Bittling Mill Wath

Lake, Pool, Pond, Freshwater Marsh in Yorkshire Hambleton

England

Bittling Mill Wath

Whorl ton Old Church
Whorl ton Old Church Credit: Mick Garratt

Bittling Mill Wath, located in Yorkshire, is a picturesque freshwater marsh encompassing a lake, pool, pond, and a diverse ecosystem. Spanning across a vast area, this natural haven is a sanctuary for various species of flora and fauna. The tranquil lake, with its glistening water, serves as a focal point, providing a serene setting for visitors and wildlife alike.

Surrounding the lake, an array of aquatic plants thrive, creating a vibrant and colorful display during the spring and summer months. The delicate lily pads, reeds, and rushes not only enhance the aesthetic appeal of the area but also provide essential habitat and shelter for a myriad of aquatic organisms.

The pool, found adjacent to the lake, offers a different aquatic environment, characterized by its shallow depth and still waters. This unique ecosystem supports a distinct range of plant and animal life, including various species of waterfowl, amphibians, and invertebrates.

As one explores further into the marsh, they will encounter the pond, a smaller body of water nestled amidst lush vegetation. The pond serves as a breeding ground for amphibians, such as frogs and newts, which rely on its calm waters for their reproductive cycles.

Bittling Mill Wath is not only home to diverse aquatic habitats but also provides a haven for a wide variety of bird species. Visitors may spot majestic herons, graceful swans, and an array of ducks, all attracted to the rich food sources and peaceful ambiance offered by the marsh.

Overall, Bittling Mill Wath is a captivating natural oasis, where visitors can immerse themselves in the beauty of Yorkshire's freshwater environments, observe various species of flora and fauna, and appreciate the delicate balance of this thriving ecosystem.

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Bittling Mill Wath Images

Images are sourced within 2km of 54.399165/-1.249283 or Grid Reference NZ4800. Thanks to Geograph Open Source API. All images are credited.

Whorl ton Old Church
Whorl ton Old Church
Ford at Scugdale This is the first of two fords on the Scugdale Beck at Piper Grain.
Ford at Scugdale
This is the first of two fords on the Scugdale Beck at Piper Grain.
Piper Beck Ford This ford is found on the Piper Beck at Scugdale. The track is part of the Cleveland Way.
Piper Beck Ford
This ford is found on the Piper Beck at Scugdale. The track is part of the Cleveland Way.
Swainby Ford This ford is found on Scugdale Road in Swainby.
Swainby Ford
This ford is found on Scugdale Road in Swainby.
Swainby Pinfold Most villages had at one time a pinfold or pound for stray cattle, sheep or pigs where they would stay until claimed by the owner on payment of a fine. Nowadays pinfolds are no longer used and a lot have been demolished. Swainby is a quiet village at the foot of the Cleveland Hills bisected by Scugdale Beck and its pinfold has been restored as a public space for the village.

From my blog: <span class="nowrap"><a title="https://fhithich.wordpress.com/2015/09/16/swainby-pinfold/" rel="nofollow ugc noopener" href="https://fhithich.wordpress.com/2015/09/16/swainby-pinfold/">Link</a><img style="margin-left:2px;" alt="External link" title="External link - shift click to open in new window" src="https://s1.geograph.org.uk/img/external.png" width="10" height="10"/></span>
Swainby Pinfold
Most villages had at one time a pinfold or pound for stray cattle, sheep or pigs where they would stay until claimed by the owner on payment of a fine. Nowadays pinfolds are no longer used and a lot have been demolished. Swainby is a quiet village at the foot of the Cleveland Hills bisected by Scugdale Beck and its pinfold has been restored as a public space for the village. From my blog: LinkExternal link
Live Moor Hillfort Quoted from <span class="nowrap"><a title="http://www.themodernantiquarian.com/site/4314/live_moor_hill_fort_whorlton.html" rel="nofollow ugc noopener" href="http://www.themodernantiquarian.com/site/4314/live_moor_hill_fort_whorlton.html">Link</a><img style="margin-left:2px;" alt="External link" title="External link - shift click to open in new window" src="https://s1.geograph.org.uk/img/external.png" width="10" height="10"/></span>

"A previously unrecorded promontory fort was identified by D. Smith on air photographs and later surveyed by him and G. W. Goodall. A single rampart with external ditch extends across the west-facing spur of Live Moor to enclose an area of approximately 2 acres known as Knolls End. Where best preserved the rampart is 7.3m wide and 2.3m high externally and .5m internally, while the ditch is up to 1.5m wide and .6m deep with a fragmentary counter scarp bank. The work has been mutilated by quarrying and associated trackways, but a gap in the rampart and ditch at NZ 49640126 probably represents an original entrance" YAS 51, 1978.

And from Prehistoric and Roman Archaeology of North-East Yorkshire edited by D A Spratt, 1990

"The small promontory fort at Live Moor (0.8 ha) stands on the north-west corner of the moors. It has two visible ramparts, an earlier one just inside the outer, later one at its south-western end. There is a central entrance, whence a hollow- way runs up the hill slope to the Live Moor cairnfield. This is the highest of any of these early field systems (315m) and as such is arguably Bronze Age, unlikely to persist into the Iron Age, which might suggest an early date for the fort. The fort, only recently discovered (Smith, 1979), has not been excavated, but shows no signs of hut structures."
Live Moor Hillfort
Quoted from LinkExternal link "A previously unrecorded promontory fort was identified by D. Smith on air photographs and later surveyed by him and G. W. Goodall. A single rampart with external ditch extends across the west-facing spur of Live Moor to enclose an area of approximately 2 acres known as Knolls End. Where best preserved the rampart is 7.3m wide and 2.3m high externally and .5m internally, while the ditch is up to 1.5m wide and .6m deep with a fragmentary counter scarp bank. The work has been mutilated by quarrying and associated trackways, but a gap in the rampart and ditch at NZ 49640126 probably represents an original entrance" YAS 51, 1978. And from Prehistoric and Roman Archaeology of North-East Yorkshire edited by D A Spratt, 1990 "The small promontory fort at Live Moor (0.8 ha) stands on the north-west corner of the moors. It has two visible ramparts, an earlier one just inside the outer, later one at its south-western end. There is a central entrance, whence a hollow- way runs up the hill slope to the Live Moor cairnfield. This is the highest of any of these early field systems (315m) and as such is arguably Bronze Age, unlikely to persist into the Iron Age, which might suggest an early date for the fort. The fort, only recently discovered (Smith, 1979), has not been excavated, but shows no signs of hut structures."
Live Moor Hillfort Quoted from <span class="nowrap"><a title="http://www.themodernantiquarian.com/site/4314/live_moor_hill_fort_whorlton.html" rel="nofollow ugc noopener" href="http://www.themodernantiquarian.com/site/4314/live_moor_hill_fort_whorlton.html">Link</a><img style="margin-left:2px;" alt="External link" title="External link - shift click to open in new window" src="https://s1.geograph.org.uk/img/external.png" width="10" height="10"/></span>

"A previously unrecorded promontory fort was identified by D. Smith on air photographs and later surveyed by him and G. W. Goodall. A single rampart with external ditch extends across the west-facing spur of Live Moor to enclose an area of approximately 2 acres known as Knolls End. Where best preserved the rampart is 7.3m wide and 2.3m high externally and .5m internally, while the ditch is up to 1.5m wide and .6m deep with a fragmentary counter scarp bank. The work has been mutilated by quarrying and associated trackways, but a gap in the rampart and ditch at NZ 49640126 probably represents an original entrance" YAS 51, 1978.

And from Prehistoric and Roman Archaeology of North-East Yorkshire edited by D A Spratt, 1990

"The small promontory fort at Live Moor (0.8 ha) stands on the north-west corner of the moors. It has two visible ramparts, an earlier one just inside the outer, later one at its south-western end. There is a central entrance, whence a hollow- way runs up the hill slope to the Live Moor cairnfield. This is the highest of any of these early field systems (315m) and as such is arguably Bronze Age, unlikely to persist into the Iron Age, which might suggest an early date for the fort. The fort, only recently discovered (Smith, 1979), has not been excavated, but shows no signs of hut structures."
Live Moor Hillfort
Quoted from LinkExternal link "A previously unrecorded promontory fort was identified by D. Smith on air photographs and later surveyed by him and G. W. Goodall. A single rampart with external ditch extends across the west-facing spur of Live Moor to enclose an area of approximately 2 acres known as Knolls End. Where best preserved the rampart is 7.3m wide and 2.3m high externally and .5m internally, while the ditch is up to 1.5m wide and .6m deep with a fragmentary counter scarp bank. The work has been mutilated by quarrying and associated trackways, but a gap in the rampart and ditch at NZ 49640126 probably represents an original entrance" YAS 51, 1978. And from Prehistoric and Roman Archaeology of North-East Yorkshire edited by D A Spratt, 1990 "The small promontory fort at Live Moor (0.8 ha) stands on the north-west corner of the moors. It has two visible ramparts, an earlier one just inside the outer, later one at its south-western end. There is a central entrance, whence a hollow- way runs up the hill slope to the Live Moor cairnfield. This is the highest of any of these early field systems (315m) and as such is arguably Bronze Age, unlikely to persist into the Iron Age, which might suggest an early date for the fort. The fort, only recently discovered (Smith, 1979), has not been excavated, but shows no signs of hut structures."
Live Moor Hillfort  - entrance on the right Quoted from <span class="nowrap"><a title="http://www.themodernantiquarian.com/site/4314/live_moor_hill_fort_whorlton.html" rel="nofollow ugc noopener" href="http://www.themodernantiquarian.com/site/4314/live_moor_hill_fort_whorlton.html">Link</a><img style="margin-left:2px;" alt="External link" title="External link - shift click to open in new window" src="https://s1.geograph.org.uk/img/external.png" width="10" height="10"/></span>

"A previously unrecorded promontory fort was identified by D. Smith on air photographs and later surveyed by him and G. W. Goodall. A single rampart with external ditch extends across the west-facing spur of Live Moor to enclose an area of approximately 2 acres known as Knolls End. Where best preserved the rampart is 7.3m wide and 2.3m high externally and .5m internally, while the ditch is up to 1.5m wide and .6m deep with a fragmentary counter scarp bank. The work has been mutilated by quarrying and associated trackways, but a gap in the rampart and ditch at NZ 49640126 probably represents an original entrance" YAS 51, 1978.

And from Prehistoric and Roman Archaeology of North-East Yorkshire edited by D A Spratt, 1990

"The small promontory fort at Live Moor (0.8 ha) stands on the north-west corner of the moors. It has two visible ramparts, an earlier one just inside the outer, later one at its south-western end. There is a central entrance, whence a hollow- way runs up the hill slope to the Live Moor cairnfield. This is the highest of any of these early field systems (315m) and as such is arguably Bronze Age, unlikely to persist into the Iron Age, which might suggest an early date for the fort. The fort, only recently discovered (Smith, 1979), has not been excavated, but shows no signs of hut structures."
Live Moor Hillfort - entrance on the right
Quoted from LinkExternal link "A previously unrecorded promontory fort was identified by D. Smith on air photographs and later surveyed by him and G. W. Goodall. A single rampart with external ditch extends across the west-facing spur of Live Moor to enclose an area of approximately 2 acres known as Knolls End. Where best preserved the rampart is 7.3m wide and 2.3m high externally and .5m internally, while the ditch is up to 1.5m wide and .6m deep with a fragmentary counter scarp bank. The work has been mutilated by quarrying and associated trackways, but a gap in the rampart and ditch at NZ 49640126 probably represents an original entrance" YAS 51, 1978. And from Prehistoric and Roman Archaeology of North-East Yorkshire edited by D A Spratt, 1990 "The small promontory fort at Live Moor (0.8 ha) stands on the north-west corner of the moors. It has two visible ramparts, an earlier one just inside the outer, later one at its south-western end. There is a central entrance, whence a hollow- way runs up the hill slope to the Live Moor cairnfield. This is the highest of any of these early field systems (315m) and as such is arguably Bronze Age, unlikely to persist into the Iron Age, which might suggest an early date for the fort. The fort, only recently discovered (Smith, 1979), has not been excavated, but shows no signs of hut structures."
Scugdale Beck Weir Scugdale takes its name from the Danish skygger meaning to overshadow, referring  to the sheltered nature of the dale.

And the waters of the beck that flows down the dale must have some mysterious properties, for it was in this secluded valley that Harry Cooper was brought up. At a height of 8 feet 6 inches in height and weighing 29 stone Harry was reputed to be the tallest man in the world. He toured America as a star of in Barnum’s circus. He died about 1900 and is buried in Calgary, Canada.
Scugdale Beck Weir
Scugdale takes its name from the Danish skygger meaning to overshadow, referring to the sheltered nature of the dale. And the waters of the beck that flows down the dale must have some mysterious properties, for it was in this secluded valley that Harry Cooper was brought up. At a height of 8 feet 6 inches in height and weighing 29 stone Harry was reputed to be the tallest man in the world. He toured America as a star of in Barnum’s circus. He died about 1900 and is buried in Calgary, Canada.
Bridge, Swainby On Church Lane, crossing Scugdale Beck.
Bridge, Swainby
On Church Lane, crossing Scugdale Beck.
High Street, Swainby
High Street, Swainby
Swainby Village Store Now closed, other visitors could be heard lamenting the possible loss of the fine windows once the shop is converted fully to residential use.
Swainby Village Store
Now closed, other visitors could be heard lamenting the possible loss of the fine windows once the shop is converted fully to residential use.
Shepherd Hill The road to Osmotherley  climbs away towards Coalmire Lane.
Shepherd Hill
The road to Osmotherley climbs away towards Coalmire Lane.
Bend on Coalmire Lane A tractor route cuts through on the inside of a tree.
Bend on Coalmire Lane
A tractor route cuts through on the inside of a tree.
Coalmire Lane Between two sharp bends on a very steep hill climbing up to Scarth Nick.
Coalmire Lane
Between two sharp bends on a very steep hill climbing up to Scarth Nick.
Coalmire Lane It is very steep!  Heading for Scarth Nick and Osmotherley.
Coalmire Lane
It is very steep! Heading for Scarth Nick and Osmotherley.
Scarth Nick Pass between Swainby and Osmotherley.  The road is to be kept clear, but car parks are provided and they are free!

It was about to rain, and continue raining for 19 hours.
Scarth Nick
Pass between Swainby and Osmotherley. The road is to be kept clear, but car parks are provided and they are free! It was about to rain, and continue raining for 19 hours.
You can't do that I understand that banning things is a national obsession, but last time I passed this way this was a bridlepath so where does the no bikes graffiti come from?   Streetview shows a much more welcoming road with a bridleway sign.

A reminder that freedom depends on constant vigilance and one reason I always have mixed feelings about visiting England.
You can't do that
I understand that banning things is a national obsession, but last time I passed this way this was a bridlepath so where does the no bikes graffiti come from? Streetview shows a much more welcoming road with a bridleway sign. A reminder that freedom depends on constant vigilance and one reason I always have mixed feelings about visiting England.
Show me another place!

Bittling Mill Wath is located at Grid Ref: NZ4800 (Lat: 54.399165, Lng: -1.249283)

Division: North Riding

Administrative County: North Yorkshire

District: Hambleton

Police Authority: North Yorkshire

What 3 Words

///typhoon.carbon.emulated. Near Stokesley, North Yorkshire

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Nearby Amenities

Located within 500m of 54.399165,-1.249283
Post Box
Collection Times: Mo-Fr 16:45; Sa 09:00
Operator: Royal Mail
Post Box Type: lamp
Ref: DL6 170
Royal Cypher: EIIR
Royal Cypher Wikidata: Q33102113
Lat/Long: 54.3996885/-1.2423221
Parking
Parking: surface
Lat/Long: 54.399678/-1.2422493
Ford: yes
Lat/Long: 54.3970241/-1.2437126
Bench
Lat/Long: 54.3956271/-1.2477206
Barrier: kissing_gate
Foot: yes
Lat/Long: 54.3956238/-1.2473119
Heathwaite
Place: hamlet
Lat/Long: 54.4022584/-1.2509331
Huthwaite Green
Place: farm
Lat/Long: 54.4006067/-1.2451157
Historic: stone
Lat/Long: 54.3978411/-1.251876
Information: guidepost
Tourism: information
Lat/Long: 54.3955988/-1.2475828
Information: stone
Tourism: information
Lat/Long: 54.3956414/-1.2473113
Information: route_marker
Tourism: information
Lat/Long: 54.3956361/-1.2473207
Ford: yes
Source: Bing
Lat/Long: 54.3956275/-1.2472844
Information: route_marker
Tourism: information
Lat/Long: 54.3969963/-1.24377
Information: guidepost
Tourism: information
Lat/Long: 54.3971386/-1.2431312
Information: route_marker
Tourism: information
Lat/Long: 54.3968914/-1.2441262
Information: guidepost
Tourism: information
Lat/Long: 54.3997065/-1.2422241
Harpleys Well
Man Made: water_well
Lat/Long: 54.4023177/-1.2512901
The data included in this document is from www.openstreetmap.org. The data is made available under ODbL.

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