{{Short description|Narrow north/south valley in North Yorkshire, England}} {{Use British English|date=July 2018}} {{Use dmy dates|date=July 2018}} [[File:Newtondale - geograph.org.uk - 695847.jpg|thumb|Newtondale looking northeastwards]] '''Newton Dale''', or '''Newtondale''', is a narrow dale within the [[North York Moors National Park]] in [[North Yorkshire]], England. It was created by meltwater from a glacier carving the narrow valley. Water still flows through the dale and is known as [[Pickering Beck]].
The dale starts between [[Goathland]] Moor and [[Lockton]] High Moor where water runs southwards towards [[Pickering, North Yorkshire|Pickering]]. In its upper reaches, the dale is very twisting and deep with the floor of the dale being {{convert|150|m|order=flip}} above sea level.
==History== The dale was carved out by a massive amount of water charging through it in the [[Last Glacial Period|last ice age]]. At the start of the twentieth century, [[Percy Fry Kendall|Percy Kendall]]<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Sewell |first1=J. T. |title=Notes on the "overflow channel" in Newton Dale between Lake Wheeldale and Lake Pickering |journal=Proceedings of the Yorkshire Geological Society |date=1905 |volume=15 |pages=446–452 |publisher=Yorkshire Geological Society |location=Leeds |issn=0044-0604}}</ref> suggested that several massive glacial lakes at what is now the watershed between Eller Beck, the [[River Derwent, Yorkshire|River Derwent]] and Pickering Beck effectively dammed the water, and it was released at a torrent to carve the dale. It has been estimated that a few decades worth of water running through the dale carved it out, spilling the displaced earth into [[Lake Pickering]]. The flow of water is believed to have been {{convert|10,000|m3}} per second; ten times the amount of water discharged by the [[River Thames]] when it is in flood.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Goudie |first1=Andrew |last2=Gardner |first2=Rita |title=Discovering landscape in England & Wales |date=1992 |publisher=Chapman & Hall |location=London |isbn=978-0-412-47850-5 |pages=35–36}}</ref> Kendall's original theory about massive pre-glacial lakes has been cast in doubt by modern research; many now believe that the ice sheets themselves just melted and released the water, rather than the ice sheets holding back water in huge lakes.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Embleton |first1=Clifford |editor1-last=Stephens |editor1-first=Nicholas |title=Natural landscapes of Britain from the air |date=1990 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |location=Cambridge |isbn=0-521-32390-8 |pages=76–77 |edition=1 |chapter=2: Landscapes of Glacial Erosion}}</ref> However, everyone agrees that the dale is an oddity, as the water flowing through Pickering Beck down the dale does not have the power needed to carve out the narrow valley,<ref>{{cite web |last1=Reid |first1=Mark |title=Walks Levisham, Skelton Tower and Newton Dale |url=http://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/resources/files/25020 |website=thenorthernecho.co.uk |accessdate=8 July 2018 |format=PDF}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Young |first1=George |title=A Geological survey of the Yorkshire coast |url=https://archive.org/details/ageologicalsurv00youngoog |date=1828 |publisher=R Kirkby |location=Whitby |page=[https://archive.org/details/ageologicalsurv00youngoog/page/n319 317]|oclc=931178422}}</ref> which is {{convert|150|m|order=flip}} above sea level on the valley floor, with steep walls at up to {{convert|240|m|order=flip}} at the crest. At certain points, the narrow valley is only {{convert|500|m|order=flip}} across.<ref>{{cite web |title=The geology and landscape of Levisham and Newtondale, Yorkshire: an overview |url=https://depositsmag.com/2017/06/13/the-geology-and-landscape-of-levisham-and-newtondale-yorkshire-an-overview/ |website=depositsmag.com |accessdate=8 July 2018 |date=13 June 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite map|title =North York Moors - Eastern area |map =OL27 |year = 2016|scale =1:25,000 |series =Explorer |publisher =Ordnance Survey |isbn =9780319242667 }}</ref>
Killing Nab Scar, a cliff face in the wood just to the north of Newton Dale railway station, was formerly a place where the farmers of Goathland were, according to the terms of their tenancy, obliged to breed, raise and train hawks for royal use.<ref>{{cite web |title=Genuki: In 1822, the following places were in the Parish of Pickering:, Yorkshire (North Riding) |url=http://www.genuki.org.uk/big/eng/YKS/NRY/Pickering/more |website=www.genuki.org.uk |accessdate=16 August 2018}}</ref>
The upper part of the dale was largely untouched by humans until the 1830s, when the [[Whitby to Pickering Railway]] was built through it.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Belcher |first1=Henry |title=Illustrations of the scenery on the line of the Whitby and Pickering Railway, in the North Eastern part of Yorkshire |date=1836 |publisher=Longman, Rees, Orme, Brown, Green & Longman |location=London |pages=52–53|oclc=499086523}}</ref> However, the road between Pickering and [[Whitby]] used to go through [[Farwath]] and [[Levisham]] before it was diverted further east (now the [[A169]]).<ref>{{cite news |title=Weekend Walk: Newton Dale & Levisham |url=https://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/lifestyle/walks-and-cycling/weekend-walk-newton-dale-levisham-1-8096007 |accessdate=4 July 2018 |work=The Yorkshire Post |date=30 August 2016}}</ref> The railway builders used bundles of wood, sheep fleeces and spoil to float the railway across Fen Bog.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Young|first1=Alan|title=Lost Stations of Yorkshire; the North and East Ridings|date=2015|publisher=Silver Link Publishing|location=Kettering|isbn=978-1-85794-453-2|page=10|chapter=Beckhole (1835)}}</ref>
At the head of the dale, where water either goes to Eller Beck (and then the [[Murk Esk]] then the River Esk)<ref>{{cite web |title=The trailbazing story of ironstone & railways in the North York Moors |url=http://www.northyorkmoors.org.uk/looking-after/landofiron/TEL_LCAP_PART1_NoCrop_15_07_2016-compressed-2.pdf |website=northyorkmoors.org.uk |accessdate=8 July 2018 |page=44 |format=PDF |date=October 2015}}</ref> or Pickering Beck, is a bog (Fen Bog) which is managed by the [[Yorkshire Wildlife Trust]].<ref name="YWT">{{cite web |title=Fen Bog {{!}} YWT |url=https://www.ywt.org.uk/nature-reserves/fen-bog-nature-reserve |website=www.ywt.org.uk |accessdate=4 July 2018}}</ref> The bog is {{convert|18|m|order=flip|adj=off}} deep in places and is a [[Special Area of Conservation]] on account of the grasses and butterflies which are resident there.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Newland |first1=N. E. |title=Fen Bog |url=https://discoverbutterflies.com/New_sites/FEN_BOG.pdf |website=discoverbutterflies.com |accessdate=4 July 2018 |format=PDF |date=2009}}</ref> The area was gifted to the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust in 1964 in memory of two servicemen killed in the [[Second World War]].<ref name="YWT"/> The [[Lyke Wake Walk]] also crosses the bog.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Trotter |first1=Nigel |title=Civil Engineering Diary - 16 June |url=https://www.nymr.co.uk/blog/civil-engineering-diary-16-june |website=nymr.co.uk |accessdate=4 July 2018 |date=16 June 2017}}</ref>
The dale was designated as a [[Site of Special Scientific Interest]] in 1955 due to the varied plant and wildlife that it supports across wetland, woodland and bogland. Its glacial history is also a feature in the designation.<ref>{{cite web |title=Newtondale SSSI |url=https://designatedsites.naturalengland.org.uk/PDFsForWeb/Citation/1003523.pdf |website=designatedsites.naturalengland.co.uk |accessdate=4 July 2018 |format=PDF}}</ref>
In 2015, a flood reservoir and over 160 leaky dams were built in the dale's lower reaches after Pickering was flooded four times between 1999 and 2007. The last flood caused £7 million worth of damage to the town.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Lean |first1=Geoffrey |title=The town in Yorkshire that worked with nature to avoid the floods |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/uk-flooding-how-a-yorkshire-flood-blackspot-worked-with-nature-to-stay-dry-a6794286.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220618/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/uk-flooding-how-a-yorkshire-flood-blackspot-worked-with-nature-to-stay-dry-a6794286.html |archive-date=18 June 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |accessdate=8 July 2018 |work=The Independent |date=2 January 2016}}</ref>
==Transport== There is no road access into the dale in its upper reaches, only parking at the fringes and walking in.<ref>{{cite web |title=Newtondale Forest |url=https://www.forestry.gov.uk/forestry/englandnorthyorkshirenoforestnewtondaleforest|website=www.forestry.gov.uk|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171025022402/https://www.forestry.gov.uk/forestry/englandnorthyorkshirenoforestnewtondaleforest|archive-date=25 October 2017|url-status=dead|access-date=11 November 2025}}</ref> The North York Moors Railway have two stations in the dale; {{rws|Levisham}} and {{rws|Newton Dale Halt}}.<ref>{{cite web |title=Newtondale Halt |url=https://www.nymr.co.uk/newtondale-halt-station |website=nymr.co.uk |accessdate=4 July 2018}}</ref>
Up until 2011, there was a forest drive road between the villages of Levisham and [[Stape]], but the [[Forestry Commission]] closed the route because of landslips, prohibitive repair costs and to preserve the ecology of the dale due to its SSSI status.<ref>{{cite news |title=Scenic car route closed in drive for tranquillity |url=https://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/news/scenic-car-route-closed-in-drive-for-tranquillity-1-3967265 |accessdate=4 July 2018 |work=The Yorkshire Post |date=14 November 2011}}</ref>
Newtondale Horse Trail is a {{convert|37|mi|adj=on}} long distance walker's route that utilises bridleways and paths through the dale between [[Grosmont, North Yorkshire|Grosmont]] and Pickering.<ref>{{cite web |title=Newtondale Horse Trail - LDWA Long Distance Paths |url=https://www.ldwa.org.uk/ldp/members/show_path.php?path_name=Newtondale+Horse+Trail |website=www.ldwa.org.uk |accessdate=4 July 2018}}</ref>
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== {{commons category|Newton Dale, North Yorkshire}} {{Bogs in Yorkshire}}
{{coord|54|21|17|N|0|42|38|W|display=title|region:GB_scale:100000}} *[http://magic.defra.gov.uk/MagicMap.aspx?startTopic=Designations&activelayer=sssiIndex&query=HYPERLINK%3D%271003523%27 Magic Map of the Newtondale SSSI]
{{DEFAULTSORT:Newton Dale}} [[Category:Valleys of the North York Moors]]