Earth mysteries is nothing if it isn't about landscape features. Paul Monahan was on a local Net newsgroup when he came across this explanation of the Yorkshire landscape and passed it on to us. We liked it enough that we thought we'd share it with NE readers... If 'J' would like to contact us, we'll be happy to credit him by name!
MR: There are several depressions on Baildon Moor that look like sunken mine shafts. Is this what they are? If so, what was mined and when did it take place?[They're bell pits - Ed.]
J: Seen as ow non as tha knows ahl tell thi. Twer in t'war when ah wer nobbut a lad. Dahn 'n London they ad loads ov oles cos t'Germans kept dropping bombs on em. Th'local councils 'n Yorkshire realised as ow they spent loads o brass paying t'workers ta dig oles an it'd bi cheepa ta buy th'oles second and from London. Twer all kept ush ush at time incase t'Germans fahnd aht n stopt dropping t'bombs. They reccon as ow 'alifax swapt buses fer their oles.
At start they were going ta send th'oles by boat from t'river Thames and up t'Calder and 'ebble Navigation, but as soon as they loaded th'ole inta t'boat it sunk, so thay ad ta send em by train.
Then disaster struck. Germans fahnd aht what was appening an surrendered, then all t'ole diggers comes back from t'war wanting jobs and local councils wer left wi a load ov redundant bomb cratas on their ands.
First off they tried filling em in but they were ollas left wi another ole where they got dirt from so they just ad ta keep moving em about. They'd go aht in t'middle of t'night with an ole on t'back of a lorry an leave it in t'middle ov a road somewhere. Theyed leave it there as long as they could, till t'locals started complaining, then theyd load it on a lorry and move it to another road. Thats why, even today, t'roads 'n Yorkshire ollas ave a load ov oles in em.
After a while sum ov th'oles got worn aht an dangerus an so they took em up on t'moors an burried em.
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