Across the Moors

A pleasant autumn day encouraged me to go to Blakey Ridge, at the heart of the North York Moors, for a walk west north west to Clay Bank.

The first section of the walk follows a remarkable disused railway route. The Rosedale Railway runs along both sides of Rosedale on a ledge high on the valley sides, before crossing open moorland for some 8-9 miles to the top of Ingleby Incline, a rope worked incline where wagons were lowered from the moor top.

The railway was built to enable the ironstone deposits of Rosedale and Farndale to be exploited by the growing iron and steel industry of Middlesbrough. To minimise costs, the line meanders across the landscape and around heads of valleys.

In this shot, looking back towards Blakey Ridge, a solitary walker approaches the point where a track from rising from Farndale (on the right) crosses the old railway before descending into Westerdale (on the left).

The closure of the railway in 1929 has left a fascinating high level route for walkers and cyclists through the heart of the moorland.

Ian

[Rosemary Brown]

Love the muted colors! Great place for a hike!

[Nia]

Beautiful vista!

[Pyrrhula]

Great view on the moor, and a beautiful capture of it. Thanks for the very interesting history tale.

[Molly]

Lovely composition. I like the placement of the lone walker.

[Hazel A]

Lovely scenic shot

[Jacqui Paterson]

fabulous shot. has a real feel of loneliness about it.

[Laura J.]

Looks incredible. Good timing for the walker to be there.

[bruni]

A great vastness and a lonely wanderer. beautiful picture of the moor.

[Cathie]

Wonderful and atmospheric.

[bkb in the city]

That is quite the shot. One lone walker in such a desolate place

[Angela Tavan]

Beautiful capture. Great that you got the walker in it to give us perspective.

[Fisher Family]

@camera

Thank you Rosemary - I had a great day walking there!

Ian

[Fisher Family]

@sianipops

Thank you Nia - I've done this walk in many different types of weather, in winter and the height of summer, and I still love it.

Ian

[Fisher Family]

@pyrrhula

Thank you Ferry - it's a fascinating landscape.

Ian

[Fisher Family]

@dolphin

Thank you Molly - it was the walker passing me that gave me the idea for this shot, and the highlight of sunshine was a real bonus.

Ian

[Fisher Family]

@purplehaze12

Thank you Hazel - it's a bleak but beautiful landscape.

Ian

[Fisher Family]

@witchyjacq

Thank you Jacqui - I love to walk on the wide open moorland here.

Ian

[Fisher Family]

@helixconcepts

Thank you Laura - I was fortunate with the sunlight near the walker too.

Ian

[Fisher Family]

@bruni

Thank you Bruni - the moorland is a fascinating place to explore.

Ian

[Fisher Family]

@cathieg

Thank you Cathie - I love exploring these moorland areas!

Ian

[Fisher Family]

@bkbinthecity

Thank you Brian - it's a great place to get away from it all!

Ian

[Fisher Family]

@angelat

Thank you Angela - it was the walker passing me that gave me the idea for this shot.

Ian

[colie (Nichole Stewart)]

very cool shot!

[Fisher Family]

@colie

Thank you Colie, glad you like it. This is a great place for a walk to get away from it all!

Ian