Faggergill Moor

Downs, Moorland in Yorkshire Richmondshire

England

Faggergill Moor

Grouse butt at rock band White Crag is a discontinuous rock band mainly broken into large numbers of angular boulders overlooking Scargill High Moor. A number of grouse butts has been built into the rock band using the material obviously available. A thin path runs along the crag. — Grouse butt at rock band Credit: Trevor Littlewood

Faggergill Moor is a picturesque landscape located in the county of Yorkshire, England. Situated in the north of the county, it is a part of the larger expanse of Yorkshire Downs and Moorland. This natural area spans across several square miles, encompassing rolling hills, heather-covered moors, and scattered woodland.

The moorland of Faggergill is characterized by its unique beauty and tranquility. The landscape is dominated by wide open spaces, covered in a patchwork of vibrant purple heather, which blooms from late summer to early autumn, creating a stunning spectacle for visitors. The undulating hills offer breathtaking panoramic views of the surrounding countryside, with distant glimpses of villages and farmland.

The area is home to a diverse range of flora and fauna, including many species of birds such as curlews, lapwings, and grouse. The heather moorland provides an important habitat for these birds, as well as for other wildlife such as hares, foxes, and the occasional deer.

Faggergill Moor also holds historical and cultural significance. Ancient burial mounds and stone circles dot the landscape, providing evidence of human presence dating back thousands of years. The area is rich in folklore, with tales of mythical creatures and ancient rituals adding to its mystique.

Visitors to Faggergill Moor can enjoy a variety of outdoor activities, including hiking, birdwatching, and photography. Several walking trails crisscross the moorland, allowing visitors to explore its rugged beauty at their own pace. The area also offers opportunities for picnicking and enjoying a peaceful day amidst nature.

Overall, Faggergill Moor is a captivating destination for nature lovers, history enthusiasts, and those seeking solace in the serene surroundings of Yorkshire's countryside.

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Faggergill Moor Images

Images are sourced within 2km of 54.463811/-2.0188341 or Grid Reference NY9807. Thanks to Geograph Open Source API. All images are credited.

Grouse butt at rock band

White Crag is a discontinuous rock band mainly broken into large numbers of angular boulders overlooking Scargill High Moor. A number of grouse butts has been built into the rock band using the material obviously available. A thin path runs along the crag.

Trevor Littlewood

Cuboid boulders along White Crag

White Crag is a discontinuous rock band broken mainly into angular boulders overlooking Scargill High Moor. The continuing rocks can be seen running into the distance. Further into the distance, beyond the moorland is Stang Forest.

Trevor Littlewood

Cuboid boulders along White Crag - 2

White Crag is a discontinuous rock band broken into angular boulders overlooking Scargill High Moor. More rocks can be seen running into the distance. In the far distance, beyond the moorland, can be seen the coniferous trees of Stang Forest.

Trevor Littlewood

Eroding sandstone on Scargill High Moor

The prominent escarpment at the top of Scargill High Moor is formed in the unnamed sandstone that lies just below the Little Limestone, towards the bottom of the Stainmore Group, of Pendleian age in the Carboniferous. It's part of what older ones among us will remember as being the Millstone Grit series. At the top of the slope, blocks of sandstone are weathering out, and have little or no peat drift covering them. Just back from the edge, a path links lines of grouse butts, making for surprisingly easy and pleasant walking. Even beyond the last grouse butt (some way to the west) the path continues as a gamekeeper's access, somewhat narrower but still giving mostly easy footing.

Andy Waddington

Eroding sandstone on Scargill High Moor

Andy Waddington

Tarnhow Hill

Although apparently a very minor eminence on the map, Tarnhow Hill seems quite prominent across the otherwise rather flat bit of moorland above Bleakhow Edge (itself a rather over-grandiose name for a short steep slope with a few sandstone boulders). There's a small crag or perhaps a quarry, which I would have guessed was formed in the Little Limestone, but BGS sheet 41 (Kirkby Stephen) shows it as Richmond Chert, a little above the limestone. It also shows Tarnhow Hill covered in drift with no actual bedrock showing, which is clearly not the case, so I withhold judgement on which bed is outcropping, as I suspect that the mappers, like myself today, may not have trekked over to the hill and examined it in detail. The drystone wall which crosses its shoulder, marks the post-1974 border between North Yorkshire and County Durham (prior to that, the boundary was along the River Tees, further north) and is also the frontier of the Yorkshire Dales National Park. A number of rights of way either change status to lesser rights, or terminate abruptly on that border, suggesting that within the Park (in 1949 it was all the North Riding) recording of existing paths was far more lax than outside on the definitive map. Given the time it took for the 1949 Act to result in these definitive maps, it is possible that the discrepancy lay between the post-1974 county authorities.

Andy Waddington

Gamekeeper's path on White Crag Moss

Beyond the last grouse butt on Scargill High Moor, the broad footpath serving those butts (used by off-road vehicles, one suspects) shrinks to just a footpath, though the occasional fat tyre track does suggest something motorised occasionally passes this way. Lots of predator traps and grouse medication trays imply the primary purpose is for gamekeeper's access, but being along the top of the sandstone outcrop where the peat is shallow or absent, the path is surprisingly easy underfoot and the views north over the Greta valley are rather fine.

Andy Waddington

Area of mown heather below Elsey Crag

The mown lines can be detected on the flat ground. The land is managed as grouse moor which has seen periodic burning to promote the growth of new heather shoots. For various environmental reasons it seems that some estates have now taken to mowing heather rather than burning. That would leave the cut material on the moorland eventually to add to the peat depth. It must be said however that here, there seems to be little in the way of lying cut remnants. The trees of Stang Forest are in the distance.

Trevor Littlewood

Hoove Tarn

Hoove Tarn on the flat moorland north of the trig point of Hoove. The division among what is water, bog or firm ground is hard to define - there's certainly little of the last. No wonder the tarn is fenced to keep out wandering sheep.

Trevor Littlewood

Boulder chain leading to top of Elsey Crag

Elsey Crag is a minor band of outcropping rock north of the moorland hill, Hoove. Angular boulders are strewn along moorland leading to the crag end which is at the centre of the image. There's a rock there known as the Frying Pan Stone; it's not quite apparent in the image but a walker is sitting on it.

Trevor Littlewood

Walker standing on Frying Pan Stone

The Frying Pan Stone is at the western end of Elsey Crag, a minor rock band north of the moorland hill, Hoove. There's a wall abutting the crag end presumably to prevent sheep from wandering close to the edge. The Frying Pan Stone can better be seen in another image - Link - where its elevation is more apparent.

Trevor Littlewood

Wall above Elsey Crag

The wall runs above the top of the minor rock feature, Elsey Crag; it's there presumably to prevent sheep from falling over the edge. At the near end of the crag is a feature known as the Frying Pan Stone; it's perched at an angle on top of other blocks.

Trevor Littlewood

Dry stone wall above Elsey Crag

Elsey Crag is a minor rock feature; this wall above it will have been built to prevent sheep falling over the edge. The heather moorland of Scargill High Moor lies beyond the wall.

Trevor Littlewood

Hoove Tarn

Situated directly North of the trig point on a lower slope it is only recognisable because of the fencing surrounding it. The local flora seems to be reclaiming it. In a few years it could well be just another boggy area of a fell that is full of them.

Colin Gregory

Elsey Crag and dry stone wall

Elsey Crag is a minor rock feature of the heather moorland north of the summit of Hoove. The large, prominent stone at the left side is known as The Frying Pan Stone due to the shape of an indentation on its flat top. Trees of the Stang Forest can be seen in the distance.

Trevor Littlewood

Fence line descending to Stang Forest

Steep heathery slopes with scattered rocks drop from the vicinity of Elsey Crag towards the Stang Forest,

Trevor Littlewood

Blocked grip on Hoove

Hoove is a flat-topped moorland hill on the north side of Arkengarthdale. As with many moorland areas the land was ploughed with widely spaced, deep furrows to promote drainage of the wet peaty ground. A change of policy now sees these ditches or grips as they are known, being blocked; a complete reversal of earlier thinking.

Trevor Littlewood

Black Sike drops into a ravine

For most of its course off the flanks of Hoove, Black Sike is like many moorland streams around here, just dropping through the surrounding peat and sandstone bedrock, but here the rock changes, and the stream has cut into the softer shales, creating a neat little ravine.

Matthew Hatton

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Faggergill Moor is located at Grid Ref: NY9807 (Lat: 54.463811, Lng: -2.0188341)

Division: North Riding

Administrative County: North Yorkshire

District: Richmondshire

Police Authority: North Yorkshire