Saint Wilfrid's Needle - Ripon

"And Saint Wilfred's bone of Ripon to keep cattle from pain,
And his needle which sinners can not pass the eye"
(Holme, 1537)

 Ripon cathedral is built on the site of an early church established by saint Wilfrid in 672 AD. The small crypt beneath the cathedral is believed to be part of this church, and archaeological survey work revealed that the crypt was built with reused Roman stonework, probably brought from Aldborough, 6 miles to the south east. Within the crypt, a set of rough stone steps can be seen leading up to a small opening through the north wall. This opening is known as Saint Wilfrid's Needle, and for hundreds of years it was the focus of unusual religious and folklore practices.

The "Neddel of Seynt Wilfred" is mentioned in a will dating from 1466, but it was William Camden's Britannia which first provided some curious details about the 'Needle's Eye' ...
"Within the Church, Saint Wilfrides Needle was in our grandfathers remembrance very famous. A narrow hole this was, in the Crowdes or close vaulted roome under the ground, whereby womens honestie was tried. For such as were chast did easily passe through, but as many as had played false were miraculously, I know not how, held fast and could not creepe through."

Pratting about at Gormire Lake

 Gormire lake is located at the foot of Sutton Bank, 5 miles to the east of Thirsk.

 On previous visits to Gormire, an almost uncanny silence was noticed around the lake when there was no one else about. The enclosing low ridge and high cliff face seems to shield the lake from external noise, while the still body of water perhaps absorbs or deadens any sound.

 A visit to Gormire on a cold day in January 2023 found the lake totally frozen over, and we seemed to be the only ones who had ventured down to the lake on that chilly morning. So it was rather startling when the silence was broken by a loud 'Twing-Twang-Twang-Twang' noise echoing across the lake. The sound was so bizarre and out of place that we immediately looked up and around for some explanation, but there was nothing. Utterly puzzled by the noise we walked on, then a few minutes later the sound came again, but this time we could see a young guy further around the lake skimming stones across the frozen surface. Some how this created the strange noise as the stone skipped across the ice, with the sound seemingly greatly amplified by the massive frozen sheet.