The annual show (every August) is run by the Agricultural, Horticultural and Industrial Society. This year will include Cattle, Goats, Heavy Horses, Ponies, jumping, local produce, Rabbits, Vintage Tractors & Scarecrows and much more. More details to follow soon on the Rosedale Show’s website.
Rosedale Abbey is part of the “This Exploited Land of Iron” Project. Click for more info.
Rosedale is a wild and rugged landscape and is teeming with wildlife. In this section you will find posts relating to nature and events that celebrate our rich countryside.
We have dippers here on the River Seven in Rosedale. They are early breeders and pair bonding is already underway at their nest sites. Plenty of singing between them – females sing as well as males. Plenty of picking up and dropping leaves, bowing with wings quivering and tail cocked. Next month they will be well on with refurbishing their nests. Updale Natural History Recorder
Pair of dippers
The old oak tree is well in to autumn with just a few leaves left to shed. The tree really showing its age with a deep hollow in its trunk. Only the holly and conifers remaining solid green. The contours of the moor more prominent with a splash of russet from the decaying bracken. Updale Natural History Recorder
Well in to October now and the oak tree is steadily moving in to autumn. Leaves turning now but the tree is hanging on to them very well. Shades of autumn in the background too Updale Natural History Recorder
It’s that time again – time to cut and rake the conservation area in the Rosedale Abbey churchyard. A team of volunteers from the National Park will come on Friday 5 October at around 10.00 am to cut and rake the conservation area, but local volunteers, with any strimmers, rakes etc, would be very welcome. As an incentive, refreshments will be provided!
If you can spare an hour or so, please come along on Friday – no need to book! This will be the last time that the NYMNP volunteers will be cutting the conservation area and from 2019 onwards it will be purely a local task.
In to September and an autumnal feel in the air. The old oak is still in full leaf but has plenty of acorns which are looking very healthy and are a good size this year. In the background the rowan berries are ripe ready for birds to feed up on and plenty of seeds on the ash. With some leaves starting to show signs of colour change there is just a hint of a change in season Updale Natural History Recorder
A team from the Environment Agency were using electric probes to temporarily stun fish in the River Seven by the High Bridge so they could survey populations in the river. As a result the river appears to be in a healthy state as they found numerous brown troutlings and also lampreys.
Its a month on and the old oak in Thorgill is still in full leaf and no doubt full of interesting creatures. Only the moor in the background looks a bit parched with this prolonged gloriously hot summer. Amazing after such a dry spell that trees can hang on to their leaves. Deep roots is the answer. A close up of the trunk just shows how trees can withstand serious weathering Updale Natural History Recorder
Old oak tree
A seriously aged trunk
These stunningly beautiful butterflies are now emerging on the wing in mid-late July. They live for up to 11 months and new adults emerge at this time of year so are at their best. Buddleia flowers are just coming out which attract peacocks to our gardens Updale Natural History Recorder
Peacock butterfly
Thrilled to find white-letter hairstreak butterfly here in Rosedale. It is on the wing in July but not widely recorded here in the National Park. It is a small butterfly and always rests with its wings closed showing the white hairline across its underside. It has a white W towards the bottom tip of the hindwings which is not easily seen and orange marks along the bottom edge near the wing-tail. They spend their time in the tops of trees and can be found on elm but more commonly now on wych elm. They feed on aphid honeydew found on the leaves.
The best way to spot them is find a wych elm in a sunny but sheltered position and watch the canopy. Eventually the small butterfly will flit about and land often from where it launched. It is then easy to watch the butterfly through binoculars or photograph. This white-letter hairstreak was seen on the wych elms at the junction of Daleside road and Knott road at Rosedale East. It helps to have this glorious weather Updale Natural History Recorder
White-letter hairstreak at rest
White-letter hairstreak at near-by Hutton Common in 2014
This old oak tree in Thorgill is in full leaf and host to hundreds of living creatures. It is older than all of us in the dale. Pictured here at the end of June against a backdrop of the moor. Each month it will appear here showing the seasonal changes of our landscape Updale Natural History Recorder
Old oak tree
