2008 Boxing Day meet, on the moors behind the Lion Inn at Blakey Bank.  Over 50% of our country is moorland.  The moors go on and on for miles like this.  Many places you can't ride over at all as it is too wet.

You need a really confident, steady and surefooted horse to hunt with the Farndale.  There are plenty of wet areas and to go off on your own you need to know the country really well.  Some areas such as the East of Rosedale is completely inaccessible on horseback.  I will try and find some more photos showing the terrain.

On many areas of moorland you come across wet sykes and gutters and what we call "slack holes".  You can usually tell them as you will see seaves (tall spiky grasses) growing in them, short green grass (the sheep like it as it is rich in nutrients) and spaghnum moss.  A horse can easily completely fall into some of them if you are not careful.  As a rule you can get round them (usually) by going above where the water begins to ooze out of the ground, or by going downhill to the ridge if one exists, and riding along the very edge - not for the faint-hearted or inexpeienced!  There are also ares where you see red grasses growing amongst the heather - this is a warning to stay well clear under any circumstances!

It's a real pain in the backside hunting on horseback along some of the valleys as you keep having to go up and down, up and down all the time to avoid them, making for a lot of extra work for the horse.

There was no hunting from the 16th December until the 16th January on foot, the following week horseback.  Hounds managed to get out briefly on foot for Boxing Day and New Years Day.

The main road across the moors was closed between Hutton le Hole and Castleton for about a fortnight at the beginning of New Year.  The road through Farndale was completely closed for several days and fetching food for the hounds proved to be quite a challenge.  It was impossible to even exercise the hounds as the snow was at least waist deep, and much higher in places.

Typical October meet at Monket Bank, Farndale

On a more sombre note, I am sad to report that one of our supporters, Mrs Robson was drowned in a tragic accident when her vehicle was washed away when crossing the ford near their house at Hartoft on Friday.  Our thoughts are with her family.

I'm so sorry to hear that  

I did recognise the place, the NCH put in there sometimes.

The hounds working a rocky syke.  The huntsman is on foot here as the areas below me are too wet and soft to take a horse through.  The seeves (tall spiky grasses) indicate wet areas.

Lovely photos, when I worked for the National Trust Building Dept, many years ago now, I used to cover meetings up in Bransdale and the Farndale area, beautiful, beautiful countryside.