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 with the wind. The ...

http://www.fhithich.uk/?p=31799

#Kildale #Goldenplover #Pluvialissquatarola

Lonsdale with its confluence with Kildale

We are all familiar with War Memorials in villages and towns throughout the country that record the fallen, yet anything written about the soldiers who served is largely restricted to family histories. Kildale was a sparse community but many families had someone serving abroad.

On 18 February 1916, the Whitby Gazette carried a list of eight Kildale men who were s ...

http://www.fhithich.uk/?p=31584

#Kildale #Lonsdale #NorthYorkMoors #WW1

Spring has begun its journey

A sneak peek over the wall into the grounds of Kildale Hall. This is always a welcome sight at this time of the year. A reminder that spring is just around the corner.

From the photo it looks like it's the snowdrops that dominate, but actually the yellow aconites were more pronounced.

Winter aconites, Evanthis hyemalis, are an import from ...

http://www.fhithich.uk/?p=31465

#Kildale #NorthYorkMoors #flora #snowdrops #Springiscoming #Winteraconites

A familiar scene to many …

... least not Cleveland Way walkers heading south to Helmsley. Walkers going clockwise will be trudging up this bank to Coate moor and Capt. Cook's Monument.

Bankside Farm itself probably dates from the 18th-century, while the distant building to the right is the former manager’s house and workshop for the Coate Moor Iron Company. The drift entrance ...

http://www.fhithich.uk/?p=31110

#Kildale #NorthYorkMoors #ClevelandWay #ironstone #ironstonemining

Ward Nab (aka Cook’s Crags)

Ward Nab on the edge of Coate Moor is much beloved by local climbers who know it simply as Cook's Crags. It overlooks the sleepy village of Kildale — the dale of Chil — and used to host a medieval market. Even in more recent times it had a pub, a post office, and a school.

John Blakeborough writing in the Northern Weekly Gazette in 1904 tells the story ...

http://www.fhithich.uk/?p=31037

#CoateMoor #Cook'sCrags #Kildale #NorthYorkMoors #19th-century

One of the opportunities of winter is the reduction in tree cover

The woodland floor becomes airy and light. New vistas are opened up.

Climbing up the steep path from the River Leven through Bleach Mill Intake my interest was piqued by a stack of dressed stones in the defile below.

Although I don't think the stones are in their original position they are evidence of the bleach m ...

http://www.fhithich.uk/?p=30832

#Kildale #NorthYorkMoors #RiverLeven #19th-century #BleachMill