Earthworks

The next phase of the demolition work at the former HMRC building on the edge of Saltaire is now proceeding. I'm finding it fascinating to watch. The massive buildings have taken a very long time to demolish and the site is now piled high with debris, mostly crushed concrete I suppose. There are two big excavators on site and several tipper trucks. (It almost seems like watching a child's fantasy game though these are big machines, not toys, and this is real life, not a game.) One digger was lifting spoil into the truck (which was soon filled from about four of the digger buckets), then the truck carted it off to the other side. It appeared that the other digger was infilling the huge hole that was the foundations of the original office building. 

Eventually...  and it looks like it'll take quite a while... the site is destined to be a residential village with almost 300 homes, some office space and a 'pocket park'. Another version of Saltaire, in a way. 

Look back HERE and HERE for the earlier stages of this story. 

Leaf colour

We've not reached peak autumn yet and there are still masses of leaves that have to fall. Many of them are, however, beginning to turn to a rather bright orange. As you walk into Saltaire, the branches over the canal towpath arch across in quite an attractive way, so that you feel you're walking under a canopy. 

Boaty McBoatface

Seeing this quite smart narrowboat moored in Saltaire made me laugh out loud at its name: Boaty McBoatface. The story behind this is interesting, as I'm sure many of my readers, certainly those of us in the UK, will remember. It goes back to 2016, when a public poll was held to name the new £200m polar scientific research ship being built in Birkenhead. The name 'Boaty McBoatface' was suggested by a radio presenter, and this quickly gained traction to receive 33% of the public vote and topped the poll. Sadly, in the end, those actually responsible for naming the ship decided to call it the 'Sir David Attenborough', in homage to the renowned zoologist and broadcaster. One of the battery-powered submersibles on the ship was, however, given the 'Boaty McBoatface' name, in recognition of the humour that this had caused among the general public. So I was delighted to see that someone has appropriated the name for their narrowboat too.  

Extra note: There was a strong showing of the Aurora or Northern Lights last week all over the UK. I even managed to photograph them from my new flat's balcony, rather unexpectedly. My photos were very poor compared with many I've seen but I've posted one HERE, on my other blog, if you would like to see it. 

Magic in the woods

Returning through Hirst Woods was a magical experience. The lingering mist among the trees gave rise to spectacular rays of light, very beautiful even if quite difficult to capture in a camera. 

By the time I had reached the path out of the wood, the sun had burned off all the mist but the early autumn colour was attractive in the diffused sunshine. 

Towards Dowley Gap

If I walk along the canal or river about a mile out of Saltaire, I arrive at Dowley Gap, one of the many locks on the Leeds-Liverpool Canal. The lock itself is just beyond the bridge in the picture above. It's all very familiar and yet manages to be different each time I come here. The red creeper on that wall was just stunning in the early morning sunshine. 

The sun was just picking out the South Lodge, once a gatehouse for the Milner Field estate.

My two favourite trees, often photographed, looked just a bit different with the mist swirling around. 

The Seven Arches Aqueduct, which carries the canal over the river, is hardly beautiful but I think it's interesting and quite remarkable. Built in 1773, it has over the years received hefty amounts of concrete on the towpaths. I don't often photograph it from this side. See HERE for a view from the other side and the story of when it was drained for repairs. 

 

Season of mists

It was Keats who wrote that lovely poem about autumn that begins: 'Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness'. Mist, of course, needs a still day and we don't seem to get that many lately. However, when I opened the curtains one morning recently, there was a fairly dense fog outside, thickening down towards the valley bottom. I dressed and had breakfast and decided I'd venture out, though by the time I'd walked the half mile down to the river, the sun was beginning to burn off the mist. It was still beautiful and atmospheric.

It was rather earlier in the day than I usually walk that way, so the bird life was more evident. I watched a cormorant diving - they swim so far underwater that you begin to think they've completely disappeared. I also spotted a little egret... not the bird in the photo above. I think that was a gull of some kind. 

Two lions

We haven't had a lion picture lately, have we? So here are two of the stone lions that guard Saltaire opposite the Victoria Hall. The one above is 'Determination' and the other is 'Vigilance'.  There are four altogether, with 'War' and 'Peace' on the opposite side of the road. Originally designed for London's Trafalgar Square by their sculptor Thomas Milnes, Sir Titus Salt snapped them up for Saltaire when Landseer won the London competition. London's loss was Saltaire's gain. I'm quite fond of the beasts.

A walk at Bingley St Ives

It's over a year since I last had a walk up at the Bingley St Ives estate. I've been too busy, so a trip there was long overdue. I chose a rather dull day but the circular walk around the estate is pleasant and varied: some wide reaching views, moors and woodland too. It takes me just over an hour (with photo stops!) from the car park and back.

There is an equestrian centre on the estate and many of the paths are actually bridleways. As it was a Sunday morning, there seemed to be a lot of horse traffic! 

Early autumn and the fall colours are developing. The little birches seem to be among the first trees to gain their russet finery. 

Where they have recently felled trees (due to a fungal disease) it has really opened up the views. Lady Blantyre's Rock (below), where the dowager lady of the mansion used to come to sit and read, must have had a panoramic view in her day (mid 1800s). For most of my life, the view has been one of thick woodland but now the panorama over the valley is visible again. It's rather a nice change. 

The large swathes of felled trees all look rather bleak but I suppose they've left the brush to rot down naturally. I did note that they have already planted new saplings in many of the areas, native trees that will eventually mature into a good, mixed woodland. 

By the time I arrived at the Coppice Pond, the clouds had really arrived, so it all looked a bit dull. There are a lots of mute swans here. It must be a very safe roost for them. 

I was rather amused by a little girl, perhaps aged about 6 or 7, carrying a substantial stuffed horse under her arm. Rather than walking round the lake's perimeter sedately with her family she was cantering along, obviously deeply identifying as a pony! Very cute, but I didn't take a photo for obvious reasons. I guess most of us girls had a 'pony phase' at some stage. 

An old friend

I found myself unexpectedly renewing acquaintanceship with an old friend when I visited Cartwright Hall, the municipal art gallery, recently. This statue (I am 99% sure; if not, one very similar) was the one that graced the entrance lobby of Wingfield, the Council's Training Centre in Bingley where I used to work forty plus years ago. (See HERE) So I used to pass it every day, occasionally pausing to pat the goat and say hello to the pair of them. I didn't know anything about it at that time. It wasn't labelled then. Interestingly, it was sculpted by Thomas Milnes, who created the four lions in the centre of Saltaire. (It should be Milnes with an 's'; the gallery's label is incorrect!) It's probably quite valuable now. It must have been 'on loan' to our department to help create the right ambience in what was once a very elegant mansion house. (It's now a nursing home.) 

Early autumn, Lister Park

Colourful early autumn scenes on a sunny day in Bradford's Lister Park: Two small boys armed with long sticks were attempting to dislodge conkers from the horse chestnut trees - a pastime that has endured for centuries.

A small acer in the Botanic Garden was making the most of its few weeks of glory.

The bronze Stag statue, by Pierre Louis Rouillard (1820–1881), was looking every inch the monarch of the park. 

Around Cartwright Hall

My plans for the day fell through at short notice and it was a beautiful day, so I took myself off for a walk in Bradford's Lister Park, which contains the civic art gallery, Cartwright Hall. Purpose built as a gallery in 1904, it houses a large art collection deliberately curated (since the 1980s) to reflect the multi-cultural area in which it stands. I always enjoy exploring the gallery, which has a room dedicated to the renowned Bradford-born artist, David Hockney.

The park in which the gallery stands is a beautiful green oasis in a densely built-up neighbourhood. It has fountains and pools in the Mughal Gardens, which echo Persian-inspired gardens in the Indian sub-continent. 

There's also a boating lake, now home to a large flock of Canada geese (which people do insist on feeding with stale bread, meaning they can be quite insistent and vocal as you walk past them!) In the middle of the lake are a few tiny islands, many holding a sculpture or two like the statue of Peter Pan, gifted to the city by Sir Trevor Pears and installed in 2020. 

As I explored the park I came across a wedding group, posing for photos. I cheekily asked if I could take a photo too and they agreed, though understandably didn't want their faces shown. I just wanted to record the bride's gown and veil, which were stunningly gorgeous: heavily embroidered and beaded. She looked amazing. Wishing them both every happiness and blessing. 

Canal complements

I stood on the bridge over the canal for ages, just enjoying the ever-changing light and reflections in the water.  The honey colour of the stonework of the New Mill coupled with a blue sky makes for a colour palette with a high impact. Blue and yellow are opposite each other on the colour wheel, known as 'complementary colours'.  

Which reminds me that when I was selling my previous house, the agent's brochure initially described the kitchen-diner as having a 'complimentary work surface' instead of complementary. I think I'd quite like a complimentary one mind you.... 'My goodness, that cake looks nice!' or even 'You look lovely today' would be cheering to hear in the kitchen. 😂

Leeds five

You might not guess but this is in the centre of Leeds, just beside Holy Trinity Church (after which the adjacent Trinity shopping centre was named). The tree was turning autumnal, with such bright yellow leaves that it almost looked like blossom. 

I spent an afternoon shopping in the city. The light seemed quite nice so I found myself snapping a few phone shots as I walked. 

The pedestrianised street above is Briggate, home to some of the major stores, though the make-up of the shops changes constantly.  (Much to my annoyance when I think I'm going to a particular shop and find it has closed or moved. I don't really go often enough to keep up to date!)

I had to look up the significance of the statue on the plinth, erected when the Trinity Centre (mall) was opened. She is Minerva, goddess of both commerce and weaving. She is wearing an owl mask, the owl being the symbol of Leeds. She appeared to be having a little conversation with the starling that had landed on her arm. 

Along Briggate, several shopping arcades branch off to left and right. The oldest of them is Thornton's Arcade, shown below. 'The Victorian Web' website says this was 'designed by George Smith, a Leeds architect in the mid-Victorian period 1877-78; and restored in 1992-94. From medieval times, a series of yards had linked Briggate to parallel streets, and Charles Thornton, a local entrepreneur, had the idea of constructing a shopping arcade along one of them. He commissioned George Smith, who had previously designed his City Varieties Music Hall for him in Swan Street, for the task. Developed on what was previously the old Talbot Inn and its coachyard, and going through to Land's Lane, Thornton's Arcade was the first of several such arcades. These, along with the grand City Markets, transformed the centre of Leeds.'

Bin day

There's something so peaceful about sleeping cats. I find them quite compelling. When it's a marmalade cat on a blue bin, it has the added advantage of a good colour combination. 

It must have been 'bin day' in this neighbourhood. 

It always made me laugh that, once I retired, 'bin day' was how I used to measure the week. I was quite good at remembering to put mine out on the right day, and the correct bin (of two - general waste one week and recycling the alternate week). During that weird period when we had Covid lockdown, putting the bin out became quite something to look forward to - and, if you were lucky, you coincided with a neighbour doing the same and could have a quick 'socially distanced' chat! Now I'm in my apartment, we have large communal bins so I don't need to remember 'bin day' at all. And they call to collect very early in the morning so I rarely even see the lorry. It feels, oddly, like a small loss... 

Top of the world

If I walk up the hill to Northcliffe Park, rather than down the hill to Saltaire and Roberts Park, it's like being in a different world. In the top meadow, there are rolling grasslands and big wide skies. Walking in an easterly direction there are far-reaching views across the valley. There is more newly-installed gym equipment here. I wonder if anyone ever uses it? 

I stuck to the main path rather than descending through the wooded ravine. This was a couple of weeks ago and I noticed that the trees were very definitely starting to turn autumnal and, where there were wild roses, there are now bright rosehips. (Which reminded me that as a child we used to be given 'rosehip syrup', which I loved. I wonder if you can still buy it? I think it's a bit of a chore to make, needing straining carefully.)