daughter Tib” marked on the map of Fountains Earth Moor overlooking Nidderdale, and so I…
  • Hackness HallThe Hackness Shame 27th August 2020 I had a look around the Forge Valley near Scarborough, a place I’ve always wanted to see but never had the opportunity. I must admit, I wasn’t that overwhelmed. A…
  • An elevated, wide-angle view of the rolling green countryside of North Yorkshire on a misty, overcast day. In the foreground, a slope of dark reddish-brown bracken and scrub leads the eye down into a valley of patchwork green fields separated by dark hedgerows and thin lines of trees. Dense, low-hanging grey clouds dominate the upper half of the frame, but a dramatic break in the mist allows bright, ethereal "God rays" to beam down onto the valley floor. The light catches the texture of the fields and a distant forested area, creating a stark contrast against the moody, shadowed hillsides in the background. The atmosphere is quiet, damp, and atmospheric.Solmōnaþ — Cake, Mud, and Lowered Hopes 1st February 2026 It is Solmōnaþ. Cake Month. A rare cause for cheer in the damp gloom of February. In the Anglo-Saxon calendar, Solmōnaþ sat where February is now. It marked a time…