Land of Iron, supported by North York Moors National Parks and the Heritage Lottery Fund.

Rosedale Land of Iron

The 100 years following the opening of the Whitby and Pickering railway in 1835 saw an explosion in ironstone mining in the Rosedale and Esk Valley areas, along with pioneering railway construction that connected these remote valleys to Teesside and the wider world. Many of the relics left from this period are crumbling and the stories around them are at risk of being forgotten forever.

The Land of Iron will protect and conserve some of the most iconic of these monuments and work with land managers to nurture the natural environment that has reclaimed these spaces. It will document and tell the stories of what life was like for these communities when the landscape looked very different to how it does today.

The project is a Landscape Partnership scheme, supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund, North York Moors National Park Authority, David Ross Foundation, and other partners. The total project value is £3.8 million and it will run between 2016 and 2021.

Among the areas covered by the project, is the beautiful valley of Rosedale. Within a landscape of breath-taking panoramic views the whole story of ironstone mining can be found, from extracting the stone from the hillside, to processing it in huge roasting kilns, and transporting the ore for miles across the moors.

Projects in Rosedale include Bank Top kilns, East kilns, Sheriff's Pit, Rosedale Railway, Reeking Gill, ring ouzels, hay meadows and wild daffodils.

Your can find more information about the project on the official website: www.northyorkmoors.org.uk/looking-after/landofiron/the-tel-projects/rosedale