The North Yorkshire Moors: A Magnificent Destination For Vacationers All Year Round

The moorland and also the villages of the North Yorkshire Moors within the North Yorkshire Moors National Park have some of the very most spectacular scenes in the British Isles.



High on the moors in late August and early September, the heather flowers open to display a wonderful purple 'carpet' which encompasses the moorland as far as the eye can see. Rolling hills of purple velvet, only broken by the greyish tarmac of the roads and the white wool of the grazing moorland sheep rise and fall in succession.

Close to the tabular hills is the 'Hole of Horcum', the Devil's Punch Bowl. A magnificent fist shaped hollow formed over 1000's of years by the action of spring water, porous rocks and clay ground. A legend has transpired about this unusual natural site. A giant named Wade, during the course of an argument with his wife Bell, scooped a fistful of earth to throw at her. He missed with the result that the earth fell on the moors and formed 'Blakey Ridge'. In folklore, Wade and Bell each had a castle, one at Mulgrave and one at Pickering, it is said that Wade built a causeway on Wheeldale moor as a pathway for Bell to milk her cows!



There are a variety of ancient stone monuments around the moors, the oldest of which is the Lilla Cross considered to date from the seventh century. It is said to mark the grave of Lilla, a chief minister to King Edwin of Deira, When an assassination attempt was made on the King, Lilla threw himself between the attacker and the King, thus saving the life of the King and sacrificing his own.



An iconic image within the North Yorkshire Moors belonging to the 60s was the 'three golf balls', in fact the Fylingdales' Ballistic Missile Early Warning Station abbreviated to BMEWS. The 'golf balls' are, in fact, known as radomes. Each radome weighed about 100 tons and was 154 feet high and 140 ft diameter. They housed enormous swiveling radar dishes with a range of 3,000 miles. In addition to scanning for missiles, the station constantly monitored satellites and space debris. It is said that an object as small as a tea tray in space will be picked up by them! It was the scene of many 'peace camps' by the CND (Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament). In 1992 the radomes were dismantled much to the dismay of many people as they had long since become an attraction of the region. In their place was erected Solid State Phased Array, SSPAR in the shape of an enormous 'Pyramid' which continues to keep track of space debris, satellites and missiles as well as some would like to believe - UFOs!!



When traveling over the moors near the Fylingdales Early Warning Station there can be seen a pair of little Xmas pine trees growing at the side of the A169. Over the years they have become decorated with increasing numbers of tinsel and baubles. Nobody seems to know who decorates them but they are a bit of a novelty to youngsters in the passing cars