Day 13 - Blakey Ridge to Egton Bridge - 11 1/2 miles Part 1

We decided to leave early today so we were done breakfast and out the door into a foggy, windy morning before 8am.

Walking Blakey Ridge

We had a choice of footpath or road but chose the road because we were looking for Young Ralph, Old Ralph and Fat Betty and we'd miss them if we took the path.

Young Ralph

Fat Betty - that's the stone not me, although…anyway we left and took an offering as is tradition

We never did find Old Ralph, we probably missed him in the fog. Here's the story on the stones:

The stones named Old Ralph, Young Ralph and Fat Betty are thought to be reminders of a trio of people who supported some nuns known as White Ladies. They tried to establish a convent in Rosedale. The plan aroused great antagonism and deep suspicion from local people but the story tells us that an elderly man known as Ralph became the devoted servant of The White Ladies.

One of his duties was to accompany them on missions across the moors, and on one occasion the nuns were to meet representatives of nearby Baysdale Abbey to discuss a mutual problem.

Their meeting place was Young Ralph, the stone cross, but dense fog developed and the nuns could not find the Baysdale nun called Margery. Old Ralph saved the day by shouting their names in the fog and so the nuns did not stray far from the cross. When the fog lifted, they could see each other. Ralph commemorated the event by positioning some stones – the Margery Stone that still marks a route for hikers, Fat Betty, a white boulder that represented Sister Elizabeth who was not fat (but the stone was!) and the standing stone Old Ralph who watches from a distance.

There is an old legend that if Old Ralph and Fat Betty ever meet, they will get married. To date, that has not happened.

We made our way around the road and up onto High Danby Moor above Great Fryupdale, a great name! More history….

The curious name Fryup probably derives from the Old English reconstruction *Frige-hop: Frige was an Anglo-Saxon goddess equated with the Old Norse Frigg; hop denoted a small valley.^[1]

An old woman at Fryup was well known locally for keeping the Mark’s e’en watch (24 April), as she lived alongside a corpse roadknown as Old Hell Road. The practice involved a village seer holding vigil between 11pm and 1am to watch for the wraiths of those who would die in the following 12 months.

On we went and the fog lifted as we walked and we thanked Lorna and Jessie (our mums) who have given us terrific weather on our journey.

Great Fryupdale

Lonely place above Great Fryupdale

We walked on a wide, rocky path that eventually came to a narrow road where we rested for a bit.

40 winks on the road

We walked on, pushed along by a strong wind and accompanied by the many red grouse browsing in the heather. I tried to get a photo of these lovely birds but wasn't able to manage it with my phone camera. They are very amusing birds with a wonderful call and a great desire to run everywhere instead of using their wings.  It's very interesting how managed a habitat the moors really are and home to much birdlife, golden plovers, curlews, lapwings and grouse. The growth and production of heather is managed by strategic burning so that there is always enough full-grown heather for nesting and enough young heather for feeding. The sheep also play a part in winter by knocking snow from the plants in order for the birds to feed. Britain has 75% of the world's remaining moorland and North Yorkshire has the largest continuous tract in England.

And there ends your lesson for today!!

Going for dinner now and will finish the rest of the day later.