Last updated on August 27th, 2024 at 12:21 pm
A Bit About Britain’s geomorphological expert will know that erratics are rocks that have been transported by a glacier, and left behind when the ice has melted some distance from where they started. It’s a descriptive term, because ‘erratic’ means “uncertain in movement, irregular in conduct, habit, opinion” (Oxford dictionary of English) and rock erratics can certainly look disorderly. They are also known as ‘boulders in the wrong place’ and are frequently of a different rock type to the one they end up sitting on; so they can indicate former ice flow. The Norber Erratics on the southern slopes of Ingleborough in Yorkshire’s Dales country are a prime example. They have a very distinctive appearance – and there are loads of them, all gathered together in one area.
The Norber Erratics are (apparently) a hard form of sandstone known as ‘greywacke’. They date from the Silurian period and are about 430 million years old. I hope that makes you feel better about yourself. The rock underneath is carboniferous limestone, which is younger by around 100 million years, formed in a shallow, tropical, sea. As Sherlock might have said, “Sedimentary, my dear Watson.” It’s thought that the older sandstone boulders were ripped from the ground by massive ice sheets and deposited at the end of the last ice age, around 12,000 years ago. Some erratics of the Norber variety are perched on relatively narrow pedestals of limestone, because the base of the older and harder sandstone has protected the weaker limestone below from erosion. Anyway, you can also tell the darker sandstone from the lighter coloured limestone, because the former is covered in green lichen and the latter in white. I’m honest enough to admit that I hadn’t noticed that and didn’t know about it until I read it.
Place names fascinate me. I’m intrigued by ‘Norber’ and, assuming it didn’t once belong to a landowner called Norbert (which I guess is possible), like to imagine a conversation between a local farmer and a visitor to the Dales long ago that went something like:
Ancient tourist: “What are those rocks?”
Ancient farmer: “Why, t’aint nobbut erratics…”
A more likely, prosaic, option of ‘hill to the north’ was offered by the apparently now defunct Daelnet website, presumably derived from the Old English nord and the Anglian beorg or Old Norse berg.
The Norber Erratics is said to be one of the finest groups of glacial erratics in Britain. Frankly, I find it hard to compare. But a walk to see them is well worth the slight effort. They are all a-jumble, as though some giant has scoped up handfuls of large stones and scattered them, randomly across the landscape, in a dice-throwing move of the arm. In good weather, it’s a delight and a good place for a picnic. The walk to get there takes you through some lovely, verdant, Yorkshire Dales scenery and the views are great. In poor weather, I imagine it to be a bleak, unfriendly, place, where it’s easy to miss your footing – or your way. Beyond the erratics lies a limestone landscape that needs to be explored another time (though it can form part of a slightly longer circular walk).
Walk to Norber Erratics
The easiest route is from the village of Austwick. Starting from the old market cross (probably 15th century, pillar c1830s) in the centre of the village:
- Take the road to Horton, pass the Game Cock Inn and the school, and turn left up Townhead Lane.
- Pass Austwick Hall and take a footpath on the right by an old milk-churn stand. The path goes through someone’s garden. At the top, go straight ahead to a stone wall by a driveway and cross the stile into a field.
- Keep going up, then down by an old barn on your right, cross a track (Thwaite Lane), over the wall opposite into another field where a stream bubbles, up the hill to a ladder stile at the top.
- Cross the lane (Crummack Lane) and go over the stile more or less opposite.
- The path will take you by Nappa Scars (it’s a bit of a drop, so watch your step) and at the end of a small rock face you’ll see Norber Erratics on your right, behind a wall with steps over. It looks as though the wall’s trying to keep the rocks penned in.
There’s an easy circular route from the village of Clapham, which starts at the back of the National Park Car Park across fields to Austwick. And then, from Norber Erratics, follow the path to the west, back down the hill skirting a boggy depression (I know, I know – I get them too) back onto Thwaite Lane. Turn right and back to Clapham via the tunnels under Ingleborough Hall Estate to the church. Turn left to return to the car park.
The area is covered by Ordnance Survey OL2 map.
WOW! lovely photos and lovely views. I had not heard about the Erratics before.
I hadn’t either until relatively recently, CP!
Beautiful views!
We have no shortage of glacial erratics here. There was one on our property when I was growing up.
We have a strictly limited number over here 🙂
An interesting post with some great photos of an area I’ve been to a few times, I really like the village shot ☺️
Thanks, Eunice. I love it round there – big skies – the limestone can be a little slippery, though.
It is very interesting to see these geological phenomena ‘in the flesh’, so to speak. I have seen one or two erratics on my travels but never so many in one place, as at Norber. I am adding yet another must-see place to the ever-growing list!
I don’t know about you, Clare, but my ‘must visit’ spreadsheet’s so long I need another computer so that I can see it all.
Haha! Yes!
I have visions of these erratics wandering home after a pub crawl…and not making it.
Leo knew what they were though – remembering from his school days.
Super post.
That’s a hilarious observation – wish I’d thought of it! 🙂
“Sedimentary, my dear Watson.”
A bit got missed there! Hilarious.
Thanks, Anabel; my schoolboy humour gets the better of me sometimes. Well, quite often according to Mrs B.
“Geology rocks!” So do youi Mike – thanks for another stunning piece of wit laced imagery and information. I can just imagine a question on this subject for a jackpot round on Pointless. “Name the towns villages and pubs on the route to the Norber Rocks” I bet a lot will qualify as pointless!
(For the benefit of your overseas fans I’d better add that, in this context, “Pointless” means “little known”, the aim of the quiz being to find an item on a list that 100 people have failed to spot, given a 100 seconds to do so.)
Thanks, Frank – very kind! Yes – not exactly mainstream, I guess!
Geological phenomena I hadn’t heard of; information conveyed with your usual dry wit, Mike.
Thanks, Derrick – though my wit is feeling a little damp at the moment.
I know many people adore Yorkshire and surrounding counties, but give me the south coast any time 🙂
I have to be careful; I’m a southerner in exile in the frozen north!
Geology rocks indeed 😀
A walk to Norber erratics sounds just like my kind of walk. Did you know that erratics in German are called “Findling”, as in foundling, something (or someone) that was found quite by coincidence?
Also, we still use the terms Nord and Berg for north and hill, so “Nor(d)ber(g)” would be easily understood over here.
That’s interesting about the word ‘Findling’ – makes sense. Yes, I expect you come across many familiar-sounding place names in the UK, especially England.
Yep. You’ve got all the basic facts right if I remember correctly from a geography lesson some 50 years ago. And oddly I remembered a lot of that lesson and had to make a special pilgrimage to the Norber area when I stayed at Skipton back in 2004. Your photos reinforce memories of that day.
I’m glad to hear it, John. I have fond memories of some of my geography lessons…
Another awesome post
Thanks, Joanne, you’re very kind.
Another one to impress the heck out of people one converses with. ‘Did you look at the Norber Erratics?’
‘Er . . wot?’
Yes – save that one for when you’re stuck at the next cocktail party; we aim to help! 🙂
I’m quite fond of rocks, erratic ones are my fave 🙂
And rolls, they go together well…and fraggles, I guess (though I’m not sure where they come from, to be honest).
I’ve reported you to the pun police for that Sherlock Holmes joke!
Guilty as charged, m’lud!
Your blog posts are a terrific blend of scholarship and humor. I love your aside about boggy depressions as well as these sentences: “The Norber Erratics are (apparently) a hard form of sandstone known as ‘greywacke’. They date from the Silurian period and are about 430 million years old. I hope that makes you feel better about yourself. The rock underneath is carboniferous limestone, which is younger by around 100 million years, formed in a shallow, tropical, sea. As Sherlock might have said, ‘Sedimentary, my dear Watson.'” We have had a lot of snow recently (more falling as I type) in the Boston area of New England. The photos in your blog post are a balm for my spirit. Thank you!!!
Thanks, Will – much appreciated! I got very confused driving through an underpass in Boston once. In fact, it was twice – I got confused on the way back as well!
So fascinating! I love geology.
Yes – geology rocks! 🙂 (Sorry).