God Jul – Good Yule
These happy little fella’s in a barn with a big bowl of creamy porridge are the Jultomten (Yule Tomten). A bowl of porridge was left out for them on Christmas eve in thanks for their help during the year. The Tomten of Sweden and the Nisse of Denmark / Norway seem to be relatives of […]
Boggart Crag – Brimham Rocks
Brimham Rocks are a large group of weathered crags and outcrops located near Pateley Bridge, 8 miles to the north-west of Harrogate. The rocks are spread across a wide hill top on Brimham Moor, which overlooks the Nidd valley to the south. A series of paths link the numerous crags, rock outcrops, and boulders stacks, […]
Fairy Cave – Skirethorns
Skirethorns is a small hamlet, near Grassington, in the Yorkshire Dales. To the west of Skirethorns, a narrow lane winds its way up through Skirethorns Wood, and then through a gap in the limestone hills, to reach an area known as The Heights, with Malham Moor continuing further west. On the south side of the […]
Brandrith Crags – Rocking Stone
“Since bright the Druid’s altars blazed,And lurid shadows shedOn Almas Cliff and Brandrith Rocks,Where human victims bled “ (Parkinson, 1882) The crags are split into 3 groups, and form an east-west line across the highest part of the moor. The eastern most group is the largest, and it is here that the modern OS map […]
Elbolton Hill – Hill of the Fairies
“From Burnsall’s tower the midnight hourHad tolled, and its echo was still.And the elfin band, from faerie land.Was upon Elbolton hill.” (Dixon 1827) Elbolton is the name of a large dome shaped hill, 2 miles to the south of Grassington, in the Yorkshire Dales. Elbolton is the largest in a group of conspicuous hills […]
Rocking Stone – Rocking Moor, Thruscross
Rocking Moor is an area of high moorland, three miles to the east of Bolton Abbey, and ten miles to the west of Harrogate. The moor is named after a large Rocking Stone, which sits on top of an earth-fast boulder near the highest part of the moor. In most cases, rocking stones are natural […]
Boggle Hole – Robin Hoods Bay
“My mammy bid me gan to bed,My daddy he said, No,’My mammy said, if I wad na gan,She would fetch the Boggle-Bo” Boggle Hole is a cave in the cliffs at Robin Hood’s Bay, 5 miles to the south of Whitby. The cave has given its name to a YHA youth hostel, which was originally […]
This week i have been mostly Swan Kulning …
There are a few more posts about folklore sites in the pipeline, but i need to revisit the locations for photos. So in the mean time here is another curious and intriguing piece that caught my eye on youtube. This kind of vocalising has a very ancient feel to it, and it can also be […]
The Devil’s Bridge – Hebden
The Devil’s Bridge (Dibble’s Bridge) spans the river Dibb near the village of Hebden, 3 miles to the east of Grassington, in the Yorkshire Dales. The old folklore of the area records that this bridge was built by the Devil, and a story based on this folklore appeared in the Chronicles and Stories of the […]
Nursa Knott and the Devil’s Apronful
Nursa Knott (Nursery Knot) is a prominent limestone hill located two miles to the west of Greenhow village, near Pateley Bridge in the Yorkshire Dales. Nursa Knott features in a local legend about the Devil, and the story seems to have first been recorded by Bailey Harker in his Rambles in Upper Wharfedale (Harker, […]