Elbolton Hill - Hill of the Fairies

"From Burnsall's tower the midnight hour
Had 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 located between the river Wharfe and the higher moorland of Rylstone Fell. These hills are referred to as the Cracoe Reef Knolls, as they are limestone outcrops that once formed part of an ancient sea bed. In the folklore of this region, Elbolton was regarded as the chief dwelling place of the fairy folk, and in more recent times archaeologists have found a group of Bronze Age burials in a cave on the east side of the hill.

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 features created by erosion, or when a boulder has been left fortuitously stranded during glacial times. The upper stones can weigh several tons, but if they only rest upon one or two pivot points, they can be finely balanced, and will move or 'rock' when pushed.

 Originally this rocking stone sat in isolation on the high moor, with panoramic views over the surrounding landscape. However, sometime during the 17th century a stone building was erected alongside the rocking stone, perhaps being used for hunting or other recreational purposes by the owners of the Bolton Abbey estate. The positioning of the building 'face on' to the rocking stone would seem to indicate that the stone was the focal point of the site, and that it had some local significance.