Haystack Rock

We've had the little ones' Nanny and Grandad with us over the weekend, so on a fine day we made an outing over the moor to the Cow and Calf.

We picnicked at Pancake Stone (which is a hanging rock, so clearly a missed opportunity for a great blip title), a spot that was beautifully captured in one of earthdreamer's blips a few weeks ago.

We then walked along the edge above Hangingstone Road, the route of the Ebor and Dales Ways, toward Backstone Beck, passing this rock on the way.

Haystack Rock (#141 in The Carved Rocks of Rombalds Moor, 1986) is one of my favourite cup-marked rocks, although there are still plenty on the moor that I haven't yet seen. This is partly the situation, and partly the fact that it is relatively easy to 'read'. The book says it has "38 cups, 10 rings and multiple interlocking grooves" - not all of these are visible on the picture, but a good few are.

Looking beyond the rock, you can just see Pancake Stone jutting out at the furthest visible point along the edge. You also get a sense of the situation high above Wharfedale, with the nobble of Almscliffe Crag sitting on the skyline. Beyond that, we could just about see the Kilburn white horse, above Thirsk, through the haze.

It's worth considering the effect of light on what is visible on the rock - here's one of my pictures from a similar angle at a different time of day/year.

We then paddled and built dams in Backstone Beck, had an unexpected Spitfire and Hurricane flypast, and then turned for home.

carved ~ five thousand years ago ~ fingers ~ trace ~ ancestral grooves