On the Moors By Steve Rudd

So much for me confiding to people that I thought we were collectively out of the woods and that Spring was just around the corner. Clearly I spoke too soon and paid for such a misdemeanour yesterday (13th February 2005) when I ventured up onto the North Yorkshire Moors with my family for a spot of walking.

Anybody who is not familiar with the North Yorkshire Moors National Park should try their best to visit sometime, for it is a beautiful area of open moor land punctuated by some truly charming villages and hamlets. A trip to the mighty Hole of Horcum is a must, which is literally a huge hole in the landscape that was left behind after the last Ice Age when glaciers shaped the land to overwhelming extents.

The nearby Newtondale, which is literally a little hop over the hill from the Hole, is a dale that is also an ice-age relic, through which the infamous North Yorkshire Moors Steam Railway proudly passes, with the trains huffing and puffing in all their glory.

There is no grander sight than witnessing the approach of one of these trains in Newtondale, or anywhere else along the 18-mile-long track for that matter: a track that sets out from Pickering and heads in a North/ North-Westerly direction bound for the tiny but thoroughly charming village of Grosmont, which is some six miles south of Whitby... another major attraction on the East Coast. On a sunny summer's day, the act of tramping across the moors can be bliss.

But during winter, as I discovered yesterday, the experience can be unbelievably demoralising.

Yep... once the sleet began to slide and the wind began to whip, there was nowhere to hide, with no chance of running against the galloping gale. Trudging around the rim of the Hole of Horcum became a nightmare. The weather was so harsh that I couldn't summon the courage to look up into it, so stared at my feet for some three miles, glancing up intermittently to ensure that I wasn't veering off the prominent track that skirts the Hole into the murky abyss itself.

Every time I did glance up I half-expected to see the South Pole rearing its subtle head in the distance.

I don't think I had ever before walked through such wet and cold conditions. The funny thing is that when I got back to my car, the one thing that I wanted to do more than anything else right then was physically beyond me. I wanted nothing more than to get in my car and crank the heating system to the max, but my hands were so called that I was incapable of fishing out my keys. How painful irony can be. Still, I somehow lived to tell the tale, and will no doubt be found back on such Moors the same time next week.

They really are that exhilarating, regardless of the weather. Anyway, I always remind myself in such extreme situations that what doesn't kill us does in fact make us stronger. It just doesn't feel that way at the time!

Places to Visit - Dinostar - THIS IS HISTORY By Daniel Laney
	In the last two months Hull has welcomed a new addition to its ever growing tourist trade. Dinostar, which opened on Easter Sunday of this year, should hopefully be welcomed with open arms by families and budding historians alike and with it being a quick Read more...

Places to Visit - Our Samhain Visit to Avebury by Janie Spencer
	Before we start on our journey, let me give you a bit of background on Avebury. It is a beautiful stone circle, so big that you can in fact fit a village inside it, as you can see from this overhead map! As well as being a tourist spot, it is both a home and a gathering Read more...

Places to Visit - Burton Constable Hall.
	Burton Constable Hall has collected several ghosts and stories from its 450 year history, the most frequently seen ghost being that of Nurse Dowdall, a much loved nanny to the children of the household during the 19th century. Read more...

Places to Visit - A day by the beach - Bridlington Harbour.
	This Sunday I was spoilt for choice - either to visit a Buddhist centre in "Kilham" or attend a strawberries and cream party. Opted to go and find Zen so duly arrived with my offspring (Katie and Oliver) at my friend's house (Cilla) punctually (for a change) at 11.30. Read more...

Places to Visit - This is Hull
	The East Yorkshire city of Kingston Upon Hull has it's fair share of bad press. That's OK, the people who live here know why so many come and stay! Visit the City and sample the eclectic mix of entertainment on offer, from the laid-back coffee shops and cosmopolitan bars of the Avenues Read more...

Places to Visit - Pickering Park Rocks
	Pickering Park rocks for the youth of Hull. Sunday afternoon, 6th July 2003 saw the first FREE open air Rock Concerts for the youth of Hull, from noon until 7pm. Bands featured included the Supatones, Crowroad, DumpValve, Freaks Union, The Favours, The Sonnet, Zap the Flak, S.P.A.F.F.F Read more...

Places to Visit - Beverley Minster By Mo
	Founded in the eighth century by John, Bishop of York - later St. John of Beverley - Beverley Minster has been described as 'the finest gothic church in Europe'. The present church, built in the 13th and 14th century, is a perfect blending of three Read more...

People - An Interview With Torso Horse By Steve Rudd
	Torso Horse, for those people who don't know, are a Goth-Metal band from Bridlington. They have been plying their trade for about five years now, and in the past couple of years in particular they have become very well known indeed: both in and around Read more...

People - Computerman at Fairview Recording Studios By Michelle Dee
	Computerman are a Nottingham band, who have been on the scene since January 2004. They recently came to Hull, specifically to Fairview Studios in Willerby, to record an eight-track demo CD. The demo will include tracks: Increasingly so, No recover Read more...

People - An Interview with Jim Eldon - Local Enigma By Jane Foster
	Jim Eldon is a musician living in East Hull who, I'm told, doesn't normally do interviews .... so a rare request it was that was received by thisisUll.com, from Andy his agent, for someone to do the deed. This email was passed on to me, as Jim is a singer Read more...

People - Caz Meets The Walnut Dash By Caroline Murphy
	And now to the Walnut Dash. So who are these people who text me at the eleventh hour and expect me to drop everything and come and interview them! Well actually they're extremely entertaining people, and their music is bloody brilliant! Read more...

People - An Evening with Michael Palin at The Institute of Education in London By Steve Rudd
	To say that Michael Palin is one of my all-time heroes is one hell of a serious understatement. Ever since I saw his epic TV travels in the form of Around The World in 80 Days and Pole To Pole I have been totally captivated by everything he does and says. Read more...

People - An Interview With Steve Hamilton By Steve Rudd
	If you like reading novels that are packed with an exhilarating sense of action, adventure and intrigue, then you might already have heard of Steve Hamilton. Steve is a hugely respected and genuinely talented author who has Read more...

People - Alan Raw: A Man of Many Talents By Michelle Dee
	Most readers of this site will know that Alan Raw is a music radio presenter championing unsigned artists. Through his show Raw Talent - broadcast on local radio - he has, for the past three years, been doing just that. By using his extensive Read more...