Thread: Moughton Whetstone.

Private use generally means if you ask then there fine with it, You just have to be prepared to be turned away. Driving down and asking isn't normally frowned upon unless the farm is been used as a house. Then you hit the grey area of invasion of privacy. As my grandad always said " the worst they can say is no" so it's worth asking.

It looks to be an active sheep farm on google maps, And that works in my favor. Because if it is the farmer will know where the best stone can be found as they will do regular field inspections to make sure nothing has gone wrong in the limestone, like cracks and holes that can be fatal to a sheep or quad bike.

Sounds like everything is good planned and your well prepared *thumbsup*

We drove up to Middleham/Leyburn to meet my godparents.

The traffic however was really bad. The whole area is preparing for the tour de france next week. And because of that the whole region is buzzing with tractors cutting fields and hedges, As well as more lorries and slow moving traffic than normal. Our normal trip to Middleham took twice as long as it should have, And to compound that most of the route to the whetstone site was the same route as the tour de france!

So we decided to not go any deeper into the dales on this trip. I'm planning on going back up at the end of July. And when I do I will try to get to the location and get some stone.

I'm a little bit gutted that we couldn't get over, But the region is going full swing into sorting out the roads and accommodation for the opening stages of the race!

Stage 1 - Leeds > Harrogate - Tour de France 2014

That sucks, I'm looking forward to pics of the rockhounding

Still looking for one :’(

Only those who believe and are patient will be one day awarded.

I thought I might tack onto this thread. I went up to Moughton Scar last year. Before doing so I enquired with the Yorkshire Dales authority about Moughton Whetstone samples from the site. Here was their response.



Moughton Scar has an number of designations which put it as one of the most protected landscapes in the country and is International important. Moughton Scar & the surrounding area designations include:- a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSi), part of the Ingleborough Complex National Nature Reserve and has a limestone preservation order in place. Natural England’s interactive map shows these designations which can be found here:-

https://magic.defra.gov.uk/MagicMap.aspx


I’m afraid to say that you won’t be able to take a sample of the whetstone due to designations listed above. Here is an extract from the Limestone Pavement order, I know the whetstone is a siltstone but it is still included in the Limestone preservation area.

‘These habitats are threatened due to their removal for use in gardens and water features. Many limestone pavements have been designated as SSSIs which affords them some protection. In addition, Section 34 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 gave them additional protection via the creation of Limestone Pavement Orders, which made it a criminal offence to remove any part of the outcrop.’

Link to the government website can be found here website https://data.gov.uk/dataset/ff9f1088...ment-orders):-



Any works or removal of material from a SSSi require consent from Natural England. If you require more information please contact Natural England:-



Natural England Enquiries

County Hall

Spetchley Road

Worcester

WR5 2NP

Email enquiries@naturalengland.org.uk.

Telephone 0300 060 3900.

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/protecte...tific-interest


That pretty much means the following:

No-one should be collecting samples from Moughton Scar.
Any recent rocks sold on ebay, or the like, were likely collected illegally.

If you want to get your hands on a Moughton Whetstone you should look for a boxed vintage one.