"celebrating the landscapes of the British Isles through photography"
North York Moors, Yorkshire Dales and Northumberland
Northumberland is a vast swathe of northeast England, from the fiercely contested Scottish Border to the boundary of Yorkshire; from the High Pennines - England's last wilderness - to the golden sands along Northumberland's coast.
"Fat Betty" - North York Moors
Fat Betty (sometimes referred to as White Cross) stands just north of and is easily accessible from the road that leads from Blakey Rigg to Rosedale Abbey, at the junction of the Danby, Westerdale and Rosedale parishes. The head of the cross is an ancient wheel head painted white, set into a large stone base, also half of which is painted. It could possibly be Norman and is only one of two known wheel heads on the North York Moors. It perhaps takes its name from a Cistercian nun, Sister Elizabeth from the Priory at Rosedale. These nuns wore gowns of undyed wool and were referred to as ' White Ladies'. Another tale is that a local farmer's wife, Fat Betty, fell from their horse and cart on a dark, foggy night. When he arrived home and noticed she was missing from the back of the cart he retraced his route across the moor and all he could find was the large, squat stone.
