17 March 2024

The Needles Eye and Wishing Stone - Brimam Rocks

 The crags and strangely shaped rock formations known as Brimham Rocks are spread across a moorland hilltop 8 miles to the north-west of Harrogate.

 The rocks at Brimham have attracted tourists since at least the mid 1700's, when the Romantic Movement inspired the 'gentry' to seek out natures wonders. Before this time the weird rock formations would have only really been known in the Nidderdale area, where they seem to have featured in local folklore and customs. An example of this was recorded by Hayman Rooke who visited Brimham Rocks around the year 1785, and noted that bonfires were lit on midsummer's eve alongside a tall pillar of rock known as the Noon Stone. At midwinter this pillar also caused the sun to cast a long shadow onto a nearby cottage at midday. There is also a reference to a stone circle surviving in the same area, so this too probably featured in local beliefs.

15 February 2024

The Man and Maiden Wishing Stones - Filey Brigg

Filey Brigg

 Filey Brigg is a long and narrow headland extending out into the North Sea at Filey on the Yorkshire east coast.

 The headland is almost one mile in length, and forms the north side of Filey Bay. It is comprised of a ridge of high cliffs, which then drop down to a bed rock platform pushing further out into the sea. This rocky projection is the actual 'Brigg' (or Bridge), and a local legend records that it was built by the Devil using his large hammer to pave the way. Where the bridge was going is not recorded, but the Devil seems to have given up when he lost his hammer in the sea.

 The cliff top area is called Carr Naze or Nase - from the Norse word 'Ness', meaning a headland or promontory. Below the cliffs on the south side of the Naze, the old OS maps mark two boulders called the 'Man and Maiden Stones', however this appears to be the only reference to them. The rocks do not seem to be mentioned in local history books, so how they came to be named, or any folklore connected with them, has probably been lost.

15 January 2024

Gormire lake - 'A wild and bottomless tarn'

Gormire lake

Gormire lake is located at the foot of Sutton Bank, 4 miles to the east of Thirsk.

 The lake sits in a secluded location in woodland below the high rocky cliffs along the edge of Sutton bank. The land at this point rises abruptly from the low lying vale of York in the west, to the higher ground of the Hambleton Hills and moorlands further east. This steep rise forms a west facing escarpment with sheer rock faces known as the Whitestone cliffs or White Mare Crags, from the top of which there are extensive views across the vale to the Yorkshire Dales.

 The half-moon shaped lake is about 1 mile in circumference, and sits in a hollow below the cliffs. This location effectively hides the lake, which can only really be seen from the cliff tops above. Gormire is one of only four naturally formed lakes in Yorkshire, and this, along with its hidden location, seems to have led to it featuring strongly in local folklore.

21 December 2023

The Fairy Stones - Burdale

 The Fairy Stones are located in a valley at Burdale, 3 mile to the north of Fridaythorpe in East Yorkshire.

 The Fairy Stones are a group of large rocks sitting high up on the valley side. The valley itself is called Fairy Dale, and the Fairy Stones are the only visible rocks in that part of the valley. The stones are pieces of a weathered outcrop of a Breccia type rock, made up of chalk, limestone, and flint fragments, fused together.

 The fairy name of the stones and the dale point to this location being connected with the fairy folk in the past, however, any folklore about them appears to have been lost. The Fairy Stones name does appear on the first edition OS map (1854), and in his 'East Yorkshire Folklore' John Nicholson notes that ...

"The superstitious among men, in order to see their future love, would hie them to the fairy stones, at Burdale, and there, with the full moon brightly shining, at midnight, would see the one who should be all the world to them." (Nicholson, 1890)

15 November 2023

Nothing New under the Sun

Argentina  35000BC                                                       Turkey 2023

 I was struck by the hand prints (above right) on a recent visit to Saklikent Gorge in southern Turkey. Visitors to the gorge have dipped their hands in muddy silt, and pressed them onto the rock face - leaving their mark at this impressive natural feature. Perhaps it was the location, but for some reason i found the hand prints fascinating, and they somehow resonated strongly with the images of ancient hand prints dating back tens of thousands of years. (above left).