A walk in Tripsdale

A group excursion today with friends to a local North York Moors dale where we’d been told there was a large rock worth seeing! It was bitingly chilly as we set off and I regretted not bringing a hat – luckily our guide and local history expert Phil had a spare.

The first point of interest was this building. Grouse shooting is pretty big business around here and this is used as a refreshment point on shoot days.

There is only one small window but on the south facing wall there might be more behind a large sliding wooden door.

Little bridges like this one are located next to the shooting butts presumably so the ‘guns’ didn’t get wet feet!

Phil told us his grandfather built these old stone butts and that he himself was the head gamekeeper until he retired several years ago. He told me the ‘sport’ has changed drastically in recent years and I got the impression he was happy to get out when he did. It was fascinating to spend time in his company.

Before we got to the large rock we passed the ruins of Cobblers Cottage – Colin (above) told us the cobbler was a hermit – apparently he sold clogs, shoes and slippers to local people. These ruins looked like he only lived in a couple of small rooms but, who knows, there might have been an upper floor!

Eventually we reached the ‘Ship Stone’ named because of its resemblance to the prow of a sailing ship.

I looked up its dimensions – 17 feet 6 inches high, 20 feet wide and 61 feet long, weighing 1,500 tons. _Source

The walk was well worth the effort – out of the wind it was great to hang out in this sheltered spot and enjoy the warmth of the spring sunshine before returning the way we came.