North York Moors 17-18 December 2022

This is our first skiing trip in England this year. And the last one... There weather has been cold for a while but there was very little snow. We figured out that the best chance of finding skiable snow was in North York Moors.

The blue and red lines show our track on the 17 and 18 December. Shift-click on the track link will open it in nakarte.me.

Goathland

Skiing along a dirt track is much easier than fighting through the heather.

Suddenly the sun came out.

Descending to the Goathland station. A steam railway line follows a deep ravine and connects Pickering with Whitby. This station appeared in the Harry Potter movie.

A heavy penalty for failing to shut the gate.

The main station building. On the platform, several photographers were waiting for the special Christmas train.

A railway control room.	A Christmas tree on a trolley.

We went on before the train arrived.

Sprawling sycamore (Acer pseudoplatanus).

Hawthorn (Crataegus), the only surviving bush in the hedge shaped by the strong winds.

All fields were covered by snow.

Hole of Horcum

We reasoned that the snow would not melt away overnight and came here again in the following day. The morning was still cold, and the thaw only started in the afternoon. We are frequent visitors in this national park but we have never skied here before. The weather was overcast so we did not take many pictures.

The same North Yorkshire Moors Railway, just further south than yesterday. It was planned by George Stephenson in 1831.

Waiting for the train, which we didn't see this time either. This tower is the remains of a hunting lodge (Skelton Tower). It was built in 1830 by a former Levisham minister, Robert Skelton (hence the name).

A view of the Hole of Horcum. This wide and deep depression has been formed by water erosion over many thousands of years.