The Black Swan at Helmsley – a comfortable stay at a historic location
Needing to head up to the North York Moors to recce a walking route for a future tour, myself and my wife decided at short notice to head...
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timbarber
May 18, 20223 min read
The Medieval Frescoes in St. Peter & St. Paul’s Church in Pickering
With an hour to kill before my guests were to board the North York Railway in Pickering for a trip to Whitby on the heritage railway I...
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timbarber
Feb 3, 20223 min read
The Chapel of Our Lady of the Crag - a hidden gem in Knaresborough
One of the strangest and most interesting historic sites in the region is The Chapel of Our Lady of the Crag, a small chapel carved into...
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timbarber
Jan 25, 20223 min read
York’s Anglian Tower – Top of Historic-UK’s most interesting historical sites in England
Hidden away behind York’s library and just outside Museum Gardens is a real historical treasure which I discovered thanks to the author...
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timbarber
Dec 14, 20214 min read
Sandal Castle – believed to have inspired a nursery rhyme and its link to the War of the Roses
Sitting a few miles outside Wakefield are the ruined remains of Sandal Castle. There is not much of the stonework left but the moat and...
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timbarber
Dec 11, 20214 min read
Ribblehead Viaduct - the fascinating story behind this Yorkshire icon
One of the most iconic sights in Yorkshire has to be the huge viaduct stretching 400 metres across the Ribble Valley which forms part of...
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timbarber
Nov 23, 20212 min read
Shedding some light on Beamsley Beacon
Most people head out from Ilkley up onto the Moors above White Wells or The Cow and Calf, but walking up on the Moors over the other side...
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timbarber
Nov 18, 20212 min read
Masham's Rare Anglo Saxon Cross Shaft
On my tours of the Yorkshire Dales, I often stop in Masham sitting on the River Ure to show guests around the town before heading into...
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timbarber
Oct 4, 20213 min read
The Mystery of Otley's Vacca Wall
I regularly walk my dog on Otley Chevin and walking up from the East Chevin Quarry Car Park to Surprise View, I often pass a long...
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timbarber
Jul 23, 20213 min read
Toft Gate Lime Kiln - a window into Nidderdale's industrial past
On the road between Pateley Bridge and Grassington just outside Greenhow lies a curious structure with the remnants of a stack chimney...
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timbarber
Jul 8, 20212 min read
The Druid’s Temple – Yorkshire’s Stonehenge or an 18th century Folly?
Nestled in the woodland close to Swinton Bivouac on the Swinton Park Estate lies a huge stone circle which looks like the sort of...
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timbarber
Jun 30, 20213 min read
Barwick in Elmet’s Iron Age Hill Fort and Motte Bailey Castle
After visiting a friend in Barwick in Elmet, I remembered years ago he’d mentioned the remains of a motte bailey castle behind the local...
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timbarber
Jun 11, 20213 min read
The Gallows Pole – The story of the Cragg Vale Coiners
Nothing to do with the Led Zeppelin song of the same name, I stumbled on the book The Gallows Pole by Benjamin Myers in a book store in...
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timbarber
May 31, 20212 min read
The Ilkley Moor Alien
Living in Burley in Wharfedale, I spend a lot of time on Ilkley Moor with my dog and love exploring the wild moorland. So when a friend...
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timbarber
Apr 28, 20213 min read
The Chapel of St. Mary Magdelan - a Medieval Hospital and Leper Chapel in Ripon
I had read about a Leper Hospital in Ripon, so last summer having dropped off some overseas visitors at The Old Deanery next to Ripon...
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timbarber
Mar 20, 20213 min read
Whitby’s "Snakestones" and the legend of St.Hilda
I have loved fossil hunting since being a child and over the years with my kids I have spent hours scouring the beaches around Staithes...
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timbarber
Mar 14, 20213 min read
Bridgerton in Yorkshire
Riding on the coat tails of smash-hit period dramas such as BBC’s Downtown Abbey and ITV’s Victoria, Netflix released its own romp...
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timbarber
Mar 9, 20213 min read
A Moorish Masterpiece - St.Paul's House on Park Square, Leeds
One of my favourite buildings in Leeds is situated just on the edge of Park Square near the Town Hall. Having taken my son into Leeds for...
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timbarber
Feb 19, 20213 min read
The Story of Wool – Grade II listed Public Art Sculpture in Ilkley
One of my first jobs after leaving University was for the Clothing Industry Training Board (CAPITB), which used to be based in Pudsey,...
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timbarber
Feb 3, 20215 min read
The Story of Scar House Reservoir, the pop up village of Scar and the lost village of Lodge
Deep in the heart of Nidderdale’s Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) towards the top of the Nidd Valley and in the shadow of Great...
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