Ralph Cross
Blakey Ridge Near Castleton North Yorkshire UK
The ancient stone crosses and boundary markers of the North York Moors are a well-known sight, with the most famous, Ralph Cross, used on the National Park's logo. It's also one of the easiest to find, right by the side of the high, windswept Blakey Rigg moorland road, near the junction with the Rosedale Abbey and Westerdale roads, around 4 miles above Castleton. Who erected it? No one really knows, though tradition states that there has been a cross on this site since early medieval times and this one probably dates from the eighteenth century. At nine feet high, it's a useful landmark for wayfarers and walkers – probably its original intention – and is actually one of two here; this is 'Young Ralph', with smaller 'Old Ralph' around three hundred yards away (though you can't see this from either the road or from Young Ralph – you'll have to moor-bash over to the southwest to find it, ie, walking away, roughly perpendicular, from the road).
