Westerdale News

Smoke and Frost

2012-01-16T16:54:00.001Z

Christmas Events Schedule

2011-12-19T16:24:00.001Z

- From 'Westerdale Way'

Dry November

2011-11-21T17:51:00.003Z

The unusually dry spell has enabled some heather burning to be done, but the short days mean available time is limited.
Dusk falls quickly which can mean the last burn of the day can look spectacular (but not out of control at all).

November sun

2011-11-07T18:19:00.001Z

The days are getting very short again, but when the sun is out the low lighting is very photogenic.

Peak colour

2011-10-28T17:46:00.001+01:00

It won't last long, but it's nice while it's here.

Sheep!

2011-10-24T19:16:00.003+01:00

Some of Paul's Blackface sheep on the Ralphs Cross road.
They are looking very fit this time of year.

New cattle grids

2011-10-12T13:09:00.002+01:00

A new grid was installed on the road to New House Farm in August, and another is almost done on the Esklets road near Riddings.

Wool away day

2011-10-03T20:30:00.003+01:00

Wool is supposed to be worth almost twice as much this year, in particular China is a keen buyer.
In recent years the price received has not covered the costs of shearing so the improvement is encouraging.

The large lorry takes wool from a number of farms in Westerdale, Castleton, Commondale and Danby.

Autumn sun

2011-09-25T20:17:00.003+01:00

The golden tones of autumn are becoming evident as September draws to a close.

Online Jig-Saw

2011-09-21T21:14:00.002+01:00

http://www.jigsawplanet.com/?rc=play&pid=072d7a998f9d

This is rather fun and surprisingly like 'The real thing'.
Tip - you'll hear a click if your piece is correct!
- Move the pieces by holding the mouse, release to stop.

You can make your own by going to www.jigsawplanet.com
You don't even need to log-in.

Himalayan Balsam

2011-09-09T16:22:00.004+01:00

I noticed a few plants of this growing on the banks of The Esk near the cricket ground.
It's considered a serious invasive species but at least is relatively easy to tackle, unlike Japanese Knotweed!
If you see young plants it really is a good idea to do away with them on the spot, as when they become well established they can cover large areas and shade out all other plants.

Related to 'Bizzy Lizzies' the plant is not unattractive, but please don't let it get out of control and become a serious problem like in the lower reaches of the Esk.
You can simply dig them up or cut repeatedly, they are quite easily killed with Glyphosate or a selective weedkiller such as might be used for thistles.
The main thing is to stop them seeding as they produce very large numbers of seeds which can fire from the pods for a considerable distance.
http://www.northyorkmoors.org.uk/archived-news/?id=620

Purple turns to gold

2011-09-08T21:29:00.003+01:00

Hall Farm and Sugarloaf from John Breckon road.

Misty September evening

2011-09-04T21:17:00.003+01:00

After a little rain in the afternoon of the 4th, mist readily formed in the evening with no wind and clearing sky.

Village Hall PV units installed

2011-08-19T13:51:00.000+01:00

Heather in the gloom

2011-08-13T20:58:00.001+01:00

August has been rather wet so far and sunshine in short supply.
The heather is blooming enthusiastically for the next few weeks as always.

Rosedale History Society Events

2011-07-22T19:40:00.002+01:00

Rosedale Show Day - Saturday, 20th August.
We will be sharing a marquee with The North East Yorkshire Geology Trust once again this year. We do hope you will be able to visit us if you are coming to the show.

On 10th and 11 September we are holding our Annual Weekend History Event at Updale Reading Room, Rosedale East. This informal event brings in many of our histohttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifry supporters and visitors, who can enjoy a guided walk to East Mines on both afternoons in the company of the history society and a professional geologist. There will be the usual display of photographs archive and research material and this year we are celebrating the 150th Anniversary of the opening of the Rosedale Branch Railway with the help of project partners from Kirby, Great Broughton and Ingleby Greenhow with some fascinating new material.

The North East Yorkshire Geology Trust will have a fossil display, and we hope to have our very own Rosedale fossils displayed for the first time!

Excellent refreshments, a raffle with super prizes, sales of new trails and guides, and free parking. We look forward to seeing you.
Further details: http://rosedale.ryedaleconnect.org.uk/history

Linda Chambers

Solar Power

2011-07-17T20:38:00.006+01:00

Westerdale currently has three solar installations earning about 43p/Kwh from the feed-in tarifs.
Nigel has put together the flyer below with more information.
(click image)

1940s map

2011-07-01T13:28:00.003+01:00

Whitby and surrounding area.
http://maps.nls.uk/os/view/?sid=74466886

Interesting how many subtle changes there have been in the spelling of place names.
Also many tracks are now roads and many tracks shown where there are none.
now.
On the Whitby map above ^ you can also see the long removed coastal railway route.

Index of others - http://maps.nls.uk/os/oneinch_new_popular_list.html

The Knights Templar

2011-06-30T13:56:00.006+01:00

Westerdale is often mentioned in connection with the Knights Templar although there is little hard evidence of them being here beyond a few carved stones in the Church.
Dave Cole pointed out a piece in The Guardian which is worth reading.
The link should remain live for many months.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/the-northerner/2011/jun/27/whatever-happened-to-the-knights-templar

This is the main section related to their activity in Yorkshire but the entire piece is an interesting read.

Yorkshire the heartland

Yorkshire, aside from London, was the heartland of Templar influence in England, supplying both men and money to the cause, based on its strong agricultural and woollen economy.

So important were the Templars' holdings in the county that a 'chief preceptor' or ' master' was appointed for Yorkshire from early times.
The Yorkshire estates of the Templars consisted of the preceptories of Copmanthorpe (with the Castle Mills of York), Faxfleet, Foulbridge, Penhill, Ribston, Temple Cowton, Temple Hirst, Temple Newsam, Westerdale, and Whitley, and the manors of Alverthorpe and Etton.

At one time in Yorkshire, the Templars were able to luxuriate in the unrivalled position of being exempt from taxes, and many of their workers and tenants also enjoyed this privilege.

Dozens of houses and pubs across Yorkshire still bear the Templar cross – a sign to many that the building was a Templar holding – though many unscrupulous landowners also displayed the sign in the hope of dodging tax.
But just as the Order was reaching the peak of its powers in Yorkshire and in Europe, it was rapidly dissolved, and many of the Templar buildings were left to ruin.

Silage time again

2011-06-26T11:29:00.002+01:00

Due to the dry spring, growth seemed slow this year, but the June rain might have saved the day.
Made it difficult to catch a dry window for harvesting though!

June evening

2011-06-16T21:52:00.004+01:00

Nice soft light for photos.

Church tower

Curious cows

Westerdale Hall

Ox-Eye daisy

Sun and shadow

2011-06-01T22:29:00.003+01:00

One of the fascinating things through the summery months is watching clouds and their shadows sliding by.
Speeded up 10x !

Bluebells

2011-05-19T21:56:00.002+01:00

The brief glory is starting to fade once more.

Fleeting moment

2011-05-14T21:25:00.003+01:00

A late flash of sunlight on the village and Church.
Shower clouds behind once again failed to deliver any useful rain.

BBC Domesday project reloaded

2011-05-11T22:02:00.000+01:00

http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/domesday/dblock/GB-464000-504000/picture/1

The link above should take you to the Westerdale entry in the BBC project from 1986.
They are inviting updates to the original two pictures and description.
The 1986 project rather jumped the gun as in truth computer technology at the time was barely up to the job.

The information was stored on large discs about the size of an LP record.
You had to have a particular machine that could read the discs and it cost £5000 or more - very few were ever bought.
The format used on the laser discs was very different to modern computers and has needed a form of conversion to be accessible again.

Follow up to John Breckon road pictures

2011-05-10T09:00:00.007+01:00

The pictures below from late April triggered an email from Canada with interesting information.

I frequently check the Westerdale News site and was pleasantly surprised to see that someone had posted a picture of the village from John Breckon road. In 2009 we, as a family, were fortunate to take a trip to England which included a side trip to Westerdale. None of us had been to Westerdale before. It was special to myself and my son of the same name to have our pictures taken on this road. There was no sign post at the end of the road which I has noted in other pictures which had been posted by hikers. Some men were working up the road and assured us that we had the right place.

Our family records show that a John Breckon emigrated to Appleby, Ontario, Canada in 1831 from the parish of Westerdale and the post town was Gisborough. There has always be a John Breckon in this county from that time on.

We really enjoyed Yorkshire and especially Westerdale and hope to get back some time to further explore.

It is strange that the family has been over here for so many years yet I feel very " at home " in Yorkshire. I have enclosed a link to a document at a library here which is quite interesting.
http://images.oakville.halinet.on.ca/details.asp?ID=59061

Regards,
John Breckon and family

The link shows a questionaire filled in by the original Mr John Breckon who emigrated from Westerdale - done some years after he arrived.
It seems he was one of the earliest arrivals in Appleby, Ontario.
Hard work clearing virgin farmland - and a no doubt a degree of luck meant the family had prospered since arriving with just a few pounds.

Thanks John for the fascinating historical information.

Late April

2011-04-30T20:25:00.005+01:00

Some evening pictures from the last day of April.

Crop of Village Hall and Church from John Breckon road.

John Breckon road from near Haggaback

Early spring

2011-03-19T20:46:00.001Z

March has been very dry but sunny days have been rather few so far.

National Park priorities

2011-01-18T14:01:00.002Z

The North York Moors National Park faces a 21.5% reduction in income over the next four years.
They would like to hear your views on what should be given higher priorities.
There's a short online survey you can fill out here - Ends 18th March 2011
(no name or contact details needed)

The only open road

2010-12-01T18:28:00.006Z

Doesn't look too good even for 4x4 vehicles.
This afternoon near Castleton.

Sky News drop in

2010-11-29T18:17:00.001Z

Christmassy snow panorama

2010-11-27T16:39:00.004Z

Snow depths are getting silly for November with more than a foot of powdery snow in the dale, and more on the moors.
Wind is causing some drifting now too.

Village View

2010-10-16T14:52:00.003+01:00

A bright autumnal day after recent gloomy few days - 16th October

Wet start to October

2010-10-03T20:18:00.007+01:00

The 2nd was dry, but on the First we had 30mm, and on the Third there was 42mm.
Early afternoon on Sunday the 3rd was especially wet with a peak rain rate of 288mm per hour!
The Esk rose to it's highest level of the year so far and water streamed down from the moors and fields.

The next couple of weeks are likely to be much drier thank goodness.

Water begins to flow over the road at Osseker Crook Bridge

Tower Beck ford

Hunters Sty ford

Changes to the refuse collection

2010-09-10T13:50:00.003+01:00

From the 20th of September, the usual day will change from Tuesday to Monday.
The first different week (Monday 20th) will be a green bin day.

Christmas:
Monday 27th will be picked up on Wednesday December 29th.
New Year:
Monday 3rd January will be picked up on Thursday January 6th.

Easter:
Monday 18th April will be picked up on Saturday 16th April

Mayday:
Monday 2nd May will be picked up on May 3rd.
Spring bank holiday:
Monday May 30th will be picked up on Tuesday 31st.

August Bank Holiday:
Monday 29th picked up on Tuesday 30th.

Recent pictures from the Esklets

2010-08-29T15:38:00.002+01:00

These shots from around The Esklets area were sent in by Nigel Wilson.
The Esklets is probably among the least accessible parts of the moors and many people don't realise it is there!

Upcoming events

2010-08-20T17:51:00.004+01:00

Saturday August 28th, 3-5pm
Tea at Pinfold for Church funds
(in Village Hall if wet)

Friday September 3rd, 7pm
Sewing group at Pinfold

Monday September 6th 7.30pm
Village Hall, History and Artifacts meeting

Friday September 10th, 8pm.
Star Party! View the sky with the Experts.
Organised by the Bradbury Centre.

Saturday 18th September 10am-4pm
Village Hall Sewing Machine
workshop

Saturday October 9th 10am-4pm
Village Hall Patchwork and Quilting workshop.

More details on the Westerdale Village Hall website
www.villagehall.westerdale.info

Westerdale circular walk

2010-08-18T09:55:00.002+01:00

Well done photography in this short slideshow of a circular walk starting at Castleton.
- Early September 2009 -

Very big panoramic

2010-08-17T14:20:00.006+01:00

The full size of this is about 1MB but an interesting picture to download and view at full size.
It's no less than 15 shots overlapped and stitched together!

HD video from same place.
Note: older computers and slow connections will struggle, but try - select 720p HD lower right.

Mobile phone coverage

2010-07-27T22:57:00.004+01:00

Danby Parish Council are engaged in a concerted effort to improve the coverage round the area as it is clear the half-hearted mini-mast thing Orange have on The Howe is very poor even when you can see it!

Orange have been typically arrogant with their response; they do not want to know because they would rather fight for customers in town where there is already a choice of networks and even proper 3G data [shock!]

Letters have been sent to Robert Goodwill MP, his responses seem to suggest little interest but may be worth following up.
Probably the best plan would be to get the media involved - they don't like that!

Robert Goodwill MP

Orange PCS LTD
St James Court
Great Park Road
Almondsbury Park
Bradley Stoke
Bristol
BS32 4QJ

Email to Orange is unlikely to do any good.
No matter how much detail you include, they will tell you to turn your handset off and on again, or stand near a window.
You cannot get beyond this level of 'service' unless you write a letter.

When the equipment was originally put on The Howe, the plan was for a mast about 50% taller - which would have reached Westerdale village and been at least somewhat better all round.
At the planning stage certain individuals pressed for the pole to be made of wood so it would look better.
This necessitated a shorter pole with reduced coverage.
The Howe is far from the ideal location, it was only chosen as there was already a pole there with a TV relay for the lower parts of Castleton and Danby Dale.

It's high time a more usable service was available to most of the area

Chilly May

2010-05-27T23:02:00.004+01:00

May has continued the very dry spell which began early April.
There have been 5 air frosts which is unusual, but the 12th and 13th went down to -4.3C and -4.4C.
This is very low for May and unsurprisingly there has been considerable damage to new shoots especially in the valley bottom where it was even colder.

Old Beech trees at Osseker Wood show more damage near the ground.

Beech shoots close-up (Castleton road)

Even tough old Sycamores have been badly scorched in some cases.

May weather data on North York Moors weather.

The messageboard calendar

2010-05-04T23:12:00.003+01:00

The messageboard software has been updated recently, and a feature which could be useful is The Calendar.
Anyone can view this, but to add an event you need to register and log-in.

Tick awareness

2010-04-28T09:54:00.004+01:00

With the recent warmer weather, ticks are becoming active and looking for a feed.
It's important to be aware that they are widespread on the moors and adjacent areas, especially in places with lots of bracken.
Ticks can carry infectious disease e.g. Lymes disease which is quite serious.
This site gives practical advice about minimising the risk of being bitten and the best way to remove them.
http://www.bada-uk.org/
(scroll down to Defence Pages)

In particular do not apply any sort of chemical to the tick as this is unlikely to make it fall off and it will probably regurgitate stomach contents into victim.
Use tweezers or a special tool to remove it without squeezing the body.

(big) black cats

2010-04-20T18:43:00.003+01:00

There's been two recent sightings of a large black cat on the moor.
It may have been sheltering in old jet mines and living on rabbits.
Would anyone like to comment further, or have you seen it?
It was not a particularly large animal, about the size of a labrador dog.

Here's a website about them, and google finds much more information.

This is the sort of thing that *might* be there.

Google Streetview

2010-03-11T19:38:00.008Z

Google have recently increase the area covered by high resolution streetview images.
It looks like they covered this area in February 2009 while the snowdrops were out.
The images below are computer screen captures from it.

To use streetview zoom in on google maps here:
http://maps.google.co.uk/maps

When you get close enough to clearly make out roads, drag the little yellow man onto the place you want to view.
You can travel backwards and forwards, rotating the compass dial allows you to look at the roadsides too.

Did anyone see the car going through?
This image on Lead Lane gives an idea what it looked like because you can see the shadow!

Requesting grit for bins or heaps

2010-02-08T23:38:00.007Z

The never-ending cold this winter means most if not all the roadside salt piles have been mostly used up.

Until recently it was possible to ring up Whitby Highways if salt piles or bins needed topping up, but in their quest for efficiency(!) North Yorkshire Council have changed that number to 0845 872 7374 which directs you to Northallerton.
Someone will then attempt to locate where you are talking about - but they will have no idea where Westerdale is let alone the detail of a dangerous bank or bend.

You can use this online form or email them at winter.maintenance@northyorks.gov.uk to ask that they be topped up as soon as possible.
Note, the online form only allows a couple of sentences to describe the location.

The official line is that due to depleted stocks each request will be considered individually. If ice or snow on a section of road constitutes a real danger it's more likely they will respond.

It's rather irksome that it has being made more difficult to inform them that grit is needed, when they have just announced increased council tax to pay for the additional gritting!
Most salt comes from Boulby mine just over the hill anyway.

Gritting routes are shown below - blue #1 priority. purple #2 priority.

Digging out at the Lion Inn

2010-01-14T22:22:00.007Z

The road over to Kirkbymoorside has been closed for several days due to drifting snow and there are still several minor roads blocked today.
Here are some pictures taken this afternoon 14th January, and below, a video I found on youtube from earlier in the week, when the wind was bad and a group were stranded at the Lion Inn.

New Year snow from space

2010-01-06T22:21:00.006Z

Midday on 6th of January 2010.

Snow cover has persisted since the 17th of December, despite a slow thaw between Christmas and New Year.
There now seems to be almost 18 inches of lying snow which would drift very easily should the wind pick up.
There has been problems with drifting snow over the moors already but nothing too extreme as yet.

Last weekend there were problems on Blakey Ridge see this story in Yorkshire Post

The Danby Surgery

2009-12-11T20:09:00.003Z

Just found the new website for the local doctor which may be worth bookmarking.
There's useful information, for example about what to do out of hours and more.
You can also sign up for an email newsletter.
It's listed on the left too. (may need to scroll down)
www.danbysurgery.nhs.uk

Bin collection days

2009-12-09T13:30:00.002Z

http://scarborough.gov.uk/pdf/refuse-collection-weeks-1-and-2-2010.pdf

Christmas and Winter Schedule

2009-11-04T19:05:00.002Z

As always the Christmas and New Year period is quite busy in the village,
and has come around with the usual inexplicable speed.

Sheep sale season

2009-10-23T19:00:00.005+01:00

Sheep farming is as important in Westerdale as it's ever been,
and the Autumn is an important time with several large sheep sales
when farmers buy and sell this years lambs and replacement ewes and rams.

Here's a few pictures from the recent sale on the old Airfield at Wombleton.
This sale was originally the Fadmoor sheep sale, but has moved to this larger site
with good hard standing on the old runways for the vehicles.

Getting ready for Spring

2009-10-11T16:01:00.005+01:00

The Council have been clearing ditches, and setting kerb stones around some of the junctions to stop the edge of the tarmac breaking away.

The bare soil at Crown House road end seemed an excellent opportunity for these youthful gardeners to put in some daffodil bulbs.
I wonder if they'll remember planting them when the blooms appear in March 2010?

Heather !

2009-08-19T00:55:00.008+01:00

It's that time of year again, when for about a month the moor tops are a splendid sight with immense areas of purple.

People are often surprised how late the main show starts, and sometimes assume the patches of Bell heather in June are what it looks like.

Heather is also known as Ling, the Latin name is Calluna Vulgaris.
As usual, Wikipedia has surprising information.
Did you know Heather is a member of Ericacea family and so related to Rhododendrons, Bilberry and Juniper?

Westerdale has some of the best heather in the North York Moors - which in turn have some of the best displays in the UK - and heather moorland is a rarity outside the British Isles.
The moors are not truly natural and need regular maintenance to favour heather and bilberry.
The mainstay of this is rotational burning of small areas in sequence through the Winter, this stops scrub encroaching in the lower areas and the patchwork of plants of different ages gives ideal conditions for moorland birds as there will be short young growth a short distance from tall old heather which gives shelter on the wildest days.
Without controlled burning large amounts of old dead material would build up, creating extreme risk of devastating hot fires in dry summer spells. At this time of year the peat is dry enough to catch fire also and would burn for months once alight.
The Winter burning is a 'cool' fire which cannot ignite underlying peat.

Westerdale is also notable for the lack of bracken beds.
This is mainly due to Jonathan Morley, a previous estate owner who made a tremendous difference by extensive aerial spraying with Asulox.
Only now more than a decade later is the full benefit evident with heather and bilberry well established on the slopes which were once dominated almost entirely by toxic bracken.

Esklets road

History of Westerdale from 1923

2009-08-17T23:14:00.004+01:00

"A History of the County of York North Riding: Volume 2"

An interesting read about early history of Westerdale can be found online here.

I'll quote the main section about Westerdale here but there is much more relating to Baysdale and the area in general.

"The parish is composed of the township of Westerdale and hamlets of Baysdale and Esklets, all lying in lofty, narrow valleys among the Cleveland Hills. Its area is 9,914 acres of land, of which 663 acres are arable, 1,570 acres permanent grass, 9 acres woods and plantations, and the rest grouse moor covered with heather and bracken, rising from the dales where the height is about 600 ft. to a height of 1,500 ft. above ordnance datum. An Inclosure Act was obtained in 1810–11.

The earliest recorded lords, the Balliols of Barnard Castle, held the forest called first Westerdale, then Baysdale and finally Stokesley. The second Bernard de Balliol held this in the latter half of the 12th century, and between 1240 and 1251 Ada de Balliol granted half the forest of Baysdale to Hugh de Eure. This moiety subsequently descended with the manor of Stokesley; it was described in 1716 as 'a large forest or moor called Stokesley and Stockdale Moor,' extra-parochial, containing 2,500 acres, and still appears as the forest of Stokesley in 1790. Between 1154 and 1181 the second Bernard de Balliol granted to Rievaulx Abbey 2 oxgangs of land in Westerdale, pasture for 120 animals throughout his forest of Westerdale, and in connexion with this pasture a house and close near Wooddale Beck (Wulvedalebec) by 'Hogthaith.' With the consent of his forester the canons might set snares to entrap wolves, and their shepherds when threatened by wild beasts or thieves might freely blow their horns. The abbey was assessed for 11s. 4d. subsidy in Westerdale in 1301–2.

Barrows here have been opened and in two an axe-hammer and other prehistoric remains have been found; there are earthworks on Crown End.

The subsoil is upper and lower lias and inferior oolite, the soil peat and clay. There is no record of iron mining, but this was carried on by Rievaulx Abbey in the adjacent parish of Danby, and besides the Hole Pits there are eight slag or 'Cinder' hills in Westerdale. Jet of inferior quality was worked for a short time.

The population is entirely agricultural, the products of the district being butter, cheese, cattle and wool. Of late years great attention has been paid to the breeding of horses, sheep and cattle."

July downpours

2009-07-23T21:31:00.007+01:00

July this year as had it's fair share of rain, and often very heavy when it falls.
So far (23rd) the total is about 130mm, 5 inches.
Notably there was 25mm on the 3rd, 52mm on the 17th and 18mm on the 23rd.

This is as nothing compared to the deluge commencing on 20th July 1930.
The following clips are from The Times newspaper.
It's evident that the higher ground from Egton to Danby and Castleton received considerably more than the coast.
We might assume that much of the Esk catchment over the high moors had totals approaching 20 inches.
The chart shows a similar situation to this year on the 17th - A slow moving low pressure system in the southern North Sea.
Fortunately this year it moved away quite rapidly, and about 2 inches fell in 24 hours.
The 1930 total was almost 12 inches at Castleton over four days.

This flood damaged several bridges and swept away the dam which served Westerdale Mill.

Wildflowers and plants around the village

2009-07-08T12:59:00.005+01:00

Carol Wilson has noted all the plants found more or less within the village; there will be a more extensive list of wildflowers noticed throughout the dale later

Wildflowers within the village of Westerdale 2009

Annual meadow gr. Poa annua
Ash Fraxinus excelsior
Bird’s foot trefoil, gr Lotis pedunculatus
Bittercress, large Cardamine amara
Bluebell Hyocynthoides non-scripta
Bracken Pteridium aquilinum
Bramble Rubus fruiticosus
Broom Cytisus scoparius
Burdock, lesser Arctium minus
Buttercup, creeping Ranunculus repens
Buttercup, meadow R. acris
Campion, red Silene dioica
Celandine, lesser Ranunculus ficaria
Chickweed Stellaria media
Cleavers Galium aparine
Clover, white Trifolium repens
Cocksfoot Dactylis glomerata
Coltsfoot Tussilago farfara
Comfrey, Russian Symphytum uplandicum
Cow parsley Anthriscus sylvestris
Crosswort Galium cruciata
Daisy Bellis perennis
Dame’s violet Hesperis matronalis
Dandelion Taraxacum officinale
Deadnettle, white Lamium album
Dock, broad-lvd. Rumex obtusifolius
Elder Sambucus nigra
Forget-me-not, field Myosotis arvensis
Foxglove Digitalis purpurea
Ground ivy Glechoma hederacea
Groundsel Senecio vulgaris
Harebell Campanula rotundifolia
Hawkweed, mousear Pilosella officinarum
Hawthorn Crataegus monogyna
Herb benet Geum urbanum
Herb Robert Geranium robertianum
Hogweed Heracleum sphondylium
Honesty Lunaria annua
Horse chestnut Aesculus hippocastanum
Ivy Hedera helix
Lady’s smock Cardamine pratensis
Lilac Syringa vulgaris
Lords and ladies Arum maculatum
Meadowsweet Filipendula ulmaria
Mousear Cerastium holosteoides
Mousear hawkweed Pilosella officinarum
Nettle Urtica dioica
Pignut Conopodium majus
Pineappleweed Matricaria matricrioides
Plantain, ribwort Plantago lanceolata
Poppy, Welsh Mecanopsis cambrica
Selfheal Prunella vulgaris
Silverweed Potentilla anserina
Sorrel, common Rumex acetosa
Sow thistle, prickly Sonchus asper
Sow thistle, smooth S. oleraceous
Speedwell, Germander Veronica chamaedrys
Speedwell, thyme-lvd. V. serpyllifolia
Stitchwort, greater Stellaria holostea
Stonecrop, English Sedum anglicum
Sweet cicely Myrrhis odorata
Sycamore Acer pseudoplatanus
Thistle, creeping Cirsium arvense
Vetch, bush Vicia sepium
Willowherb, rosebay Chamaenerion angustifolium
Winter heliotrope Petasites fragrans
Yorkshire fog Holcus lanatus

A special note about a plant spotted on the moors:

Wildflowers around Westerdale

Take the lane out of the village past Westerdale Hall and Hall Farm and on up to the edge of the moor. Go through the metal gate and turn right. If you look carefully among the heather along this track you will find the small but very bright yellow flowers of common cow wheat Melampyrum pratense.

This plant is called common cow wheat to differentiate it from small cow wheat, which is extremely rare, but in fact itself is not that common at all these days. But it is an interesting plant.

Cow wheat is hemi-parasitic, that is it partly lives off other plants. Not a great deal is known about how this plant achieves this or the full range of plants it will use for hosts but it tends to prefer woody species and in Westerdale’s case would seem to parasitise off the heather. As well as the host species it uses an ectomycorrhizal fungus in order to survive.

Cow wheat is the food plant of the lead coloured pug moth and a particular aphid but is best known as the food plant of the heath fritillary Mellicta athalia. We are too far north for this butterfly to survive here. It can be found in some parts of southern England. Unfortunately the loss of cow wheat is causing concern for the butterfly. Here we seem to have a successful area of this plant. Do look out for it and let me know if you find it in other areas.

Westerdale Village Hall history

2009-06-26T19:06:00.011+01:00

Nigel Wilson has supplied a history of the Village Hall building, including interesting plans of the original building as proposed in 1870.
You can download his paper as a pdf document from here. (38kb) - or download the large version of the plans by clicking the images in this post (3MB each)

The plans were sourced from the North Yorkshire County Records Office Northallerton.
The Architect was Mr Harry Pattin of Leeds.

Final anniversary for the chapel?

2009-06-06T23:41:00.003+01:00

Saturday the 17th of May saw the 160th and perhaps the last Anniversary of the Chapel's opening.

Cuckoos!

2009-06-06T23:15:00.001+01:00

Have you heard the cuckoo this year?

They have certainly become less common than in past years; apparently this is a national phenomena.
Francesca heard two calling recently so they are not vanished altogther.

Perhaps the poor weather of the last two summers is partly to blame.

2009 'Easter Effort'

2009-04-04T21:31:00.001+01:00

This will take place on Monday 13th April, from 11am to 2.30pm.
There will be homemade food, a tombola and a raffle.
Proceeds are for the Village Hall fund.

Edit: 2/5/09 - Good weather and generous support brought the total raised to £947.

Trial video embed

2009-03-15T23:47:00.004Z

Apologies to anyone still on dial-up but I think it's possible to embed video here - testing it!
They won't try to load unless you click play.
You can stop the youtube ones by moving the slider to the end.
If they play jerkily try pausing until more of the file has loaded.

Silage making June 2008

River Esk in flood at Hunters Sty and Osseker Crook Bridge.

February Snow

2009-03-14T21:59:00.002Z

This seems a long time ago now, but the snow in February was probably the deepest and longest lasting for a couple of years at least.
Here's two pictures on the Sugarloaf road to Ralphs Cross - looking to the North.
The road was frequently affected by drifting snow.

- A new look -

2009-03-13T19:19:00.001Z

The original version of the Westerdale News site was beginning to seem rather difficult to navigate as it had grown over the years, so I have been experimenting with a simpler blog style layout.
This is a surprisingly flexible format and very easy to use and add new items.

The links to the left allow access pages from the original site for now to get things up and running, but over time these pages will also be revised and hopefully be easier to navigate.