From fhithich.uk
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Following my exhausting cycle ride around Swaledale yesterday, I wisely opted not to stray far today. So instead, here is another photograph from that trip. I was aware of Swaledale’s lead mining l…
#history #swaledale #leadmining #19thcentury #yorkshiredales
3h ago
From fhithich.uk
Thwaite’s Gift to the Natural World: The Lives of the Kearton Brothers
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A typical Swaledale landscape: stone-built cottages in Thwaite and those endlessly fascinating dry-stone walls dissecting the surrounding fields. Many of the walls date from the 18th century, but, …
#history #swaledale #19thcentury #yorkshiredales
23h ago
From fhithich.uk
By Hammer and Hand: A Slice of Hutton-le-Hole‘s History
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A return trip to Hutton-le-Hole turned out to be great timing, since the weather has been pretty dreich. This little village is known for its Quaker history in the 1700s and has that classic Engli…
#history #18thcentury #huttonlehole #northyorkmoors
on Sep 5
From fhithich.uk
Highcliff Nab and Autumn’s Troubling Showstopper
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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 wa…
on Fri, 7PM
From fhithich.uk
The Leaning Larch of Roseberry Common
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A tree of little grandeur—stunted, battered, and twisted by all that the North York Moors can throw at it—leans, barely upright, on Roseberry Common, straining its gnarled branches towards Easby Mo…
on Thu, 10PM
From fhithich.uk
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As you reach the top of Jackson’s Bank, it is hard not to imagine that, at the turn of the last century, weary walkers resting upon these boulders were serenaded by the rather pastoral sounds of ir…
on Wed, 8PM
From fhithich.uk
Westworth Reservoir: Gorse and Other Triumphs of Nature
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In my Guisborough days, I would often run a circuit round Westworth Reservoir. This morning, in a fit of nostalgia, I returned to that old stomping ground. How changed it is. The former reservoir b…
on Tue, 7PM
From fhithich.uk
Roseberry Common and the “Tragedy” of Our Shared Resources
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“Roseberry Common” — the name, so familiar, may scarcely remind us that this is indeed Common land, open for grazing, fuel, and other resources by the Commoners. Though now under the care of the Na…
on Mon, 7PM
From fhithich.uk
Robin Hood’s Bed: Erosion, Myths, and Grouse Shooters’ Wine
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Our return journey across the M62 was, unsurprisingly, rather more foggy than the outward. This, coupled with a smidgen of common sense, deterred any whim to revisit Blackstone Edge. Thus, I here i…
on Sun, 10PM
From fhithich.uk
The Aiggin Stone: a Resilient Guidepost of Blackstone Edge
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On a damp, somewhat joyless morning, we embarked on a foray up Blackstone Edge, detouring briefly from the misery of the M62 to scale this Pennine hill. Past the summit trig. point and “Robin Hood’…
on Nov 9
From fhithich.uk
Crime, Concealment, and Moral Panic in Newton-under-Roseberry
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On the 6th of November, 1847, the Yorkshire Gazette regaled its readers with a dark tale from the village of Newton-under-Roseberry. “Concealment of Child Birth. — On Saturday last, the body of a n…
on Nov 8
From fhithich.uk
The Battle of Brambles: Managing Little Dale’s Wild Side
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The gorse, in its garish yellow splendour, provides the only relief to Little Dale’s dreary winter vista—a scene as lively as a crypt. One marvels that the National Trust, using funds from the esti…
on Nov 7
From fhithich.uk
Raw Impressions: Cleveland Hills Above a Blanket of Mist
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Certainly, nothing whatsoever about this view of the Cleveland Hills evokes the word “recrudescence”—though it is oddly suited to today’s general mood. In the 20th century, “recrudescence” came to …
on Nov 6
From fhithich.uk
Cod Beck Reservoir: The Calm Before the Chaos
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Ah, the poetic serenity of dawn at Cod Beck Reservoir—a perfect place for nature’s calm to lull you into a false sense of security. Mist drapes over the water as greylag geese glide serenely, trees…
on Nov 5
From fhithich.uk
Autumn Leaves and the Forgotten Tradition of Mischief Night
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From the village up to Cliff Rigg, the Hall Fields footpath wends its way through this dense copse, and at most times the trees loom rather ominously, as though a scene from some gothic tale. But t…
on Nov 4
From fhithich.uk
Reeth Revisited—Memories of the Aftermath of the 2019 Flood
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A day in Swaledale, that picturesque valley of the Yorkshire Dales, seemed promising enough, though the weather was somewhat overcast. I climbed High Harker Hill, naturally, as one does, to gain so…
on Nov 3
From fhithich.uk
Whisky, Oats, and Onions: The Drovers’ Passage through Scarth Nick
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In yesterday‘s posting, I told a tale of smugglers darting across the moors, slyly evading the prying gaze of the customs men who, I am sure, looked on in unmitigated fury at their repeated failing…
on Nov 2
From fhithich.uk
Smugglers of the North York Moors
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For some inexplicable reason, I find myself riveted by this ruined barn overlooking above the Esk Valley railway. I have taken to photographing it with a slavish devotion, each time I pass, but usu…
on Nov 2
From fhithich.uk
Armouth Wath: “Here Coal was Expected”
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In March of 1803, a notice in the York Courant trumpeted the forthcoming sale by auction of the “MANOR and DEMESNE of BASEDALE ABBEY,” an estate furnished with a “COALMINE supposed very considerabl…
on Oct 30
From fhithich.uk
Ellen Wilkinson: The Fiery Reformer of Middlesbrough East
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It has been some time since I was last on Eston Nab, that famed vantage point over Teesside, whose views—oh, those familiar scenes—shift and churn like the Tees itself in flood, eternally restless,…
on Oct 29
From fhithich.uk
The Little Egret of Great Ayton
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This morning, I set out with some faint notion of a nature photograph for today’s post. Nothing specific, but as fate would have it, on crossing the bridge over to Waterfall Park, I spotted G…
on Oct 28
From fhithich.uk
Paradise Lost? The Noble Art of Swidden Burning
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Ah, the noble swiddens! That iconic mosaic left by the benevolent, precise art of setting fire to the countryside, all for the good of its charming inhabitants: grouse—who, one imagines, must dance…
on Oct 27
From fhithich.uk
Sun, Sea, and Scallops: Dawn in Amble
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Out & About early to watch the sunrise at Amble’s breakwater. By some miracle of timekeeping, we reached our destination with scarcely a moment to spare, only to find that the most “pleasing” p…
on Oct 23
From fhithich.uk
A Geologist’s Nightmare: Wild Guesses at Dunbar
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A fleeting stopover at Dunbar and a wander along the coastline offered up a geological wonder. The rock formation on the shore was arranged, rather whimsically, in red and grey layers, calling to m…
on Oct 22
From fhithich.uk
The Bridge at Aberfeldy: A Symbol of Wade’s Grand Scheme
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A stroll along the banks of the “Beautiful silvery Tay,” immortalised by William McGonagall, Scotland’s least celebrated poet—a man whose crimes against verse are beyond reproach. To dwell any long…
on Oct 21
From fhithich.uk
Loch Druich: the Lull Before the Storm
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Last night, we found ourselves upon the shores of Loch Druich, that serene lull before the delightful chaos of Storm Ashley. One could not help but note the poetic irony of fleeing eastward from na…
on Oct 20
From fhithich.uk
Dun Telve: An Ancient Scottish Broch
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The Glenelg Brochs, so-called, are of course not actually in Glenelg at all. They are, if one insists on accuracy, in the smaller Gleann Beag, but such a trifling detail is likely of no interest to…
on Oct 20
From fhithich.uk
A Monument to Ingenuity: The Story of Bransdale Mill
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It is said that the waters of Hodge Beck have powered a water mill here in Bransdale since the 13th century. The current range of buildings, a veritable monument to early 19th-century ingenuity, wa…
on Oct 17
From fhithich.uk
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And so the rains came to St. Hilda’s chapel, bringing a somewhat damp close to the archaeological dig season in picturesque Kildale. What mysteries lie behind those enigmatic stone footings — which…
on Oct 10
From fhithich.uk
The Lofty Adventures of Dolly Shepherd at Pickering
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Pickering Castle, a fine subject for waffling about in a blog post. Built originally of wood on a motte, naturally, because William the Conqueror was far too busy harrying the North to bother with …
on Oct 9
From fhithich.uk
From Hill to Hill: Chasing Leys Across the Moors
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I have nearly finished a book recommended to me after a posting about an ancient trackway over the North York Moors. I found a copy of Alfred Watkins’ 1926 book on eBay—naturally, as one finds such…
on Oct 7
From fhithich.uk
The Baysdale Barn That Time Forgot
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Ah, the approach to the decaying edifice—otherwise known as a barn—familiar to anyone who has spent time wandering this remote part of Baysdale. Here I am, hurrying along a bridleway on the norther…
on Oct 6
From fhithich.uk
From Drainage to Divination: The Cheshire Stone’s Secrets
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I recently stumbled upon the theory that a stone – the Cheshire, or perhaps the Cheddar Stone as some insist on calling it – perched on on the edge of Urra Moor, has a natural basin which has been …
on Oct 4
From fhithich.uk
Rosedale Wyke to Ruin: The Decline of Port Mulgrave
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Every time I visit Port Mulgrave, I am struck by how little it changes—save, of course, for the gradual but ceaseless gnawing of the harbour by the North Sea. Today, I didn’t manage to descend to t…
on Oct 3
From fhithich.uk
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Park Nab, a smallish sandstone crag, much favoured by the climbing fraternity, who no doubt delight in the view over Kildale—suggested by some to be the dale of a forgotten Viking named Killi. Perh…
on Oct 2
From fhithich.uk
Echoes of the Leven: A River’s Memory
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A quick photo before raindrops splattered the camera lens. The River Leven is high, a few determined souls brave the weather, and the paths are mostly puddles. I have taken a photo from this spot b…
on Oct 1
From fhithich.uk
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In a move that is sure to leave the squirrels bewildered, the National Portfolio Organisations‘ Wild Rumpus and Festival of Thrift have unveiled their grand plan to transform the tranquil forests o…
on Sep 30
From fhithich.uk
Michaelmas Traditions: From the Devil’s Brambles to Cabbage Wars
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One of my favourite sights is the spectacle of a temperature inversion in Bilsdale, when the mist rolls over the Cleveland Hills like a waterfall, spilling into the plain below. Such was the view t…
on Sep 29
From fhithich.uk
After the Rain: Life on Newton Moor
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A sky of blue is like a breath of fresh air after the dreary weather we’ve been enduring for the past week. It lifts the spirits, reminding us that sunlight still exists. It is not every day that o…
on Sep 28
From fhithich.uk
Great Fryup Dale: Cooking Up Change
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Nestled in the dramatic expanse of the North York Moors National Park, where heather dominates the moors, trees line the becks in the dales, and the coastline is battered by the North Sea, lies Gre…
on Sep 27
From fhithich.uk
The Miner’s Path: From Ironstone to Ypres
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The constant rain has transformed Airyholme Lane into a stream, though it mercifully spills into the field before it reaches the farmyard. I cannot help but wonder what the weather was like on this…
on Sep 26
From fhithich.uk
Geese over the Moor, Jets in the Sky: My Morning Routine Disturbed
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Wednesday mornings have become a predictable affair—each week beginning with a stroll across Battersby Moor. This morning, however, my private reverie were rudely interrupted by the coarse honking …
on Sep 25
From fhithich.uk
Gateposts to Nowhere, Retired Urinal
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I took this photo because of the rather grandiose gateposts that stand in lonely splendour by the footpath near Suggitt’s bridge. These have always intrigued me for they seem far too well-dressed f…
on Sep 25
From fhithich.uk
Zen and the Art of Being Out & About
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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…
on Sep 23
From fhithich.uk
The night lengthens and the day wanes
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Ah, Roseberry on the autumnal equinox – or, perhaps I should say: “a day with not much to see.” At precisely 1:44pm BST, the Earth performed its annual act of balancing on a metaphorica…
on Sep 22
From fhithich.uk
From Widheris to Wether House: A Farmstead’s History
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On Wetherhouse Moor, nature is quietly concealing the remains of a post-medieval farmstead beneath the watchful eye of a solitary sycamore. Of the original three ranges, little can be discerned now…
on Sep 21
From fhithich.uk
Mauley Cross: Linking Ancient Ritual with Regency Enterprise
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Mauley Cross, that modest monument to the caprices of the de Mauley family, likely served as a marker of their grazing rights or, if we are to believe the National Park’s heritage record, a humble …
on Sep 20
From fhithich.uk
Turtle Doves and the Dew Pond of Newton-on-Rawcliffe
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As we pedalled merrily through the village of Newton-on-Rawcliffe, we stumbled upon this delightful little dew pond. It was instantly recognisable from the photographs we’d seen in the Birds on the…
on Sep 19
From fhithich.uk
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This morning’s short walk along Battersby Moor offered this view towards the upper reaches of Baysdale, formerly known as Basedale. From here, you can see the two main tributaries—Black Beck …
on Sep 19
From fhithich.uk
The Golden Gown of Gribdale Gate
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Ah, another splendid day graced with the magic of Autumn! In this view from Gribdale Gate looking down Lonsdale, the summer’s lush bracken has begun to don its golden-brown gown, though the p…
on Sep 17