Walls, Walls, Walls

Geology, travelogue 1 Minute

…and only plants know how to climb them.

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These are the bones of Pickering Castle, a watchman of the north for centuries. Today it rests on the edge of the North Yorkshire Moors National Park, flanked by a market town also made mostly from stone.

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It’s almost symbiotic, the connection between humanity and rock. It shelters and guards us, while we craft it into new purposes. But it does not always need our hands to build walls. There are other, much older edifices, and those watch the North Sea.

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The cliffs at Whitby are of Jurassic age, and dinosaurs and crocodiles sleep within them.

Even without fossils, their patterns catch the eye.

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An invitation to walk onwards, to learn more lessons of the walls.

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Published by Adele Brand

Wildlife researcher and writer. I let the animals tell their own stories.

Published

15 thoughts on “Walls, Walls, Walls”

    1. It’s the lower jawbone of a whale, a bowhead I think. The original arch dates from 1853 when Whitby had connections with whaling, but it’s been replaced a couple of times since then. The current bones were donated by Alaska in 2003.

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      1. Thanks! When we were visiting King’s Point in Newfoundland last year, there is a small museum with entire humpback whale skeleton displayed. I thought his jaw bones look similar to those on the arch.

        Humpback whale skeleton - King's Point

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