North York Moors Totally Explained

Everything about North York Moors totally explained

The North York Moors (also known as the North Yorkshire Moors) is a national park in North Yorkshire, England. The moors are one of the largest expanses of heather moorland in the United Kingdom. The national park's area is 1,436 km² (554 square miles), and it has a population of about 25,000. The North York Moors became a National Park in 1952, through the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act of 1949.

Location and Transport

To the east the area is clearly defined by the impressive cliffs of the North Sea coast.The northern and western boundaries are defined by the steep scarp slopes edging the Tees Lowlands and the Vale of Mowbray.To the south lies the Vale of Pickering.
Four roads cross the moors from north to south. In the east the A171 joins Whitby and Scarborough. Further inland, the A169 runs between Pickering and Whitby. More centrally, a minor road departs from the A170 at Keldholme and passes through Castleton before joining the A171 which connects Whitby and Guisborough. The most westerly route is the B1257 connecting Helmsley to Stokesley. The A170 from Thirsk to Scarborough marks the southern boundary of the moors area.
There is an east-west main line rail link from Whitby to Middlesbrough in the north and the North Yorkshire Moors steam railway runs from Pickering to Grosmont with a link to Whitby.

Physical geography

Climate

As part of the United Kingdom, the North York Moors area generally has cool summers and relatively mild winters. Weather conditions vary from day to day as well as from season to season. The latitude of the area means that it's influenced by predominantly westerly winds with depressions and their associated fronts, bringing with them unsettled and windy weather, particularly in winter. Between depressions there are often small mobile anticyclones that bring periods of fair weather. In winter anticyclones bring cold dry weather. In summer the anticyclones tend to bring dry settled conditions which can lead to drought. For its latitude this area is mild in winter and cooler in summer due to the influence of the Gulf Stream in the northern Atlantic Ocean. Air temperature varies on a daily and seasonal basis. The temperature is usually lower at night and January is the coldest time of the year. The two dominant influences on the climate of the North York Moors are the shelter against the worst of the moist westerly winds provided by the Pennines and the proximity of the North Sea. Late, chilly springs and cool summers are a feature of the area but there are often spells of fine autumn weather. Onshore winds in spring and early summer bring mists or low stratus clouds (known locally as sea frets) to the coasts and moors. Within the area variations in climate are brought about by local differences in altitude, aspect and shelter.
Snowfall is variable from year to year. Heavy falls are associated with north-easterly winds off the North Sea.
Average recordings are:

130 wet days
215 dry days
20 snow fall days
rainfall of 1000 mm to 1520 mm near the coast
rainfall of 635 mm to 760 mm inland
summer temperatures of 20 °C to 32 °C
winter temperatures of -1 °C to 10 °C

Geology

The geology of the North York Moors is dominated by rocks of the Jurassic age.They were mostly laid down in tropical seas 205 to 142 million years ago. Fluctuations in sea level produced different rock types varying from shales to sandstones and limestones derived from coral. These marine and delta deposited rocks are superbly exposed on the Yorkshire coast from Staithes to Filey.

Lower Jurassic At the beginning of the Jurassic era shales, clays and thin limestones and sandstones were deposited in a shallow sea. These deposits are many metres thick and include layers of ironstone of various thicknesses and the rocks from which alum is extracted.

Middle Jurassic A period of gradual uplift happened when mudstone and sandstone were deposited on a low lying coastal plain crossed by large rivers. Occasionally this land area was inundated by the sea and at these times calcarious rocks containing marine fossils were deposited. These are the Ravenscar group of rocks. The Oxford clay was deposited at the end of this era.

Upper Jurassic Towards the end of the Jurassic era the land again sank beneath the sea. At first the sea was shallow and calcareous sandstones and limestones were deposited. These are the Corallian rocks of the Tabular hills towards the south of the area. Overlying the Corallian rocks is the Kimmeridge clay which underlies the Vale of Pickering but this isn't exposed on the surface. Subsequently, about 30 million years ago, the land was uplifted and tilted towards the south by earth movements. The upper layers of rock were eroded away and the older rocks were exposed in places. Because of the tilt the oldest rocks became exposed in the north. These are the bands of shales and ironstones on the northern scarp of the moors and Cleveland Hills. The middle layers form the sandstones of the high moors and the youngest layers of limestone form the tabular hills. In the dales where the rivers have cut through the younger rocks there are also exposures of older shales, ironstone and sandstone. Rosedale is an example of this.
During the Quaternary era, the last 2 million years, the area has experienced a sequence of glaciations. The most recent glaciation, the Devensian, ended about 20,000 years ago. The higher parts of the North York Moors were not covered by the ice sheets but glaciers flowed southwards on either side of the higher land mass.
As the climate became warmer at the end of the ice age the snowfields on the moors began to melt. The meltwater was unable to escape northwards, westwards or eastwards because it was blocked by ice. Huge torrents of water were forced southwards. Water from the Esk valley area flowed southwards gouging out the deep Newtondale valley as it went. Water from the moors formed a vast lake in the area of the Vale of Pickering. Eventually this lake filled its basin and then overflowed at the lowest point which was at Kirkham. Here it cut the steep sided Kirkham gorge. When the glacier finally retreated they left deep deposits of boulder clay and glacial alluvium behind. The boulder clay blocked the eastern end of the Vale of Pickering causing a permanent deviation in the course of the River Derwent. Alluvium from the glaciers covers many areas to the north of the moors and in the Esk valley.

The Hills

Carlton Moor/Bank 408 metres

Cringle Moor 435m

Cold Moor 401m

Hasty Bank + Wainstones 397m

Urra Moor (round hill) 454m

Roseberry Topping 320m

Danby Highmoor 432m

Glaisdale Moor 402m

Mowt Moor 260m

Lila Howe 292m

Howdale Moor 266m

Levisham Moor 269m

Lockton Low Moor 289m

Lockton High Moor 248m + others

Natural history

The North York Moors National Park encompasses two main types of landscape, whose differences are clearly visible, and the coastal belt. There are predominantly green areas of pasture land and the purple and brown heather moorland. The two kinds of scenery are the result of differences in the underlying geology and each supports different wildlife communities.

The moors Sandstones erode slowly and form poor acid soils which are deficient in nutrients. They are less permeable to water, impeding drainage and encouraging the formation of bogs. Sphagnum moss bogs are common where there's abundant rain and poor drainage. Cotton grass is a distinctive plant which grows in the boggy areas. In the cold acid waters of peat bogs there's little decomposition of organic material with the result that the dead sphagnum moss gradually accumulates to form peat. This raises the levels of the bogs and they dry out. Heather then invades the area. Large areas of the moors are now covered in heather, bilberries and grasses growing on thick layers of peat. The acid soils and peat bogs are unsuitable for earthworms so species which usually feed on earthworms such as moles and the common shrew are absent on the moors. The pygmy shrew survives by eating the insects and spiders that live in the heather. Lapwing, curlew and redshank breed on the moors and there are sandpipers along the streams. Wheatear and golden plovers inhabit grassier patches on the moors and ring ouzels live in stony areas. Red grouse, which feed on young heather shoots, are abundant. The heather is burned in strips by gamekeepers and farmers to encourage new heather growth to feed the grouse. Grouse shooting is part of the moorland economy. About 20 per cent of the national park is covered in bracken. Few things can grow under its dense cover and it doesn't support many insects and is unpalatable to most animals. The bracken is extremely invasive. Sheep are a ubiquitous part of the moorland landscape. Their grazing helps to maintain the open wild landscape that's needed for many other plants and animals to thrive.

The limestone belt. Limestone weathers down quickly to produce nutrient rich alkaline soils on well drained rocks. Gouging by glacial meltwaters has left spectacular valleys along whose floors run attractive streams. The limestone streams with their nutrient rich waters support an abundance of aquatic invertebrates such as insect larvae and crustaceans. These in turn support such fish as trout and grayling. Insects which emerge from the water in summer are also a rich source of food for birds. Grey wagtails, swallows and spotted flycatchers are commonly seen. Dippers and kingfishers are also typical. The otter, after a period of decline, is starting to recolonise the rivers and streams. Farndale is famous for its wild daffodils in spring. Sheltered woodlands dominated by sessile oaks can be found to the south of the high ground. These woodland areas are the home of pied flycatchers, sparrow hawks and wood warblers. Roe and fallow deer can also be found here. The woodlands and south facing grasslands on the limestone belt provide a good habitat for many butterflies. The fertile alkaline soils support an abundance of wild flowers. Bluebells and primroses grow in the hedgerows in spring and rarer plants such as the wood vetch and orchids are also to be found. Adders are widespread throughout the national park. On the moors they eat common lizards and around the hedgerows and woodland edges they feed on mice and voles.

The nineteenth century In the nineteenth century railways were built from Pickering to Whitby (1836), Middlesborough to Whitby (1868) and Scarborough to Whitby (1884). Locally sourced iron ore has been processed on the North York Moors from medieval times. In the 19th century it became a boom industry. Dozens of ironstone mines and several short-lived blast furnaces were constructed. Between 1856 and 1926 high-grade magnetic ironstone was mined in Rosedale. A railway was built around the top of the dale to serve the mines, and kilns were built to process the ore. In two decades the population of the valley rose from 558 to nearly 3000.Poor-quality coal was mined in many places on the moors from the 18th century to the early 20th century. The North York Moors is the only source for British jet. It has been mined in the area from prehistoric times but the industry grew in the middle of the 19th century in response to a fashion for the jewellery produced from it. In the 1880’s cheap imports produced a decline in the industry which was focused on Whitby. The remains of alum quarries are to be found to the north of the area and along the coast. Alum was important to the textile industry because it was used as a mordant or fixative for dyes that were used to colour cloth. The industry thrived in the region from the early 17th century until 1871. Its decline came when chemical dyes were discovered. The scars of industrial activity on the moors make it an interesting area in which to pursue industrial archaeology.

Economy

The area's economy is mainly founded on tourism and agriculture.

Agriculture

For over a thousand years the basis of the economy in the North York Moors was agriculture. The rural scene, which attracts millions of visitors to the park each year, has been formed and maintained by generations of farmers. The 1996 Agricultural Census recorded a total workforce of 2,913 employed on 1,342 working farms. Sheep and cattle provide the prime source of farm income. The dale farms have rights to graze sheep on the open moor. The rights to moorland grazing are often essential to the economic viability of a farm. In recent years agriculture in Britain has suffered economic setbacks and the viability of hill farming has become questionable. A number of environmental schemes to improve farm incomes have been devised but the industry continues to decline. Agricultural use of the moors is shared with grouse shooting as a means of gaining financial return from the vast expanse of heather. There is richer farmland across the southern limestone belt, where there are arable and mixed farms as well as the livestock farms. The main arable crops are barley, wheat, oilseed rape, potatoes, and sugar beets. There is also some intensive production of pigs and poultry.

Farndale LNR Local Nature Reserve

Helmsley Castle

Yorkshire Wildlife Trust Reserves: Ashberry Pastures, Bridestones, Ellerburn Bank, Fen Bog, Garbutt Wood, Hagg wood Marsh, Hayburn Wyke, Littlebeck.

Rievaulx Abbey

River Seven, River Dove, River Rye, River Seph, River Esk

Rosedale Abbey

Flamingo Land Theme Park and Zoo

Eden Camp MuseumFurther Information

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