The Pale — Playground of the Percys
Viewed here from Percy Cross Rigg, Capt. Cook’s Monument is just about visible on the highest point of Easby Moor. This eastern end, in the parish of Kildale, is known as Coate Moor and those unforested fields on the spur are labelled “The Pale” on Ordnance Survey maps. It is a relic of one of the three medie ...
http://www.fhithich.uk/2026/03/24/the-pale-playground-of-the-percys/
#CoateMoor #Kildale #Lonsdale #NorthYorkMoors #history #medieval
The Smallest Forest on the Stump
I have discovered an app on my phone that had been hiding in plain sight. The ‘Magnifier’. A small thing, yet it has opened a door. The everyday world has shrunk and turned strange. Tree stumps become miniature forests. Rough wood turns into a map of ridges and valleys.
Peering at a pale green stand of upright stalks on the stump of a c ...
http://www.fhithich.uk/2026/02/07/the-smallest-forest-on-the-stump/
Coate Moor, Larches
A view from the top of Coate Moor towards the head of Kildale, an obsequent valley biting back into the Cleveland escarpment. The glacial upheaval forced the River Leven to scour a narrow gorge through the shales and sandstones below Coate Moor. I have posted about this before.
But Kildale has another, somewhat obscure, point of interest. A map from 1612 sti ...
Beyond the Pale: The Lingering Echoes of Kildale’s Past
The sky was an unnervingly perfect shade of cerulean this morning, while overnight frost clung on stubbornly in the shadows. This is the view from Percy Rigg towards Coate Moor, the back of Captain Cook’s, the monument making a feeble attempt at visibility—you will need ...
http://www.fhithich.uk/2025/02/28/beyond-the-pale-the-lingering-echoes-of-kildales-past/
#CoateMoor #Kildale #Lonsdale #NorthYorkMoors #history #medieval
The Scented Secrets of ‘Mousse de Chêne’
What a delightful day! Bitter, raw, cold enough to freeze your marrow. The wind, a so-called "lazy wind," doesn't bother taking the scenic route around you; it simply chooses the direct route, right through your very being.
Upon Coate Moor, amidst a gap in the trees, a view up Kildale. The young trees hereabouts, mostly rowan although I reckon this is an o ...
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 ...
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
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 … <p class="link-more"><a href="http://www.fhithich.uk/?p=31037" class="more-link">Continue reading<span class="screen-reader-text"> "Ward Nab (aka Cook’s Crags)"</span></a></p>
Another magicial day
The temperature inversion was not quite as dramatic as yesterday. But tomorrow is looking wet so best appreciate the day.
The autumnal colours are particularly good this year with the fallowing of the oaks and beeches. Even the ubiquitous larch is looking splendid.
I came across this old use of the word 'fallow' the other day and I resolved to use it. In this context i ...
Mick Garratt
