From 1939 to 1954 this piece of moor played a key role in World War 2.
This site detected and led to the shooting down of the first enemy aircraft to fall on England on 3rd February 1940, a Heinkel 111which later crashed at Bannial Flatt Farm near Whitby.
This website covers the layout of the site in a lot more details
Ancient packhorse bridge, visible from the modern road. Restored in 1874. It has unusual arches unlike any other bridge i’ve seen. It is believed to have some connection to the Knight Templar who were based very close by.
The tunnel travels from the mine site, under Ridge Lane. A through journey is possible although wellingtons would be a good idea. The track continued through to Dalehouses then into a second tunnel which emerges at Port Mulgrave.
Little remains visible at the actual mine site, although there is a large collapse due to the culverted stream running underneath.
A large block is also visible
But its more fun in the tunnel.
The tunnel is very easy to locate at the top of path which bridges the A174.
There are a number of surface building which i’ll shortly identify after a visit to the library.
The large number of mature plum trees in the picnic area always seemed a little out of place to me. The car park appears to have been a smallpox hospital.
I can find no pictures or references to it, other than a few mentions of a smallpox epidemic in Teesside in the late 1890s
Part of the Middlesbrough & Guisborough Railway the station was closed in 1964 when line closed, the station building is now a private house with the line running into the garden after this platform.
When I last visited the Sandsend end was locked, but the Kettleness end was open (although requiring a journey through the shorter Kettleness tunnel to reach it)
The track between the two is very overgrown and the tunnel portal in poor condition, the seaward side is angled and looks like it may collapse within a few years.
A sizable heap of mud has washed through the roof which is held up by a metal arch, although its hard to tell how long that has been in place.
Inside the tunnel appeared more stable, although we only ventured a little way due to time constraints.
I need to return and take more photos as this visit predated me having a DSLR.
Rikj has some amazing shots of the rest of the tunnel on Flickr
Visible from the main path through the woods at Yearby, although the tree cover made GPS reception tricky.
There appears to be a second chamber through the doorway at the rear, although i had neither a powerful torch or a ladder to venture any further to photograph it.
Some sort of ladder is needed if you want to get inside (or more importantly get back out afterwards)
There is a record of a hermit called Mick Plummer actually living here.
The site is on a public footpath, although its appear very rarely used as I lost the track several times.
The fanhouse is beginning to collapse, compared with 70s photos where the concrete roof is straight and uncracked.
The building contains the decaying remains of the actual sirocco fan, which has now collapsed compared to the photo from the 70s when it still held its original shape and covered the holes to the right and left. The small room to the right contains concrete bass which presumably held the motor for turning the fan.
Through a hole towards the rear of the building (where theres also something that looks like an owl nesting box) the ventilation shaft through which air was pulled is visible and completely unguarded.
Identical in design to the Redcar Sound Mirror built around 1916. Today stands in a private field.
Only one corner of the 13th Century Roxby (or Rousby) Hall remains in a field adjacent to St. Nicholas’ Church
The viaduct over Skelton Beck was originally part of the Whitby, Redcar and Middlesbrough Union Railway.
The line closed in 1958 and now carries goods trains to the Boulby Potash mines.
The village of Hinderwell derives its names from this well in the church yard.
St Hilda was the early Christian abbess in Whitby in the 7th century, and the water is still flowing today.
Restored in 1912 by another Hilda, Hilda Palmer of Grinkle, who I believe is the daughter of Sir Charles Palmer
RSS Feed
