Boundary

I spent most of the day on a walk that took me across five moors: Baildon, Hawksworth, Burley, Ilkley and Bingley.

Today the boundary between Ilkley and Burley Moors is marked by a series of yellow wooden posts, but previous owners carved their names on prominent boulders to mark the edge of their territory. The Middleton family owned most of the land around Ilkley from around the eleven hundreds. William Middleton marked out the boundary of Ilkley Moor with a series of WM 1785 carvings. When the Middletons sold the Moor to Ilkley Local Board (ILB) in 1803, the Board marked their ownership with slightly more restrained carving. There are a series of dual marked boundary stones like this around the edge of Ilkley Moor, but this one was a new one for me today.

It was a sunny day, but cold, which at least meant that the mud was largely frozen. I mooched about looking for carved rocks, scaring up grouse with every third pace. Halfway over to the Chevin, my first Red Kite of the year was circling.

In the large view you can see out over Wharfedale and the Vale of York, with the Chevin in the mid-distance, and the snow-topped North York Moors on the skyline.

Almost Blips: Red Sheep, Blue Sheep. and Two Trees under a Blue Sky.