Yorkshire Wolds

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Yorkshire Wolds are a range of hills in the English county of Yorkshire . They are the highest area in eastern England between the River Derwent in the west and north-west, the Humber in the south and the North Sea in the east. The range of hills runs in an arc approximately from Hull at some distance, first parallel to the North Sea, and then swiveling east to the coast. It ends at the level of the small town of Filey .

geography

The Wolds rise steeply from the western lowlands around York (Vale of York) . The highest point in the area is 246 m (807 ft) above sea level. NN of Garrowby Hill. To the north is the Vale of Pickering - and on the opposite side are the North York Moors . In the east, the Wolds merge into the Holderness plain, which in turn is connected to the North Sea coast . The largest city in the Wolds is Driffield , other places include Pocklington , Thixendale and Kilham.

The hill area consists of chalk stone . It ends as a cliff on the North Sea coast between Bridlington and Scarborough . The most striking cliff is the headland Flamborough Head , which also marks the easternmost point of the Wolds. The Lincolnshire Wolds to the south are separated by the Humber and viewed as a continuation of the Yorkshire Wolds.

Most of the area consists of a plateau rising steeply on the eastern edge and gently sloping to the west. This is cut through by some flat but steep-walled valleys of glacial origin. The area is surprisingly well drained, resulting in mostly dry valleys. In fact, few streams and lakes exist within the wolds. Seen from the hills, the shape of the landscape makes it look flatter than it actually is. The valleys are mainly used for livestock farming, while grain cultivation predominates on the hills.

climate

Winter in the Yorkshire Wolds

With its location in the north of the United Kingdom, the area is characterized by a temperate oceanic climate. Frequently passing low pressure areas cause changeable weather, while the Gulf Stream ensures relatively mild temperatures. It is slightly cooler in the higher areas than in the surrounding areas, and snow often falls in winter. An average of 729 mm of precipitation falls on 128 days a year. January is usually the coldest month and December is the wettest month. The warmest month is August and the driest is February.

Division of the area

Northern Wolds and Flamborough Head

A line of white cliffs topped with green turf protruding into the sea.
Flamborough Head

The Wolds reach the North Sea at Flamborough Head , where the cliff rises about 150 m from the sea. To the south of Flamborough is the tourist town of Bridlington , to the north is the steep cliff of Speeton , from where you can overlook Filey Bay . Further inland, the Wolds have a view of the Vale of Pickering .

The area is crossed by the Great Wold Walley . The Gypsey Race flowing through the valley flows into the North Sea at Bridlington. The valley runs first to the south and then in two right-angled curves at Burton Fleming and Rudston to the east. In dry seasons the stream bed falls dry in some places; the water continues to flow underground and emerges at another point.

Another feature of the area is the Danes Dyke , a large moat that extends over Flamborough Head. This double earth wall is about 20 m wide and 6 m deep and 5 m high from the ground up. The origin of the wall is unknown.

The Bempton Kliffs are home to a colony of sea birds and are a nature reserve owned by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds .

The Rudston Monolith, Great
Britain's largest standing stone

Settlements of note are Flamborough, North Landing, and South Landing. Reighton owns many houses made of chalk. Hunmanby was once the largest market in the area; the houses of the place are lined up around a triangular market place. A handful of villages are located on the northern edge of the Wolds, whose territory consists of the very fertile marshland of the Vale of Pickering. Forden is one of the smallest parishes in England with just a few courtyards and a small church dating back to the time of the Normans. Wold Newton and Burton Fleming are in the Great Wold Valley. There is a huge monolith in Rudston, which can be viewed in the village's churchyard. It is the largest standing stone in Great Britain.

Capital Wolds

On the ocean side of the Wolds between Bridlington and Driffield are a few villages. These mark the boundary between the chalk layers of the Wolds and the clay soil of Holderness . Driffield is centered in the crescent moon shape of the wolds; Since this city can be easily reached from anywhere, it developed into an important market and is regarded as the main town of the Wolds. A prosperous trading center already existed in their place in the Middle Ages. There was an Iron Age burial ground in the area, as well as two Anglican cemeteries and two Roman roads.

Burton Agnes Hall
The former Kiplingcotes train station
Wharram Percy

Villages worth mentioning are Nafferton, which is located directly on the A166 highway and has a beautiful mill pond fed by springs. Located on the Driffield Canal, Wansford has a church from 1868. In Burton Agnes are the ruins of a manor house from 1170 and a gatehouse (Burton Agnes Hall) from the Elizabethan era.

Southern Wolds

The wolds are narrowest in the south. The Humber Estuary here separates the Yorkshire Wolds from the Lincolnshire Wolds . In Roman times, the estuary was crossed by a ford. Today it is spanned by the Humber Bridge . The area consists of arable land and many nice villages. Noteworthy of these are Walkington with a village well and a church, Bishop Burton with its churches St Michael's and All Angels and Skidby with an intact windmill, which is now an agricultural museum. North Newbald is on the western edge of the Wolds in a narrow valley and has a Norman church dedicated to St Nicholas.

Central Wolds

The Wolds reach their highest point with Garrowby Hill. To the west of it, the terrain drops steeply into the Vale of York . This is where the Pocklington and Market Weighton markets are located . There are extensive parks along the escarpment from Garrowby Hall to Kilnwick Percy, Warter Priory and Londesborough Hall. Kiplingcotes is the site of the annual Kiplingcotes Derby horse race , the oldest horse race in England. In 2009 it took place for the 490th time. The place is also on the once through the Yorkshire Wolds, now disused railway line of the York – Beverley Line .

Western Wolds

From Garrowsby Hill further north to Ganton the hill area makes an arc from which one can overlook the Vales of York and the Vales of Pickering. The villages are mostly based on the outskirts of the Wolds and the upper parts of the Great Wold Valley . Rillington is a nice village with a flowing stream and a nearby park at Scampston. The twin villages of East and West Heslerton are both on the A64 highway. At West Heslerton there is a well-known archaeological site with finds from different ages. Wharram Percy is one of the most famous medieval desolations in the United Kingdom.

History and archeology

Archaeological finds have been made in the wolds. Archeological sites from the Neolithic , Bronze and Iron Ages as well as the Roman times exist throughout the entire area . The fertile limestone soil and good pasture land made the settlement of the area attractive for the people of the Neolithic Age. Along with Wessex and the Orkney , the Yorkshire Wolds are the most important area of ​​Neolithic archaeological research in the British Isles. The most recent finds could be dated to about the year 3700 BC by means of radiocarbon dating . To be dated. A large Neolithic monument has been identified with the Rudston Monolith . Four cursus and a stone circle could be discovered near the Great Wold Valley .

The Romans reached the area around AD 71. Starting from a settlement on the north bank of the Humber , they built a network of roads, the branches of which led to York and Malton via the Yorkshire Wolds. The local population was initially only slightly influenced by the Romans, but later the culture of the Roman occupiers was increasingly imposed on them. There are remains of Roman villas at Rudston , Harpham, Welton and Wharram-le-Street.

Stater from the Walkington Hort

The only known Anglo-Saxon execution site in northern England is located near the Walkington Wolds . The Walkington Hoard and coins of the Corieltauvi tribe were discovered in large numbers between 2001 and 2008. You are in the Yorkshire Museum.

Yorkshire Wolds Way

The Yorkshire Wolds Way is one of the UK's nine National Trails . The 127 km long trail begins at the Humber Bridge at Hessle (near Hull) and runs alongside the Yorkshire Wolds to Filey on the North Sea coast.

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Wolds is a term used in England about to describe a landscape consisting of hills and open country on a base of limestone or chalk is
  2. ↑ UK climate and weather statistics . Met Office. Crown Copyright. Archived from the original on February 19, 2003. Retrieved January 20, 2008.
  3. ↑ UK climate and weather statistics . Visit Yorkshire. Archived from the original on October 31, 2007. Retrieved January 20, 2008.
  4. ↑ Arthur Mee: The Kings England. Yorkshire East Riding. . Hodder and Stoughton, London 1964.
  5. ^ Colin Westley: A Brief History . 2004-2008. Archived from the original on April 25, 2014. Retrieved March 31, 2008.
  6. ↑ The 'Local' Race - The Kiplingcotes Derby . In: Wicstun . 03/29/2008. Archived from the original on July 17, 2012. Retrieved March 31, 2008.
  7. ↑ Dominic J Powlesland: The West Heslerton Assessment . The Landscape Research Center. 1999. Retrieved January 20, 2008.
  8. ^ Wharram Percy Deserted Medieval Village . English Heritage. Retrieved January 20, 2008.
  9. ^ A b c d The History and Archeology of The Yorkshire Wolds
  10. ^ An Anglo-Saxon execution cemetery at Walkington Wold, Yorkshire . IngentaConnect. 2008. Retrieved April 21, 2008.
  11. ^ Yorkshire Wolds Way at www.nationaltrail.co.uk

Coordinates: 54 ° 0 ′  N , 0 ° 26 ′  W