Waymarker stone, Carr Ridge

This heather alongside the Cleveland Way seems to have avoided the worst of the ravishes of Lochmaea suturalis, the heather beetle. Not a bad display.

The beetle overwinters dormant deep in the undergrowth of the heather, emerging in the spring when they are able to fly up to a range of several miles. The Wikipedia page says that they generally do this after fire which means that the rotational burning of the heather is actually encouraging the beetle to spread.

The standing stone is described as a post-medieval way marker by the North York Moors’ Historic Environment Record (HER). ‘Post-medieval’ could be anytime from 1540 to 1901, which is quite a timespan.