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 Craven Dales (Dixon, 1880).

  The legend is set during the Middle Ages, sometime before the dissolution of the monasteries (1540), when Fountains Abbey was still a thriving religious community. A cobbler from the village of Thorpe (near Grassington) was returning home from the abbey with a bag of shoes for repair, when he found the river Dibb was in flood, and so he had to wade across. On the other side of the river he met a smartly dressed gentleman who asked him how far it was to Grassington. For some reason the cobbler was suspicious of the stranger and so he told him that it was a long way, and that he himself had worn out the bag of shoes travelling from there.

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, 1869). Harker’s visit to Stump Cross Caverns required a change of cloths at the nearby Grouse Inn, where he noted ….

 “After we have dressed ourselves again in our own costume, we take the highway for Barden. To our right is Nursa Knott, and a little beyond it The Apron Full of Stones. Of these stones there is a curious legend, to the effect that the Devil being anxious to fill up Dibb Gill was carrying these ponderous crags in his apron when he stumbled over Nursa Knott, and the strings broke, the crags falling to the ground. It is said that if any of them were to be removed at night they would be carried back to their original place before morning.”

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 and flows down to Trollers Gill. When the stream (called Dry Gill) enters the north end of the ravine it once again sinks underground, leaving the stream bed dry below that point. This dry section continues down through the gorge to emerge at its southern end, where the waters then reappear amongst the rocks in the stream bed. From this point on the stream winds its way down the valley, passing Trollers Gill cave, and flowing on to eventually join the River Wharfe, a mile or so to the south. For most of the year the dry stream bed through the ravine is just a jumble of rocks and boulders, but after heavy rains the underground channel cannot carry all the water, so the stream forms a fast flowing torrent down the whole length of the gorge. This unusual phenomena, occurring within the atmospheric setting of the narrow gorge, is perhaps one reason why Trollers Gill has long been regarded as an ‘uncanny’ place.

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 the Runswick Hob appears to be in the early 1800’s when the cave was described by the Rev. George Young in his History of Whitby (Young, 1817) ….

 “Curious caverns are sometimes formed in the alum-rock by the operation of the tides. Hob-hole in Runswick bay once presented a most romantic appearance, the entrance being divided by a double pillar, as in the annexed drawing. This cave is still 70 feet long, and 20 feet wide at the entrance; but the pillar is now gone. “
“Another aerial being, which we may suppose to have been a hobgoblin, had his dwelling in Hob-hole, near Runswick. He was more benevolent than Jeanie; for his powers were exercised in curing young children of the hooping- cough. When any child in Runswick or the vicinity was under that disease, one of its parents carried it into the cave, and with loud voice thus invoked the demi-god of the place: “Hob-hole Hob! my bairn’s got kink-cough: take’t off; take’t off!” It is not very many years since this idolatrous practice was dropt.”

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 kantele all creatures would come to listen to him.