Category: North York Moors
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Turkey Nab: Echoes of Ancient Roads and Swift Justice
I parked at Bank Foot, below Turkey Nab, a name thought to come from the local term for grouse: wild turkeys. More plausibly, it originates from Thurkilsti, the name of the ancient drovers’ road running from Ingleby Greenhow to Kirbymoorside, mentioned in Walter Espec’s grant of land to Rievaulx Abbey in 1145. From Bank Foot,…
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The PM’s Gaffe — Reflections on a Wet Morning Walk
The morning walk began with a dreary wetness, and soon I found myself struggling through an encroaching jungle of bracken. I also began musing on the nature of television in my youth; this is in light of our esteemed Prime Minister’s blunder last week. I recalled a friend’s parents acquiring a colour television set. The…
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The Peasants’ Revolt — A Local Connection
On this day in 1381, Richard II met the leaders of Wat Tyler’s Peasants’ Revolt on Blackheath. The rebels stormed the Tower of London and entered without resistance. This revolt, though ultimately a failure, came to be seen as a harbinger of the decline of serfdom in medieval England. It heightened awareness among the upper…
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A Sea of Cotton on Newon Moor
One of the summer spectacles of acid bogs and wet heaths is the Common cottongrass, Eriophorum angustifolium. This plant, with its silky white seed-heads, creates a striking scene, whitening whole patches of bog. Beyond this visual charm, Cottongrass is rather unremarkable and underutilised. Efforts to produce usable thread from the seed-plumes have failed due to…
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Rescue at Roseberry: The 1929 Shale Slide
Back in sunny Cleveland, and I am in search of a new morsel of information to accompany a familiar sight. On this day in 1929, Ralph Elliott, a miner from Great Ayton, had a narrow escape. Working with several others at the “Roseberry mine bank bottom”, he ascended a spoil tip to release shale. Suddenly,…
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Beyond Rabbits, Lies Plastic—The Cost of Trees Guards
Wandering through Newton Wood on this beautiful morning, I felt the long-awaited arrival of spring. Sunlight gently filtered through the canopy, illuminating the lush greenery of wild garlic blanketing the woodland floor. Ascending further, I passed through an azure sea of bluebells, heralding the season alongside the blooming rowan and holly. On Roseberry Common, this…
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A Little Bit of Bread and no Cheese
The song of the yellowhammer resonates with a quaint charm, often likened to ‘a little bit of bread and no cheese,’ a delightful call immortalised by Enid Blyton in her tales and verses. Males serenade the countryside with their melodies during spring and summer, adorning our open spaces. Resembling a canary in appearance, the males…
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Tripsdale Head — from Monastic Grange to 17th Century Shieling
This morning I had the chance to visit Tripsdale Head in the North York Moors, an area I’ve often admired from afar at Low Cable Stones — visible in the photograph on the skyline. It looked an inviting spot oozing with history amidst its lush pastures. Tripsdale rises on a gentle slope on the moorland…
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A Giant’s Tantrum — The Making of Blakey Topping
Legend has it that Blakey Topping, that iconic North York Moors hill, isn’t just a natural wonder — it’s the epic handiwork of a grumpy giant! Volunteering with the National Trust, I’ve been helping repair fences around the north end, right where the legend begins. The story goes that Wade, a giant with a temper…
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Rapeseed Transforms the Vale of Cleveland
The expansive fields of rapeseed, ablaze with its yellow flowers, command this view of the vale of Cleveland from Battersby Moor, presenting a picturesque mosaic of greens and yellows. Rapeseed, grown for its oil, a staple in cooking, fuel, and other products, graces landscapes worldwide, transforming into a breathtaking spectacle during its bloom. Easby Moor,…