The moorland and the villages of the North Yorkshire Moors in the North Yorkshire Moors National Park have some of the most stunning scenes in the British Isles.

High on the moors in late August and early September, the heather flowers open to display a magnificent purple ‘carpet’ which encompasses the moorland as far as the eye can see. Rolling hills of purple velvet only broken by the grey tarmac of the roads and the white wool of the grazing moorland sheep rise and fall in succession. Near the tabular hills is the ‘Hole of Horcum’, the Devil’s Punch Bowl. A magnificent fist shaped hollow formed over thousands 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 number of ancient stone monuments on the moors, the oldest of which is the Lilla Cross believed to date from the 7th 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 on the North Yorkshire Moors belonging to the sixties was the ‘three golf balls’, in fact the Fylingdales’ Ballistic Missile Early Warning Station abbreviated to BMEWS. The ‘golf balls’ are, in fact, called radomes. Each radome weighed about 100 tons and was 154 feet high and 140 feet diameter. They housed immense swiveling radar dishes with a range of 3,000 miles. In addition to scanning for missiles the station continuously monitored satellites and space debris. It is said that an object as small as a tea tray in space would 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 area. In their place was erected Solid State Phased Array, SSPAR in the shape of a giant ‘Pyramid’ which continues to monitor space debris, satellites and missiles as well as some would like to believe – UFOs!!

When driving over the moors near to the Fylingdales Early Warning Station there can be seen two small Christmas pine trees growing at the side of the A169. Over the years they have become decorated with increasing numbers of tinsel and baubles. No one seems to know who decorates them but they are somewhat of a novelty to children in the passing cars.

If you would like to learn more about the North Yorkshire Moors natinal park, please visit North Yorkshire Moors
For more information about the nearby town on Whitby, and the villages of the North Yorkshire Ocast, visit Whitby UK