Category: Highcliff Nab
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Highcliff Watches, Barley Shines
This morning’s walk over Bousdale Hill had the familiar silhouette of Highcliff Nab looming in the distance, but it was the barley that stole the scene. Almost fully ripe, it glowed in the light. I remembered a daft tale from childhood—barley heads tucked into your sleeve would supposedly “walk” their way up. Never did for…
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Of Dogs, Grouse and Bureaucratic Logic
My trusted weather source, yr.no, claimed with confidence that rain would begin at noon. The climb from Guisborough had been hot and close under a humid sun. At 11:50, standing on Potter’s Ridge, the sky had turned grim. A few minutes later, the rain came — sudden, heavy, and, in truth, rather welcome. I had…
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A Boundary Stone of 1860 and a Chaloner Legacy
A one-way walk to Guisborough—infinitely preferable than a circular route. Today’s image features Highcliff Nab, seen from just below Black Nab across the fields of Codhill Farm—or Highcliffe Farm, depending on whom you wish to offend. One must name both or risk mild social unrest. The boundary stone, engraved “T.C. G 1860,” of course refers…
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Bold Venture Gill
The public footpaths through Highcliffe Farm have been diverted. Fascinating. I am sure there is an entirely compelling reason for depriving the public of paths they have used for decades. Perhaps the landowner fancied some peace and quiet, or maybe there was a pressing need to shift things about for reasons too profound for us…
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Highcliff Nab: A Crusty Puzzle
Highcliff Nab today, and an enduring puzzle on its crag face. Nearly the entire surface is smothered in light green lichen, except for one striking vertical band where the rock is inexplicably bare, as though the lichens collectively decided this spot was beneath them. Lichens, those delightful symbiotic oddities born of desperation between fungi and…
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Highcliff Nab and Autumn’s Troubling Showstopper
The woodlands are ablaze with reds, oranges, and yellows in what I might call a “dazzling display,” if I were given to such enthusiasms. Recent rain has kept the trees hydrated, and unseasonably warm weather has delayed their annual shedding. How quaint. I am on my way to Guisborough, following the forest track through Hutton…
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Zen and the Art of Being Out & About
Another gloriously miserable day on the North York Moors, the sort of day where fog clings like a wet blanket over everything, damping one’s bones. I heard later the Great North Air Ambulance had been grounded due to poor visibility. It is, as ever, a perfect day for a bit of being out and about.…
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1939: When Guisborough Welcomed Middlesbrough’s Evacuees
Highcliffe Nab, that well-known sandstone crag that dominates the view from Guisborough, has been the subject of these posts many times. But Kemplah, which sits in its shadow, doesn’t get nearly enough attention. The old settlers clearly thought this promontory was important since there’s evidence of both early British and Roman activity there. The name…
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It were a bit barren on t’moors like, nowt much to see!
A view along the Cleveland Way as it traverses Newton Moor, with the elusive Highcliffe Nab shrouded in mist. The cartulary concerning the founding of Gisborough Priory records a significant route named Melegate, extending from a point on the Percy Cross track, known as Molecros, to Roseberry Common. The Cleveland Way here likely follows the…
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From spoil to… What will this heap become?
I stumbled upon an intriguing new feature in the Cleveland Hills today. Gazing westward, Highcliff Nab stands prominent in the background. A vast expanse of Guisborough Forest had been clear-felled and replanted with conifer seedlings. Amidst this scene, someone had built a conical mound of earth, about three metres high with a flat top. But…