Category: Great Ayton Moor
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William Mudd: Lichens, Legacy, and a Whiff of Whisky
There I was, trudging along the escarpment of Great Ayton Moor this morning, mulling over what I might post about today, when a patched-up bit of dry-stone wall caught my eye. Naturally, my thoughts turned to how many times one can repair a wall before it ceases to be the original. Yes, I am aware…
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âTwas frost and thro leet wid a oâ greymin snawâ
Oh, it was but the gentlest sprinkle, a mere whisper of winterâa âgreymin,â they used to call itâscarcely enough to cover the tops of these two boundary stones on Newton Moor. The snow flurry arrived just as I was striding along the edge of the moor. There is nothing quite so invigorating as being caught…
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Paradise Lost? The Noble Art of Swidden Burning
Ah, the noble swiddens! That iconic mosaic left by the benevolent, precise art of setting fire to the countryside, all for the good of its charming inhabitants: grouseâwho, one imagines, must dance a jolly jig singing ‘hahahahahaha‘ when those nutritious shoots emerge. How delightful to know that we can rely on a âlow-temperatureâ burn, barely a…
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Cumulus, Cirrus, and The Cleveland Hills
As I trudged along the escarpment of Great Ayton Moor, my eyes were drawn southwestward, where a rather theatrical display of clouds was being jostled along by an brisk southwesterly wind. My morning walk had started with a few ominous spots of rain, but which was grudgingly giving way to clear skies. One cannot help…
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Purple Haze: Lingâs Role in Yorkshireâs Past
For a brief spell each year, the North York Moors are transformed into a sea of iconic purple. The ling, or heather, is not quite at its peak yet; it remains patchy, especially here on Great Ayton Moor. Some may argue that these vast stretches of purple moorland lack diversity and serve only the grouse…
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Ragwort: Friend to Insects, Foe to Livestock
Another dreich day forces me to turn to *Flora Britannica* for todayâs photo. Ragworts, a group of daisy-like flowers, include several species, with the Common Ragwort being particularly notorious. This native, biennial plant, sometimes perennial, disperses its seeds by the wind. One plant can produce thousands, making it a potential nuisance on waste land and…
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Great Ayton Moor: big skies and an avian nesting ground
Great Ayton Moor offers vast open views like rural Suffolk, but closer. Moorland provides tranquility and habitat for birds like lapwing, golden plover, curlew and red grouse. In August, the heather blooms purple.
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Beyond the Mist â The Battle of Stokesley
This morning, the air on Great Ayton Moor was crystal clear, but away in the south-west, a low mist crept up the Vale of Cleveland, making the wind turbines at Seamer look like they’re levitating. That white house yonder caught my eye. Turns out, it’s Howe Hill. Now, I can therefore take a brief detour…
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When Satnavs Lead Astray: A Tale from a Trail Race
Great Ayton Moor, a dull overcast day but dry. That’s Capt. Cook’s Monument is the distance. I found myself thinking about an observation I made over the weekend. I found myself manning a checkpoint on a trail race that traversed my local moors. This particular checkpoint was strategically positioned at the intersection of public bridleways,…
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On this day in 1804: Jane Ewbank’s Journey to Whitby
Hardly a week goes by without news of some historical document being digitised. Recently, a diary of a lady named Jane Ewbank who lived in York during the time of the Napoleonic Wars has been published. Jane was born in 1778, and her father, George Ewbank, was a well-known druggist and banker in York. He…