Gribdale Gate and the Edge of the Ice
A view from Cliff Rigg looking across to Gribdale Gate and Easby Moor, where the monument to Captain James Cook stands like a stubborn finger pointing at the sky. It is a landscape that seems quiet until you realise how much has happened here while human ...
http://www.fhithich.uk/2026/02/24/gribdale-gate-and-the-edge-of-the-ice/
#CaptCooksMonument #ClevelandHills #CliffRigg #EasbyMoor #Gribdale #NorthYorkMoors #geological #history #prehistoric
Grief with a Power Tool
In medieval churches, the pauper’s voice often survives with their graffiti remembering loved-ones on the walls and pews — essential memorials for the 95% of society who couldn’t afford headstones. Today, this vernacular memorialisation has turned toxic. In the North York Moors beneath the monument to Capt. Cook, a sandstone crag—naturally beautiful ...
The Forgotten Lichenologist of Great Ayton: William Mudd
Watching over this popular approach to Easby Moor stand a pair of weathered gateposts, their stone faces mottled with centuries of lichen. They guard the path with the weary dignity of old sentinels, and one cannot help but wonder: did they stand here before Captain ...
http://www.fhithich.uk/2025/11/04/the-forgotten-lichenologist-of-great-ayton-william-mudd/
#CaptCooksMonument #EasbyMoor #GreatAyton #NorthYorkMoors #history
Swifts on Roseberry, Silence on Easby Moor
It has been a while since I last stood on Roseberry, looking down on clouds. And even longer since I came up here on a Saturday. Most seemed to have taken the yellow thunderstorm warning as a cue to stay indoors. Easby Moor, with its pointed monument to Captain Cook, rose clean above the mist.
...
http://www.fhithich.uk/2025/07/19/swifts-on-roseberry-silence-on-easby-moor/
#CaptCooksMonument #EasbyMoor #NorthYorkMoors #RoseberryTopping
Obelisks and Obfuscation: Rethinking Cook’s Monument
Three heavily-laden walkers trudge away from Captain Cook’s Monument towards Gribdale. One of them had, moments earlier, stood on the railings and appeared to kiss the obelisk. Quite what prompted this act of reverence is unclear, but it brought to mind an article I once ...
http://www.fhithich.uk/2025/06/23/obelisks-and-obfuscation-rethinking-cooks-monument/
#CaptCooksMonument #EasbyMoor #NorthYorkMoors #CaptJamesCook #history
A Stone that Once Mattered — A Forgotten Boundary
A low-angle view of a nondescript triangular stone, half-buried in a bleak expanse of dry, brown heather. The pale sandstone stands out against the darker, tangled vegetation, with the occasional patch of golden rushes breaking the monotony. In the distance, the low hi ...
http://www.fhithich.uk/2025/03/21/a-stone-that-once-mattered-a-forgotten-boundary/
#CaptCooksMonument #EasbyMoor #Kildale #NorthYorkMoors #neolithic #Prehistory
Rapeseed Transforms the Vale of Cleveland
The expansive fields of rapeseed, ablaze with its yellow flowers, command this view of the vale of Cleveland from Battersby Moor, presenting a picturesque mosaic of greens and yellows. Rapeseed, grown for its oil, a staple in cooking, fuel, and other products, graces landscapes worldwide, transforming into a breathtaking spectacle during its bl ...
http://www.fhithich.uk/?p=35429
#Battersby #BattersbyMoor #CaptCooksMonument #NorthYorkMoors
Capt. Cook’s Monument
The obelisk to Captain James Cook on Easby Moor, a familiar sight from the Cleveland plain. Cook is a local hero. We all know of his epic voyages to the Pacific, they are taught in schools, but his legacy is being reassessed as we look at events at that time through 21st century eyes.
Cook's official reason for leading his first voyage on the Endeavour was to travel to Tahi ...
Kildale’s Telecoms Mast Dilemma
The picture doesn't quite portray the hurricane-like gusts, making it a struggle to stay upright. Another rain shower is looming, chasing away the previous one in no time.
I'm up on the moor behind Park Nab, looking across Kildale. On the distant skyline, at its highest point, stands Captain Cook's Monument. But something's amiss with the foreground. The ...
Heather’s Purple Dance with Golden Grass
Apart from the swathes of purple heather, there is another colour that resonates with me and epitomises the moors at this time of the year: the golden brown of grasses. These strands of gold flourish abundantly upon the ancient swiddens, gently swaying in the breeze and contrasting with the purple that's nothing short of mesmerising. My inclination is ...
Mick Garratt
