Bingley St Ives circular - return

Back in the country park, the path crosses the golf course and then skirts the edge of Harden Moor. There is some heather out, though it all looks a bit half-hearted this year, with really tiny flowers. It's been far too dry for it to thrive.  

Things are starting to look prematurely autumnal. The bilberry leaves (above) have turned to a deep russet, (not unattractive), the bracken is dying back and some of the young trees, especially the birches, are already yellowing and losing their leaves. 

I passed the landmark of Lady Blantyre's Rock, said to be where, in mid-Victorian times, the lady of the mansion would come to sit and read, and gaze out over the valley. Most of the times I've been here, the view over the valley was obscured by tall trees that had grown in the intervening period. Since disease attacked some of the trees and they had to be felled, the view has been restored. It still takes me by surprise!

There used to be a wooden sculpture of Lady Blantyre here. Someone recently saw it on an old blog post of mine and wanted to know why it they couldn't find it.  The answer is that my photo of it HERE was taken 16 years ago, so the wooden statue, already decaying in my picture, has since rotted away. Only the (even older) memorial stone remains. 

I was a bit surprised to see Ragwort growing. It is highly toxic to animals, especially horses, so I'd have thought they'd be trying to eradicate it on the estate, given the number of horses living there. It is, however, a bright burst of yellow quite cheerful in our hedgerows. 

Partway down the return route I passed the Coppice Pond, a man-made lake dating back to the 1330s.  Once apparently a mill pond and providing a plentiful supply of fish, it was later landscaped by the Ferrand family as a decorative garden feature. 

My path took me back through the lower woods, down to the car park. The cattle looked a bit bored... not much green grass for them to chew. 

Bingley St Ives circular - out

It's a while since I went up to Bingley St Ives estate, a country park criss-crossed with paths and bridleways, but I fancied a good ramble and there is an easy circuit to follow. From the car park, I walked up what must be a very old track called Blind Lane. You can see at one time it appears to have been paved. The estate holds a large equestrian centre. There are stables, and horses in the fields, so it was no surprise to be passed by three riders. 

Occasionally, as I climbed the incline, the views opened up over the Harden valley. In the foreground are some of the test beds belonging to the Sports Turf Research Institute, where they trial various grass mixes to supply to sports bodies all over the world. Even they are having a problem with the drought, with everything as dry as straw. In the middle distance, a glimpse of the old St Ives Mansion, once a fine house and now derelict and awaiting development.

In fact there are derelict buildings all over the place, like the barn below, a testament to what was once apparently an important estate. Some parts still thrive - the stables, a golf course, a children's adventure playground - whilst other areas have been left to grow wild. No bad thing I suppose, as it is a lovely estate for walks. 

Autumn seems to be coming early. The hedgerows are full of blackberries and lush purple sloes, the fruit of the blackthorn. 

Progressing ever higher towards the top of the estate, I came across this twisted tree. I have no idea why it might have developed like that... but it seemed to be just waiting for my granddaughter to climb it! I'll have to take her up there. 

At the highest point, there's a kissing gate in the boundary wall that leads onto Altar Lane, an unmade road that leads from Bingley up onto Harden Moor.  This area has a long history, from the Bronze Age, through the Brigantes (who used a gritstone altar overlooking the valley, that gives the lane its name), the Romans, skirmishes in the English Civil Wars in the 1600s, the Jacobite army in 1745 and then military training during WWII (which left some unexploded ordnance in the area). Read its history HERE.

It's a kind of tradition for me on this walk that I pass through the kissing gate and spend a few minutes just gazing out over the Aire valley. It's looking rather too yellow at the moment! Then I go back into the estate for the downhill leg of the circuit. 

Post prandial

They say it's good to have a walk after dinner, to minimise the blood sugar spike from a big meal. Anyway, I'd had a less than active day, with a long drive and then some sitting at the computer so I persuaded myself out for a short walk, no more than half an hour down through Saltaire village and back. It was still quite warm and the light was attractive. 

Red pelargoniums on a warm evening, against a blue sky, seemed positively Mediterranean. 

On the other hand roses seem very English and there are plenty around. I loved the coral pink colour of those above. 

Rowan trees are full of berries - and rather early in their fruiting.  

I always assumed the tree (below) on the opposite side of Victoria Road, outside the old school building, was a rowan too but now I'm not so sure - or perhaps it's just a different variety. Either way, it currently seems to have more berries than leaves.

Hurdygurdy men

I was fortunate to be able to attend a short concert of Medieval Music in Skipton Castle. The musicians, Marco Cannavo on the right and Steve Tyler on the left, were proficient in a wide range of rather complicated-looking instruments. The tunes were rhythmic and mostly quite stately - suitable, I suppose, for dancing. We just lacked a banquet and (me) appropriate clothes! 

In the photo above, Steve is playing a hurdygurdy, which (Google says) is a stringed instrument that produces sound by means of a hand-cranked rosined wheel that rubs against the strings. The wheel functions much like a violin bow, and single notes played on the instrument sound similar to those of a violin. Melodies are played on a keyboard that presses tangents—small wedges, typically made of wood or metal—against one or more of the strings to change their pitch. Like most other acoustic stringed instruments, it has a sound board and hollow cavity to make the vibration of the strings audible.

In the photo below, Marco has a portative organ, a popular instrument from the 12th to the 16th century, that uses sheepskin and wood bellows, a keyboard and pipes to produce a flute-like sound. 

Here Marco is playing a bladder pipe, an early simplified form of bagpipe. 

I'm not 100% sure of the name of these small guitar-like instruments but they are possibly called citoles. 

Here Steve is playing a small Gothic harp. 

And the hurdygurdys again:

Skipton Castle

Skipton Castle... I've been so many times before and shown photos on my blog, so I thought I'd try something slightly different this time. Mono conversions and a bit of faffing! 

It's over 900 years old. Built by a Norman baron, Robert de Romille, it started as a wooden motte and bailey castle on an earthen foundation. It was rebuilt in stone, the better to withstand attacks from the Scots to the North and, standing as it does on a steep cliff that drops down behind it to Ellar Beck, it is in a good defensive position. Its thick-walled round towers are designed to fend off cannon fire. 

During the English Civil War it was the only Royalist stronghold in the North of England and withstood a three year siege by Cromwell's troops, after which in 1645 a surrender was negotiated. For over 300 years from 1310 it was the property of the Clifford family. After the Civil War, it was repaired and cared for by Lady Anne Clifford and thanks to her efforts we still have it - roofed and remarkably intact - to enjoy today. The entrance door known as Lady Anne's steps was built in her time to replace the original drawbridge. 

In the inner court, a yew tree planted by Lady Anne in the 1600s still stands today. 

Skipton Pride

One recent weekend, I decided to go to Skipton as I needed to restock on the very expensive eye drops I have to use. My optician sells them more cheaply than I can source them elsewhere. I chose to go on the train as Skipton has a market on Saturdays so it's always busy. Boy, was I glad I did! The town was absolutely heaving with people - and cars. 

I had not realised it was Skipton Pride Day so the central car park was given over to a festival (meaning there were even fewer parking spaces than usual). I didn't wander round the stalls but there was a music stage and a small funfair. 

It was a gorgeous day, warm and sunny without being too hot or humid. That brings the crowds out anyway. The pubs were busy and there was long queue for rides on the trip boat on the canal. 

It was all rather nice, a good atmosphere with people enjoying themselves. I bought my eye drops - and a long, swishy skirt that will do nicely if we have any more hot weather (and whose purchase will probably ensure that we don’t!)

Petrichor

At last, we had some overnight rain on Monday - proper rain, not just a few spots. (And more since then too.)  It's been a good two months since we had any meaningful precipitation and our river levels are very low. I happened to wake relatively early (for me) on Tuesday so I decided I'd go to Bolton Abbey for a walk in the woods. The estate gets busy in the school holidays so I tend not to visit but I knew I could be there before most of the crowds and, indeed, there were only about 30 cars in the riverside car park when I arrived. (Many more by the time I left!) 

It was delicious to walk in the cool, moist atmosphere, breathing in the pleasant, earthy scent of rain on dry ground. It was overcast and somehow mysterious in the forest, as though nothing could quite work out what was happening. What is this dampness?  

There are some very big trees down and tree branches scattered throughout the woods. I suspect that will continue as the trees have been so stressed this year and it weakens them. How the mighty are fallen... 

It's also quite plain that autumn is arriving early, with leaves already turning colour. 

Occasionally I came across a leaf that had fallen quite artistically, a bright jewel against the damp earth. 

The River Wharfe, normally rushing through the Strid Gorge, was just a gentle trickle, hardly moving. The low water level revealed water-worn rocks that you don't normally see, and a tantalising glimpse into the abyss of this famous stretch of the river, a narrow strait reputedly up to 9m (30 ft) deep and only 2m (6.5 ft) wide, with dangerous currents and hidden underwater caves. It's as though the river turns itself sideways to squeeze through the narrow fissure in the rocks. The falls a little upstream always create a line of foam, like a skein of lace in the middle of the river. 

I often spot peculiar creatures in the fallen branches; a couple of bird-like, beaky things here:  

Finally, a view I don't often take - but it does show the end of the big riverside car park, the Cavendish Pavilion (where I treated myself to a cappuccino and my favourite cherry Bakewell tart) and the wooden bridge that crosses the river at this point. 

Oakworth back to Haworth

The Railway Children Walk #4

Our route then took us down to Oakworth Station, which is the focal point for a lot of the 'railway' elements of the Railway Children film. Mr Perks, the station porter who befriends the children, lived in the cottage right beside the level crossing. (Now white painted. The adjacent cottage is a more recent addition.)  

Oakworth Station itself featured in many scenes, most notably the tear-jerking bit where the children's father returns from wrongful imprisonment as a spy, and Bobbie (played by Jenny Agutter) runs to him shouting 'Daddy, my Daddy!'  It always makes me cry! (Watch the clip HERE - oh, do watch it!) 

We walked along Station Road, past Vale Mill, the former cotton spinning mill. The road passes under part of the mill and has some sharp, narrow bends. Vehicles are instructed to 'Hoot!' at the worst corner - which I'm sure is an ongoing delight to those still working in the mill's business units! The steps in my photo lead up and under the railway. 

The attractive row of cottages called Vale Fold Cottages, which I assume once belonged to the mill, also featured in the film, during the 'paper chase' scene. 

At this point we found ourselves alongside Bridgehouse Beck again, with some obvious relics from the time when it powered the mills. 

We were just alongside the railway line when we heard a train coming. It was a steam locomotive, though for some reason it was hitched to the carriages backwards (probably because there is no turntable at Oxenhope Station?) Unfortunately we were in deep shade from the surrounding trees, peering through a small gap in the foliage. I didn't have time to reset my camera so I didn't capture the movement sharply but I was pleased nevertheless to have seen the train and got a picture of it, albeit imperfect. It being a hot day, there wasn't much steam! There's something about steam trains that I love though, and to see one when we were doing this iconic walk was 'the icing on the cake'. 

On the way back into Haworth we walked past Ebor Mills, now converted into a residential complex.

The beck in front of the mill might once have been a mill dam and now it is a nature reserve, though currently overgrown by our old friend, the Himalayan Balsam. 

From here it was uphill and then a slow downhill back to Haworth Railway Station where we had started our walk. It had been about six miles of interesting walking through a variety of landscapes - but very hot and humid walking. My shower when I got home was a blissful experience!