Category: North York Moors
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Green Bank and Busby Moor
Here comes the rain. It’s looking ominous. Finally some relief. Looking along the Cleveland Hills from the Raisdale Road. Roseberry is somewhere on the horizon. Open Space Web-Map builder Code
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Cod Beck Reservoir
Considering the weather maybe I shouldn’t have been surprised to see Cod Beck Reservoir so low but I’ve never seen it like this. I suspect Yorkshire Water have deliberately released some of the water, and quite recently, the shore was still soft with a nice aroma. Open Space Web-Map builder Code
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Cottongrass, Hutton Moor
The cottongrass has been particularly good this year. Large swathes of the fluffy white cotton seedheads. Also known as bog cotton and ghost grass although not strictly a grass. It grows well on damp acidic moorland. The seeds and stems are supposed to be edible with its astringent properties used to treat diarrhoea. Wads of…
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Farndale
A quiet and peaceful Farndale, on an overcast morning. If the 1960s plan to flood the dale by the building of a reservoir had come to fruition this scene would have looked totally different. The plan to provide a source of drinking water for the cities of Hull and Sheffield would have covered 400 acres,…
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Shooting butt, Great Ayton Moor
As a 17-year-old, I played wing forward for my school rugby team. We were unassailable, the best in the county. Against one school I remember a 70+ point score. We took it in turns to score. Can such a one-sided game really be classed as a sport? A no lesser body as the United Nations…
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Danby Castle
A castle was first mentioned on this site in 1242, but the oldest parts of the present structure were built by Lord Latimer in the 14th-century to show off his wealth. It has been much adapted over the years including the addition of a farmhouse. The castle stands in a commanding location on the south…
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Poplar Hawk Moth
A distinct lack of sleep last night. Bat surveys at sunset and sunrise followed by an inspection of a moth box left on all night. This little beauty was the king of the box, Poplar Hawk Moth. I guess a 3-inch wingspan. But there are not many poplar trees in Bransdale. Open Space Web-Map builder…
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In the cool of the evening …
… a wander on Great Ayton Moor to watch the sunset. The midges were lively though. Open Space Web-Map builder Code
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Dead Men’s Bells
Have you ever heard of a more absurd name? Foxgloves, gloves for foxes! Foxes don’t have fingers so if anything it should be fox mittens. There are as many folk names for foxgloves as there are counties. Few refer to gloves and fewer to foxes. Bunny rabbit’s mouths, witches thimble, fairies petticoats, elf-caps, clothes pegs,…
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Haggaback Farm
This must be one of the highest farms on the moors. Haggaback Farm stands almost 800 feet above sea level on Commondale Moor. A bleak and exposed spot. Most farms are usually sited in the middle of their network of fields, to minimise distances travelled. Haggaback is strangely at the edge of the high moorland,…