Only a Rosedale, I give you . . .

Posted on March 11, 2013 by

rosedale 1THIS set out to be a hike to the Rosedale iron mines – but I got tangled in a fox hunt and that’s far more entertaining. It was also a day of bewildering signposts, dazzling sunlight, heather fire haze and Yorkshire mud. Oh, and there was an immovable dog in a bedroom window. Can’t say fairer than that, really . . . Continue reading →

Posted in Archaeology, Climbing, Environment, Footpaths, Hiking, History, Hunting, Industrial archaeology, Mountains, Quarrying, Railways, Walking | Tagged , , , | 25 Comments

Mud: It’s Alive and Sticking

Posted on March 4, 2013 by

mud 1MUD. Don’t go there except with your feet. Let it fill your boots and stick like it’s supposed to. But don’t delve any deeper unless you want a shovelful of acronyms . . . Continue reading →

Posted in Environment, Footpaths, Geology, Hiking, History, Life, Ranting, Walking | Tagged | 27 Comments

A Blackpowder Blast From the Past

Posted on February 26, 2013 by

Burlington 1IUSED to blow up huge chunks of Cumbrian hillside for a living. I stopped doing it not through any regard for conservation or the environment, but because I’d noticed that none of my more senior colleagues ever reached retirement age – they faded away through ill health. Too many harsh winters spent in the draughty and inhospitable dampness of a quarry bottom and too much slate dust and nicotine in the lungs would wear a fella down. Continue reading →

Posted in Environment, Explosives, Geology, Hiking, History, Industrial archaeology, Mountains, Quarrying, Railway goods wagons, Ranting, Slate quarries, Walking | Tagged , , , | 25 Comments

Day Return to Bloworth Crossing . . . and Beyond

Posted on February 12, 2013 by

bloworth 1THE mineral line from Ingleby Greenhow to Rosedale didn’t feature in George Bradshaw’s railway guides – so that’s one reason why Michael Portillo hasn’t ventured along it with a film crew. Another reason is the track was lifted long before most of us were born. That doesn’t mean to say it’s not a great journey. It is. On foot . . . Continue reading →

Posted in Archaeology, Climbing, Drove roads, Environment, Footpaths, Hiking, History, Industrial archaeology, Mountains, Railways, Walking | Tagged , , | 21 Comments

Stanwick Camp – A Thorn in the Foot

Posted on January 30, 2013 by

stanwick 1a HUSH and hide behind this bank of briars while cavalry passes. Petilius Cerialis has sent his army north from York to conquer the Brigantes and drive young warriors from their fortress. Hear the clank of iron and snorting horses. Rome never looks where she treads. Always her heavy hooves fall . . . Continue reading →

Posted in Archaeology, Environment, Footpaths, Great North Road, Hiking, History, Iron Age, Life, Stone Circles, The Romans, Walking | Tagged , | 32 Comments

Circling the Wagons Beneath High Noon Hill

Posted on January 16, 2013 by

bilsdale 1IT’S one of those days when nothing goes right, when the most straightforward of plans unravels and you stand in mist and rain with water trickling down your neck, and wonder what possessed you to swing your legs out of bed at 7am on a dark winter’s morning . . . Continue reading →

Posted in Country Land and Business Association, Environment, Footpaths, Hiking, Mountains, Northern Echo, Ranting, Walking | Tagged , | 31 Comments

Climbing Cielo – as Swallows Come Back to Capistrano

Posted on January 9, 2013 by

cielo 1THERE’S a dusting of frost in the hollows and fresh snow on the higher peaks. A cold early-morning breeze steals down the valley and rustles branches above a forest car park. Strange to see bushes laden with oranges on the drive to Nerja, and fields of peas on the outskirts of Salobreña. Doesn’t look like the middle of winter – although in the icy dawn shadows it certainly feels like it . . . Continue reading →

Posted in Caving, Climbing, Environment, Hiking, Ink Spots, Mountains, Music, Potholing, Walking | Tagged , , , | 10 Comments