THE NORTH RIDING PROJECT

It is a bleak, exhilarating road, swept by the westerly winds and bordered by the moorlands of Lune Forest, but there is a contrasting world hidden away in the valley bottom where the Lune runs, deeply set among its fringing trees. A few few farm-houses sheltered by trees and steeply-rising banks are tucked away at intervals, but human activity is too slight to interfere with the bird-life of the river and its woodlands.

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Grace Scott, of Romaldkirk, was one of the few people who escaped infection by leaving her home and building herself a turf hut about a mile away, where she lived until the plague was over. Although no trace remains, the place is remembered, and it is now the site of a farm which is still known as Grace’s Cottage.

Ramsden/Teesdale