Trollers Gill – Appletreewick
Trollers Gill (also known as Trollerdale) is a narrow limestone gorge and stream valley located to the north of Appletreewick village, seven miles to the north-east of Skipton. Beneath the hills to the north of Trollers Gill there is a large subterranean cave system known as Stump Cross Caverns. A stream emerges from those caves […]
Hob Hole Cave – Runswick Bay
The Hob Holes are a group of small caves located in the cliff face half way along Runswick Bay, 6 miles to the north-west of Whitby. In folklore circles, the Hob Hole cave is famous for being the dwelling place of one of those short, dwarf-like beings known as a Hob. The first reference to […]
This Week i have been mostly listening to …
An ancient Finnish Lullaby played on the Kantele by Merja Soria. (Not sure why i like this, perhaps i have some Nordic roots? ) In the mythology of Finland, the first Kantele was made by Wainamoinen – a primordial god of chants, poetry and song, who helped bring life to the world. When he played […]
The Fairy Butter Tree – Scugdale
Scugdale is a long valley cutting into the Cleveland Hills just to the South of Swainby village, ten miles to the south of Middlesbrough. The first edition OS map (1857) marks a ‘Fairy Butter Tree’ alongside Rank Crags at the head of the Scugdale valley. This curious name does not appear on later edition maps, […]
Hob in the Hole and the Giant’s Lapstone – Baysdale
Hob Hole is located alongside a ford crossing Baysdale Beck, on the road between Kildale and Westerdale, five miles to the south of Guisborough. Up until the early 1800’s, a large boulder known as the ‘Giant’s Lapstone’ sat on the hillside overlooking the ford at Hob Hole. Around the year 1830, a great storm caused […]
The Dannsa Na Cailleach – Dance of the Old Woman
A previous post (Cailleach an Dùdain) suggested that the North York Moors folklore figure known as the ‘Old Wife’, could well be related to the legendary Cailleach, who is to be found further north, in Scotland. Gavin Parry’s ongoing project to map locations connected with this archetypal ‘Old Woman’ is both fascinating and illuminating, […]
The Ingleby Greenhow Wishing Stone
The village of Ingleby Greenhow is located at the foot of the Cleveland Hills on the northern edge of the North York Moors, 6 miles to the south of Guisborough. The Hand of Glory by J. Fairfax-Blakeborough (1924) includes a story called ‘The Maid of the Golden Shoon’. The original folk tale was […]
Nanny Howe of Kildale
The village of Kildale is located on the northern edge of the North York Moors, 4 miles to the south of Guisborough. Here’s a question – is it possible for a burial mound to also be a person? This might seem rather odd, but at first glance this appears to have been the case at […]
The Fairies Parlour -Almscliffe Crags
Almscliffe Crag is a large rock outcrop located on a low hill, 4 miles to the south west of Harrogate. The weathered mass of Millstone Grit sits at the southern end of a low ridge, elevating the crags into an even more prominent position, where they can be seen from many miles around. The top […]
The Old Wife of Danby Rigg
Danby Rigg is a large promontory hill on the northern edge of the North York Moors, 12 miles to the west of Whitby. The first edition OS map (1857) marks two stones on the east side of the hill as the “Old Wife’s Stones”. Today, a single large boulder remains on the site, while the […]