The North Yorkshire Moors: A Magnificent Place to go for Vacationers Throughout every season

The moorland as well as the villages of the North Yorkshire Moors within the North Yorkshire Moors National Park have some of the most spectacular vistas in the British Isles.

High on the moors at the end of August and early September, the heather blooms open to display a magnificent purple 'carpet' which encompasses the moorland as far as the eye can see. Rolling hillsides of purple velvet, only broken by the greyish tarmac of the roads and the white colored 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 spectacular fist shaped hollow formed over many thousands of years by the action of spring water, porous rocks and clay ground. A legend has transpired concerning this unusual natural site. A giant named Wade, over the course of an argument with his spouse 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 on the moors, the oldest of which is the Lilla Cross thought 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, known as radomes. Each radome weighed around a hundred tons and was 154 ft high and 140 ft diameter. They housed huge swiveling radar dishes with a range of 3,thousand 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 disassembled much to the dismay of several folks as they had long since become an attraction of the region. In their location was constructed Solid State Phased Array, SSPAR in the shape of a giant 'Pyramid' which continues to keep track of space debris, satellites and missiles as well as some would like to believe - UFOs!!

When traveling on the moors close to the Fylingdales Early Warning Station there can be seen a couple of little Christmas pine trees growing at the side of the A169. Over the years they've become decorated with more and more tinsel and baubles. Nobody seems to know who decorates them but they are a bit of a novelty to kids in the passing cars