MYWAY
deadman’s Hill
Over the years I have been trail riding, this green road has become one of my favourite go-to places to ride, and to be honest, I just like to sit on the hill and savour the area in solitude with only my Mars bar and a coffee for company. Apart, that is, from my trusty steed – Doug Cartwright, TRF Chair and Northern Director
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ituated in the Yorkshire Dales, Deadman’s Hill runs between Horsehouse to the north and Middlesmoor to the south, running directly across Scar House reservoir dam wall. It provides a key connector between a large group of roads to the north and south of the Yorkshire Dales. On GRM it has three GRMUID numbers: 11566, 11296 and 11297. Access is good, and it is mainly stone surfaced except for short section to the north. Some of the stone surfaces can be tricky in the wet and can catch out the inexperienced. The very name ‘Deadman’s Hill’ has the ability to make you take notice! It has a history steeped in mystery and intrigue, and there is plenty of historical reference to three headless corpses that were found way back in the 1800s – by all accounts the culprit(s) was never apprehended. My delight is to sit up on the hill and look down on the reservoir on a beautiful, warm and sunny day, but this is Yorkshire and that rarely happens. When it does, though, it is sublime. On an overcast day, however, or in a thick easterly fog, it does have the ability to fuel my irrational fears and I
62 Trail Autumn 2021
