Great Fryup Dale, Coast to Coast
Historical and Educational Articles for Lion Inn to Grosmont
Mark Nab and Underhills near head of Great Fryup Dale
Great Fryup Dale, Glaisdale, Coast to Coast
Great Fryup Dale is the valley floor of Glaisdale Moor to the east and Danby Rigg to the west. The Dale, together with Little Fryup Dale, form a vast valley mouth. At the Dale entrance a dramatic 308m high ridge known as Heads splits the Dale into two separate dales, namely Great Fryup Dale, to the east and Little Fryup Dale to the west. The two valleys meet up again as Heads comes to a vertiginous buttress that falls to the local area named Fairy Cross Plain to the north and east of Round Hill. A path extends along the north-south length of the ridge.
Great Fryup Beck flows from the head of the Dale (Dale Head) and assumes the centre of the Dale as it makes its way to its confluence with the River Esk, just beyond the valley entrance. A road from the Valley hamlet of Street ascends Glaisdale Moor at an acute angle to mitigate the steepness of the climb. This meets the main moorland road, the junction being flagged by the Black Hill Cross, a large standing stone visible from a long distance away.
The top of the head of Great Fryup Dale is circumnavigated by the Coast to Coast path, here known as the Cut Road, which provides alluring insights of the valley, in particular the steep cliffs and waterfall of Yew Grain Scar and of Trough Gill Beck, each being major sources of Great Fryup Beck. Another interesting feature of Dale Head is the Underhills, being part of the west valley wall. The Underhills, or Hills, are the tiering of landslips from Danby Moor which was undercut during the last Ice Age when the Dale was filled with a huge glacial lake.
Cleveland Bay Horses at Ellers
Ellers Farm offers holiday accommodation. It adjoins Fryup Hall and is located on Nuns Green Lane. To the west of Ellers Farm is the South End of Heads, an appealing, steep decline onto Fairy Cross Plain. To the east of the farm is Glaisdale Moor. At least one of the horses seen at the farm look similar to Chapman horses, i.e. Cleveland Bay Horses), known to be (once) kept at Great Fryup Hall.
Great Fryup Dale Dale Head
From Fryup Hall there is a tremendous view up the Valley to its head. The head wall is rocky and acclivitous and during inclement weather it sports sizeable waterfals visible from a mile or more. The main waterfalls are produced by Yew Tree Grain, which gushes over the Scar of the same name, and Trough Gill Beck, which originates near Trough House on the Cut Road, being part of the Coast to Coast path where it traverses Glaisdale Moor at Great Fryup Head.
Street and Street Lane
Street is a farming hamlet in Great Fryup Dale. Street Lane, leads from Street to Glaisdale Moor. There are three Listed Buildings in Street, each Grade II listed. Street Farmhouse dates to 1749. High Farmhouse dates to the late 1700's. Street Methodist Chapel dates to 1789.
Fryup Hall Farm South End Heads
South End is the name given, unsurprisingly, to the south end of Heads. The ridge path descends the steep decline and passes through the plantation to meet a track. On the east side of the farm is Fryup Hall. The Farm offers self-catering holiday accommodation.
Fryup Hall and Great Fryup Dale
From Fryup Hall you can look north along Great Fryup Dale all the way to the valley entrance near the River Esk. Glaisdale Rigg is the east valley wall of the Dale. In this image you can see valley fog drifting along Eskdale, just beyond the valley entrance.
Ajalon House Applegarth Farm
The farming complexes of Applegarth Farm and Ajalon House, together just about form their own hamlet. Applegarth Farm has a farm shop. Both properties lay at the foot of Glaisdale Moor, close to Great Fryup Beck.
George Gap Causeway
The George Gap Causeway cuts through the Coast to Coast path as it crosses Great Fryup Head. It leads from Farndale Valley to Great Fryup Dale. The Causeway path descends to the foot of the Dale by climbing down Yew Grain Scar. In the middle ground are the Underhills.
Barn Owl at Fryup end
The dales within the North Yorkshire Moors have the perfect habitat for barn owls, i.e. mixed farming, ditches, rough pastures, small areas of trees and bushes. Barn owls populate farm buildings, the fringes of villages and hamlets, hay meadows and grassland
Coast to Coast Trail Guide
Hiking the Coast to Coast
"Hiking the Coast to Coast" is a digitally enhanced eBook available from Apple Books for all people who have either a Mac, an iPhone or an iPad, and is designed to accompany you on your walk of the Coast to Coast path. The trail guide contains Ordnance Survey maps and other advanced mapping features, step by step directions, hundreds of colour photographs, details of the route, its conditions in different weather and research snippets relating to places of interest along the way.
