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.

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, so in order to get a grid reference for its location, the old map was overlaid as accurately as possible onto the newer OS map. This, combined with the Google Earth images, seemed to suggest that a tree still exists at that location (SE 52801 99357). Could it possibly be the same tree all these years later?

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 a landslip, which carried the boulder down the hillside and into the beck. The large rock must have come to rest close to the crossing, as it diverted the flow of water running over the ford. This led to the boulder being removed, which due to its size, had to be broken up.
(See this Youtube video of Gavin Parry and Bob Fischer at Hob Hole discussing the story behind the Lapstone boulder).