North York Moors

Wade's Causeway is a sinuous, linear structure of human construction located in the North York Moors national park in North Yorkshire, England. Its origins, age, purpose and extent are subject to ongoing research and debate and have not been reliably established: it was excavated in mid-20th century and dated to the Roman period, but 21st century re-interpretations have suggested a possible Neolithic origin. The name may be used to refer specifically to scheduled ancient monument number 1004876, a length of stone course just over 1 mile (1.6 km) long on Wheeldale Moor. It may be also be applied more broadly to include an additional postulated extension of this structure, incorporating ancient monuments numbers 1004108 and 1004104 which extend to the north and south of Wheeldale for up to 25 miles (40 km). The visible course on Wheeldale Moor consists of an embankment of soil, peat, gravel and loose pebbles 0.7 metres (2.3 ft) in height and 4 to 7 metres (13 to 23 ft) in width. The gently cambered embankment is capped with un-mortared and loosely abutted flagstones. Its original form is uncertain since it has been subjected to weathering and human damage. The structure has been the subject of folklore in the surrounding area for several hundred years and possibly for more than a millennium. Its construction was commonly attributed to a giant known as Wade, a figure from Germanic mythology. In the 1720s, the causeway was mentioned in a published text and as a result became more widely known outside the local area for the first time. Within a few years, it became of interest to antiquarians, who visited the site and exchanged commentary on its probable historicity. They interpreted the structure as a causeway across marshy ground, attributing its construction to the Roman military, an explanation that remained largely unchallenged throughout the remainder of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. The stretch of the causeway on Wheeldale Moor was cleared of vegetation and excavated in the early twentieth century by a local gamekeeper interested in archaeology. The historian Ivan Margary agreed with its identification as a Roman road and assigned it the catalogue number 81b in the first edition of his Roman Roads In Britain (1957). The causeway was further excavated and studied by the archaeologist Raymond Hayes in the 1950s and 1960s, partly funded by the Council for British Archaeology. His investigation concluded that the structure was a Roman road and the resulting report was published in 1964 by the Scarborough Archaeological and Historical Society. In the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries, its identification as a Roman road has been questioned by academics, and alternative interpretations suggested for its purpose and date of construction, including its possible origin as a neolithic structure up to 6,000 years old. The monument's co-manager, English Heritage, in 2012, proposed several avenues of research that might be used to settle some of the questions that have arisen regarding its origins and usage.

Stape is a hamlet and civil parish in the Ryedale district of North Yorkshire, England. At the 2011 Census the population was less than 100; details are included in the civil parish of Cropton. The population was estimated to be 120 in 2015 by the local authority.Stape is in the North York Moors National Park, 8 miles (13 km) north of Pickering. Between 1974 and 2023 the parish was part of the Ryedale district. To the south-west of the village, a Roman Road runs across Flamborough Rigg, through the village and across the moors to the north. It is thought that the road is Wade's Causeway, which connected the Roman camps at Malton and Cawthorne with the east coast. Also to the south west is the Keldy Castle estate, which was requisitioned from the Reckitt Family during the Second World War as an army camp. The castle (actually a stately home with crenellated walls) was destroyed in 1950 after being declared surplus to the requirements of the owners. In 1976, the Forestry Commission installed holiday homes on the site.There was an activity centre, known as the Ken Ather Outdoor Centre, built for use by pupils of the village until closed by what was then the North Riding Education Authority. It was run by the Joseph Rowntree Trust and often used by Joseph Rowntree School, New Earswick, York until 2016, when administrative problems made it too difficult to retain.Stape is home to the Stape Silver Band, which was formed in Newtondale in 1884. The band have been featured in the ITV series "Heartbeat" twice in 1994 and 2008. In 2010, the band reached the finals of the National Brass Band Competition which was held in Harrogate.

Blue Man-i'-th'-Moss is a standing stone in the North York Moors in northern England. It lies on Wheeldale Moor on the route of the Lyke Wake Walk.It is a parish boundary stone, but is believed to have been standing since pre-Roman times. It is 2 metres (6.6 ft) tall and has small boulders and stones set in the ground around its base. The stone is considerably weathered.Traces of blue paint which once covered the stone can be seen in places. There is a letter 'E' with a date 1841 engraved on the south face. A memorial plaque was cemented at the base of the stone on the south side in 2003 but was subsequently removed in 2016.

Cawthorne Camp (sometimes spelled "Cawthorn") is a Roman site in north-east England, about 4 miles (6 km) north of Pickering, North Yorkshire. The well-preserved earthworks outline two forts, one with an extension, and a temporary camp built to an unusual plan. The earthworks date from the late 1st/early 2nd century AD. It has been suggested that they were built for practice rather than for actual military use.Archaeological investigation has also found indications of pre-Roman activity at the site, and also traces of later sunken dwellings (Grubenhäuser). A late Iron Age chariot burial was discovered at the site in 1905 by J. R. Mortimer and at least one other square barrow is known from the site.The site was acquired by the North York Moors National Park in 1983.

Hartoft is a hamlet in the Ryedale district of North Yorkshire, England. It is situated approximately 7 miles (11 km) north-northwest from Pickering. The nearest village, Rosedale Abbey, is situated 1.8 miles (3 km) away.

The Tabular Hills form an east–west line along the southern bounds of the North York Moors, between Scarborough in the east and Black Hambleton in the west. The name refers to their flat summits composed of hard Corallian limestone, known locally as "nabs". They form the northern boundary of the Vale of Pickering.

Cropton is a village and civil parish in the Ryedale district of North Yorkshire, England. It is on the border of the North York Moors National Park, 3 miles (5 km) north-west of Pickering.

The Great Yorkshire Brewery (founded as Cropton Brewery) is situated in the village of Cropton in North Yorkshire, England. Located within the North York Moors National Park, it is 2 miles north west of Pickering.

Rosedale Abbey is a village in the Ryedale district of North Yorkshire, England. It is approximately 8 miles (13 km) north-west of Pickering, 8 miles south-east of Castleton and within Rosedale, part of the North York Moors National Park.

Rosedale Priory was a priory in Rosedale Abbey, North Yorkshire, England that was founded c. 1150–1199. By the time the priory was suppressed in 1535, it had one prioress and eight nuns. The religious house in Rosedale was a priory and not an abbey, despite the village being given the name Rosedale Abbey, and it is unclear why this came about.The priory was founded during the reign of Henry II and finished during the reign of Richard the Lionheart. The land was donated by Robert de Stuteville, so that nuns from the Benedictine order could worship and farm the surrounding land.After suppression during the reign of King Henry VIII, the priory was abandoned, though it is thought that most of the stones were re-used in the construction of the village buildings including the adjacent church of St Mary and St Lawrence. The only ruin left standing is a 13th-century turret which rises to 20 feet (6.1 m) high and is just to the west of the present church. The turret was grade II listed in 1953.

Rosedale Chimney Bank or just Chimney Bank is a hill pass that carries a minor road between Rosedale Abbey and Hutton-le-Hole in the Ryedale district of the North York Moors National Park, North Yorkshire, England. The tarmacked highway shares the title of steepest road in England (the other is Hardknott Pass in Cumbria). The pass has an average gradient of 13%, with a maximum gradient of 1 in 3 (about 33%) and climbs 568 feet (173 m) on its 0.81-mile (1.3 km) route. It is colloquially known by cyclists as The Chain Breaker.In 1987 it was used as the venue for the National Hill Climb Championship.It takes its name from a 100-foot (30 m) high chimney which was built to support an ironstone mine which was in that area. The mine closed in 1929, but its chimney remained until it was demolished on 28 July 1972.

Rosedale is a valley located almost in the centre of the North York Moors national park in North Yorkshire, England. The nearest town is Kirkbymoorside, some 7 miles (11 km) to the south. Rosedale is surrounded by moorland. To the north-west sits Blakey Ridge at over 1,300 feet (400 m) above sea level. At Dale Head is the source of the River Seven,which flows down the valley to join the River Rye at Little Habton near Malton. At its southern end Rosedale is squeezed between Spaunton Moor and Hartoft Rigg, where the river flows out through Forestry Commission woodland before passing the village of Cropton to reach the plains of the Vale of Pickering. The modern village of Rosedale Abbey, built around the site of a former Cistercian Priory is the main settlement in the valley. There is also a small hamlet at Thorgill.