Supermodels in Yorkshire’s Heather

I’m resisting the temptation to use these early blogs to bore you with information about me and my photography.  My profile, @FootstepsFoto and https://www.facebook.com/FootstepsFotography will provide you with plenty on all that stuff.  The blog is more conducive for imparting knowledge of where to go, little photography tips and relaying tales of adventure, characters, local history and general musings.

You’ll quickly pick up on my desire to get away from the madding crowd.  I’m not conceited enough to think that my blog will be so widely read that presently unheralded places will become immediate honey traps –all the same keep them between just you and I ok…?

The North Yorks Moors National Park, http://www.northyorkmoors.org.uk/, is one such gem, located east of the A1 around the Whitby and Scarborough area.  The proximity of those resorts means plenty of people whiz along the A-roads that border the Park to the north and south.  But if you use your indicator before reaching the coast then a treat awaits.

The best time to visit the North Yorks Moors is late August when the stark moorland bursts into a mass of pink and purple as the glorious heather blooms bright against big skies.  A splendid feature of the Park is the many high moorland roads linking isolated and charming villages.  These vital arteries mean you don’t need to walk for miles to find solitude and to appreciate the moorland beauty.  The Moorsbus services also provide lots of routes in the summer that crisis cross the Park and will drop you off at footpath junctions, car parks, pubs and villages on request.  Most villages have a little chalk board with times listed, [http://www.northyorkmoors.org.uk/moorsbus/].  So there’s no excuse for not exploring the hidden depths and heights.



The Hole of Horcum in 2008

I first visited The North Yorks Moors back in August 2008 and visited the Hole of Horcum and the sea cliffs around Robin Hood’s Bay.  This was in the early days of my growing interest in photography, as the quality of the shot above The Hole of Horcum shows.

The Hole of Horcum is 400 feet deep and was allegedly made by a Saxon giant called Wade, who scooped out of the earth to throw it at his nagging wife.  Or was it created by boring old and slow geology?  Make up your own mind, either way a grand 5-mile walk from Levisham takes you through the Hole and back over the moors - making a grand half-day out.

Upper Rosedale from The Ironstone Railway

My latest visit to the area was just last week and centred on Ryedale and the lovely village of Rosedale Abbey.  If you’re going to Rosedale for the abbey you will be disappointed as it has gone without trace, well its stone is probably in every building in the village– don’t blame me take it up with Henry VIII.   It also boasts to be home to Yorkshire’s favourite pub, The White Horse Farm Inn.  It’s more of a gastro-pub than a beer drinking haven although they serve a descent pint, pleasant enough if you like that sort of thing – my favoured pubs will feature here at some point.  Above Rosedale you will find the Ironstone Railway, or to be more accurate it’s track bed.  It once formed part of an extensive moorland railway or tramway network linking the iron mines to the outer world.  The mines are still evident in these parts and enhance the landscape and its atmosphere.  The railway now provides a superb flat snaking high level route above Rosedale with views into the dale and over to early warning station at Fylingdales.

View North from The Wain Stones

At the northern edge of the North Yorks Moors is the wonderful Cleveland escarpment.  A well maintained and clear path take you from Clay Bank car park on the B1257 over 3 distinct summits – The Wain Stones, Cold Moor and Cringle Moor – with marvellous views over Teesside and the distant Yorkshire Dales and North Pennines.  The Wain Stones is a superb place for photos using the rocks as foreground interest on wide landscape shots.  The viewpoint on Cringle Moor is a lovely spot for lunch and it was here that I bumped into 2 young women, still in their teens and with the looks of supermodels.  Always keen to have a chat I discovered they had just taken up walking and over lunch they picked my brains to find my favourite walks and tips about clothing and equipment.  Can’t recall the last time a teenager asked my advice on clothing – never is the answer if you’re curious.  Hopefully my advice fuelled their interest long into the future.  So if you do come across two supermodels on the summit of Black Fell near Hawkshead you have me to thank…

Cringle Moor: beware of supermodels

Anyway, back to the walk… as you descend Cringle Moor to the west a bridleway going off to the right brings you back under the escarpment through the heather, skirting the pine forests and back to Clay Bank.  In all about 7 miles with several easy climbs over a leisurely 3-4 hours, the bit along the forest can be a bit soggy.  If you get to the car park and the weather isn’t great do the walk in reverse and with luck when you get to the best photo opportunities the light will be better.

So next time you’re bombing up the A1 and decide to go to Whitby and fight the crowds queuing for fish n chips and staggering up the 199 steps to the Abbey think again.  Venture into the moors and dales instead, go in August and you’re sure to leave with a sprig of heather in your radiator and a warm heart with a promise to return.

 

NEXT TIME:  South Pennines: Packhorse Trails and Canals