Tag: National Trust

  • Yorkshire’s Pride: The Enduring Allure of Roseberry Topping

    Yorkshire’s Pride: The Enduring Allure of Roseberry Topping

    It has been some time since I inflicted a post about Roseberry Topping upon the world, the conical-shaped hill that looms over this northeastern corner of what is the historical county of Yorkshire, albeit a recycling of previous posts. Local pride being what it is, they have long called it ā€œt’ highest hill i’ all…

  • Mother Shimble’s Snick-needles

    Mother Shimble’s Snick-needles

    The famous Bluebells of Newton and Cliff Rigg Woods are having a lie-in. Give them a week, perhaps, before they are at their best. Meanwhile, the true prima donna of the woodland floor is the Greater Stitchwort, cluttering the place with its endless sprinkling of white, star-shaped flowers that seem to think themselves terribly precious.…

  • The Cuckoo’s Shoe

    The Cuckoo’s Shoe

    Yesterday I posted about the Cuckoo. Today, naturally, it is the Cuckoo’s Shoe — not, alas, footwear for birds, but yet another whimsical provincial name, this time for the Dog Violet. A harmless enough little flower, though my encounter this morning has sent me spiralling into yet more botanical trivia. The woodland floor is having…

  • Bransdale’s Dry-Stone Walls: Standing Strong, Sometimes

    Bransdale’s Dry-Stone Walls: Standing Strong, Sometimes

    Dry-stone walls are everywhere on the North York Moors and in other rocky parts of Britain, mostly because they are built to last and farmers found plenty of stones lying around. The concept is hardly original; versions of these walls have existed since Neolithic times, and from Europe to Africa. The idea is simple: pile…

  • A Brief and Unnecessary Guide to Burrs

    A Brief and Unnecessary Guide to Burrs

    When I was a lad, I remember a Saturday morning BBC Radio programme called Children’s Favourites. One of the songs frequently played was I Know an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly, sung by an American named Burl Ives. I thought Burl was an cool name. At the time, I had no idea that ā€˜burl’…

  • Hall Wood, Farndale

    Hall Wood, Farndale

    A pleasant little wander around Farndale on another bitterly cold Ā morning. The route, regrettably, was largely tarmac, because the North York Moors, in their wisdom, provides very few Public Rights of Way in the dale bottom away from the ever popular daffodil trail. By chance, we came across Hall Wood, a rather unpretentious National Trust…

  • Tarn Hows

    Tarn Hows

    Yesterday, I reflected on my perceived sorry state of Tarn Hows, now resembling the aftermath of a minor apocalypse. The larches, felled due to the ravages of Phytophthora ramorum, are gone, and the recent storms have left a trail of destruction. One might be reminded of those eerie photos of the Tunguska event. While the…

  • Slippery Paths and Roseberry’s Summerhouse

    Slippery Paths and Roseberry’s Summerhouse

    A supposedly ā€œgentlerā€ path to the top of Roseberry Topping winds up the southern side from the Summerhouse Field. After last night’s heavy rain, the path has become a veritable death trap, with these walkers wisely prefering the rough grass for better footing. Ascending it is manageable, but descending? Practically suicidal. Avoiding the path might…

  • Feeding Time at Clumber Park

    Feeding Time at Clumber Park

    Our annual family pilgrimage to the Dukeries of Nottinghamshire took place on a day so bitterly cold it felt as if the wind was personally attacking us. Two years since our last visit to Clumber Park, and it seems the National Trust has turned the festive season into a commercial extraganza. Extra off-road parking, a…

  • Roseberry Topping’s Hedgerow: A Conservation Success Story

    Roseberry Topping’s Hedgerow: A Conservation Success Story

    Hedgerows, those underappreciated lines of greenery crisscrossing the countryside, are not just decorative. They actually serve a purpose: holding soil in place, shielding livestock from the elements, and making rotational grazing less of a logistical headache. They also connect habitats, encourage biodiversity, and even drag a bit of carbon out of the atmosphere. Of course,…