School Holidays 4 - Yorkshire days 1 & 2

Saturday 8th
We had a really good run up the A1, managing the journey in around 3 hours from Peterborough where we had stopped for a family wedding, including a good half-hour stop-off at a Little Chef about 20 minutes away. The wedding had been blessed with glorious weather, so the outdoor marquee was ideal. The boys suffered somewhat, having to entertain themselves for most of the afternoon, but all in all managed admirably. We had somehow arrived at the church around 5 minutes before the bride, but largely due to her arriving 10 minutes late rather than us being anything like on time. A busy A14 stretch between Cambridge and Huntingdon had put paid to that, but thankfully we were in time, and not the last to arrive!
The promise of a warm welcome awaiting us at the end of the drive to Stable Cottage was by no means half-hearted. Margaret and Michael greeted us as though we were long lost friends, and Lola the Labrador was not about to let her presence go unnoticed. The cottage itself is lovely – an open plan single large room downstairs with armchairs, sofa, TV, dining area and kitchen, with a spiral staircase up to the offset bedrooms and bathroom. Margaret had left us a Victoria sponge cake, tea bags, milk and sugar, with a jug of fresh flowers on the table. We had a brief walk over the cattle grid and down by one of the sheep fields in the dark before heading back and getting everyone to bed.
Sunday 9th
Another beautifully sunny day greeted our awakening and even Julia felt that her tiredness would have to take second best to getting up and about. I took a shower before having breakfast, which consisted of cereal for all of us today, as we had nothing but a few essentials with us food-wise. The swallows’ nest beneath the overhanging roof outside our door, whilst appearing empty, was in fact still being frequented by some of the birds that were busy flying around the stables and neighbouring horse fields. A challenge then, to photograph one of the birds as it approached the nest, with my latest acquisition, a Canon 400mm f5.6 lens. Tripod, camera and shutter release were all set up, but I only managed one out-of-focus shot as the swallow turned. They are so quick, but I’m still up for the photo, even if the light is poor, and the chances of success maybe even poorer. We then decided that we would take a daylight walk down the edge of the sheep field and see where it led.

Large whites, Green-veined whites and the occasional Wall Butterfly and Painted Lady flitted about among the trefoils and knapweed, but taking centre stage was an abundance of baby frogs and toads. The long grass and patches of flattened hay must have been ideal for them, as we found quite a few of each, and a decent size too, although they were probably all this year’s, I would guess. The “track” led on to another field, with cut hay lying in it, and skirted by a small river. Some tall pink flowers were growing along the edge, but I didn’t recognise them at all, so I have some photographic evidence for later clarification. (Later identified on WAB as Himalayan Balsam) The river seemed an ideal habitat for kingfishers, but the only birds we saw were a couple of little Treecreepers, busy on a couple of the older Willows. As we started to head back, the farmer arrived with his hay turner to turn the hay once again, but he didn’t seem to mind us being there.

Upon our return we decided to have a cup of tea before heading out in the car. I watched a swallow attempt for some time to return to the nest by the door before dropping what he had been carrying, a small white feather. The boys and I tried in vain to float it on the wind for him to catch again. There are plenty of swallows around still, and Goldfinches and a Dunnock in the hedge and trees nearby. I briefly saw a Sparrowhawk fly out of one of the trees and fly away low over the paddock to the larger belt of trees. It will be interesting to see whether it is around again during the week. A sparrow in the tree near the main house turned out to be a Tree Sparrow, which I haven’t seen in years, so that was especially welcome. I will have to keep a special eye out for them this week.
After our cuppa, we decided that we would locate a nearby shop and then head up onto the moors. We soon found a large co-op in Stokesly, so decided that we would visit after a run on the moors. We set off , but soon decided that we needed to stop for a bite to eat. As it happened, eating places were few and far between, so we didn’t end up eating until Helmsely, around 19 miles away. A pretty, market town, it seemed very busy, with several small shops, a Castle and a large walled garden, which I unwittingly entered without paying! A small fast-flowing beck ran through the town, which was a sore temptation for the boys, but we stood our ground and kept them dry, with the promise of other rivers at a more appropriate time and place to paddle in.

We found a couple of small supermarkets, so decided to buy what we needed there, and then head back to have some exercise on the moors themselves. A small, narrow road led off the main road we had travelled earlier in a more direct way to where we were staying, and directly across the top edge of the moors. We stopped at a small carpark and walked up to the very top. The view at the top was quite amazing, with Middlesborough and the North Sea clearly visible. Alastair found a large Ichneumon Wasp of some kind on the marker stone at the top, and another Painted Lady and a Red Admiral were flying around. We headed on along the path, although I cut through some of the heather, and before long we had flushed a few Red Grouse out, but too quick to photograph. Aaron found a large Fox Moth caterpillar on the side of the track, and after a while we decided that we should turn and head back, as time was marching on. Meadow Pipits were aplenty in the heather, and it didn’t take long for Aaron and Alastair to flush out yet more Red Grouse, and this time I managed a couple of poor distant photos as the birds flew for cover. We headed back down to the car, and Jordan announced that he had seen some birds a bit like the Grouse, although grey in colour, with a bit of red beneath their beaks. He had found some Guinea Fowl, but by the time the others made their way over, the birds were back in their hut. We got back in the car and made our way down through Carlton in Cleveland and back to the farm. As we made our way up the track a Little Owl flew up into an overhanging Oak Tree. He gradually moved higher and higher up the tree, but I did manage one semi-decent shot of him as he looked down from his lofty perch amongst the greenery.

We had home cooked burgers for tea, before having one last half-hour uneventful drive out around the edge of the moors with our only note worthy wildlife being a grey squirrel running along the fence in Carlton. Still, a lovely day, and not a bad start to our holiday.