Tag: history
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A Mild Christmas and Damnable Corsets: A Hundred Years Ago in Yorkshire
A sunny Roseberry loiters under a moody grey cloud, creating a scene that could make even the most indifferent observer take out their iPhone. Light and shadow play their parts, flaunting a contrast that seems to suggest nature itself has a flair for the dramatic. But exactly one hundred years ago, the 9th of December…
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Rievaulx Abbey: A Picturesque View from an 18c Vanity Project
Charles Dickens, ever the enthusiast, was beside himself with admiration for Rievaulx Abbey, and who could blame him? This Cistercian marvel, nestled in a lush green valley and surrounded by dense woodland, is a particularly fine ruin—courtesy of Henry VIII’s systematic penchant for tearing down monasteries. Perched above it, Rievaulx Terrace lords over the scene,…
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Slacks Wood Quarry And a Stream of Many Names
A dreich morning. Rain, wind and low cloud forced me to keep low, sticking to the woods where I could at least avoid the worst of the weather. This meant I had little choice but to focus on the minutiae. Hence this stream. It cannot even decide on a single name. Near its source on…
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Windermere and its History No One Wants to Discuss
It was a bit wet this morning in the Lakes, so here is a photograph from yesterday’s walk up Wansfell instead. This is, of course, Windermere, England’s largest lake, famed for its picturesque scenery but cursed with a history no postcard could capture. And I don’t mean the recent sewage discharge debacle. A favourite with…
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Charles Gough’s Fatal Ascent and his Dog’s Vigil
It has been some time since I last dragged myself up Helvellyn via Striding Edge. Definitely before the pandemic chaos. This photograph, taken around midday, gazes slightly east of south. St. Sunday Crag and Fairfield flaunt a dusting of snow. A marvellous day: cloudless peaks, sub-zero temperatures, and a wind that was brisk enough to…
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Kildale’s Agrarian Past
A stunning view of Kildale, seen from the sandstone crags of Ward Nab. Kildale, with its postcard-worthy scenery and quaint stone buildings, represents the sort of agricultural nostalgia many enjoy romanticising. Yet, beneath this charming façade lies a tale of upheaval and supposed progress. In the 18th century, Kildale’s open fields were carved up through…
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Beldi Hill Smelt Mill
Following my exhausting cycle ride around Swaledale yesterday, I wisely opted not to stray far today. So instead, here is another photograph from that trip. I was aware of Swaledale’s lead mining legacy, but stumbling upon this particular site was an unexpected delight. The Beldi Hill Smelt Mill sits awkwardly wedged into the hillside, just…
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Thwaite’s Gift to the Natural World: The Lives of the Kearton Brothers
A typical Swaledale landscape: stone-built cottages in Thwaite and those endlessly fascinating dry-stone walls dissecting the surrounding fields. Many of the walls date from the 18th century, but, alas, there is the obligatory parked car ruining the scene. Otherwise, one imagines this view would be instantly familiar to Thwaite’s greatest sons, Richard and Cherry Kearton.…
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Jackson’s Bank—Medieval Trod
As you reach the top of Jackson’s Bank, it is hard not to imagine that, at the turn of the last century, weary walkers resting upon these boulders were serenaded by the rather pastoral sounds of iron-laden trucks grinding, screeching, and clattering their way down that incline on the opposite side of Greenhow Botton. This…
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Westworth Reservoir: Gorse and Other Triumphs of Nature
In my Guisborough days, I would often run a circuit round Westworth Reservoir. This morning, in a fit of nostalgia, I returned to that old stomping ground. How changed it is. The former reservoir bed has given way to a jungle of gorse, now sprawling with abandon, save for a dank, overgrown marsh clinging feebly…