Snapshot Saturday: a field, a drystone wall, a corner

As you walk the fells, moors and dales of northern England, this is what you’ll see.

Masham Moor from Slipstone Crags.

Miles and miles of drystone wall.  In the Yorkshire Dales alone, there are some 8000 km. of wall, compared with only 990 km. of hedgerow, and 250 km. of fencing.  These walls keep flocks of sheep contained upon a single fell.  They provide a boundary between moorland heather and bracken, and more productive farmland.  They divide one farmer’s plot into more manageable fields.

Off they march down the fellside, turning a corner and skirting the valley bottom, before cornering again to march back up.  Or they’ll make snug little criss-cross squares in an ancient family farm.  Well maintained or slightly ramshackle, they make Yorkshire and the Pennine counties instantly recognisable.  Here’s a selection:

Appletreewick.
Near Semerwater.
Grimwith.
near Barnoldswick.
Semerwater.

 

Coverdale.

This week’s WordPress Photo Challenge is ‘corner’

Author: margaret21

I'm retired and live in North Yorkshire, where I walk , write, volunteer and travel as often as I can.

23 thoughts on “Snapshot Saturday: a field, a drystone wall, a corner”

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  6. I have memories of my father and grandfather picking stubborn stones out of a field and adding them to the walls at the edge. I think people forget that that’s how those walls get their start–as a place to put the rocks as the land is made arable. Your photos are really beautiful!

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    1. Thank you! In Yorkshire’s case, you’re absolutely right. Stony ground is no good for crops. But equally important – animals needed to be contained. Dry stone walls. Perfect.

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