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Highcliffe Nab — observer of history
Guisborough is an ancient place, with a long and varied history. It was important enough during the time of the Conquest to be listed in the Domesday Book, a detailed record of The Conqueror’s ill-gotten gains, although it was of relatively low value, contributing just a few shillings per year to the royal coffers. Over…
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Lord Feversham’s Legacy: A peep into the history of Bilsdale
The main north-south route in the western half of the North York Moors winds through the beautiful Bilsdale valley. From the northern point of Clay Bank to the southern point of Newgate Bank, the dale is dotted with farms that boast vast fields of pasture, all bounded by sturdy dry-stone walls. The farms are enclosed…
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Coal Mining in Baysdale: success or failure?
The North York Moors might not be the first place you think of when it comes to coal mining, but it was actually a thriving industry at the end of the 18th century. Most of the mining areas were located along the high watershed to the south of the Esk valley, like Rudland Rigg and…
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Butts and bullets: A bimble up Butt Lane
Walking up Butt Lane (right of centre in the photo), I couldn’t help but notice the “tree-mendous” (sorry) amount of felling that’s taken place in Guisborough Woods in recent years. And, lo and behold, I saw an obvious path leading upwards. I had never seen it before, which turned out to be the work of…
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The Oak — from shipbuilding to fairies
Newton Wood is a predominately oak woodland below Roseberry Topping. Oak is known as the “King” of trees, with his consort being beech, the “Queen” of the woods. There are two types of oak trees found in Newton Wood: Sessile and Pedunculate. Sessile oak is the more prevalent, with the oldest being located in the…
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National Trust Landscapes: High and Low Lidmoor Farms
From near Stork House on Bransdale Westside, there is a stunning view of the lower dale with the twin farms of High and Low Lidmoor. Hodge Beck is graced with deciduous trees, while on the left side of the photo, on the high ground, stands a commercial conifer plantation. All the land in the photograph…
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Blending into the background: Golden Plovers on the North York Moors
I’m no expert on bird identification, but I think these birds are Golden plover (Pluvialis squatarola) in their winter plumage. I didn’t notice them at first, a flock of about a dozen birds, until they suddenly flew up fifty meters or so in front of me, their white underwings flashing as they flew closely together…
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The old road to Westerdale
The moors are filled with standing stones that span across different periods in history. You can find prehistoric monoliths, medieval structures, and even contemporary edifices scattered throughout the vast terrain. According to the 1853 6″ O.S. map, there is a boundary stone labelled Stockesley Cross located near the ruins of a supposed smugglers’ hideout called…
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Roseberry Common: Reliving an old training route over the bracken
One of my favourite training routes used to be a circuit around Roseberry Common, where I would carefully choose the best path through the varied terrain. I like to revisit this route before the bracken becomes too thick to navigate. When I look at the Topping from this viewpoint, the dominant colours are those of…
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Cock Howe and beyond — A bimble down Arnsgill
A day spent manning the last checkpoint on Cock Howe on the Bilsdale Fell Race. A long day, but I managed to have a bimble down Arnsgill beforehand. At the top of Arnsgill stands Head House, a remote farmhouse that dates from the late eighteenth century and heightened in the first half of the nineteenth…
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