Land of hope and glory

Saltaire is still, for lots of reasons, a desirable place to live. It's a thriving and creative community, and the houses, built in the mid-1800s as homes for the mill workers at Salts Mill, remain comfortable. Many are quite small but they are sought after by young people starting out on the housing ladder and by a few older people choosing to downsize. 

Wandering through the streets, I often wonder what it must have felt like to those early residents, moving from the disease-ridden slums of the city out to what was then truly a 'greenfield site'. The village was well planned and relatively spacious; its homes comfortable, with plenty of light and their own private backyards. 

From the bottom of the streets, you still see the green of Hope Hill rising up, across the other side of the river. I wonder if it felt like 'a land of hope and glory' to those hard-working folk who first lived here?  

Fountains Abbey

Since I've run out of current photos until I can go somewhere interesting, and since we've recently had a look at Bolton Priory, I thought I'd repost a collection of my images of Fountains Abbey. Up near Ripon, it's probably one of the UK's most stunning ruined abbeys, now a World Heritage Site. It was a Cistercian monastery, founded in 1132, and became one of the wealthiest in England due to its extensive landholdings. That didn't stop Henry VIII dismantling it in the 1500s, and then it was sold and became part of a landowner's estate, eventually becoming a 'romantic ruin' in a vast garden site. It's now in the care of the National Trust. 

I'll let the photos speak for themselves. It's apparent that I often visit in winter! That avoids some of the crowds that converge in summer, though it's always busy. I just might drive over there again soon, though not until the weather has improved a bit.  For more about it's history, see HERE. 

Shop local

One of the advantages of living where I do now is that there are local shops within a few minutes walk. At the moment I still do a weekly supermarket shop but, more and more, I'm enjoying just popping down to Gordon Terrace to supplement that. There's a Co-op that has milk, store cupboard items and even a few gluten free things - bread and cakes - which is helpful for me. It does sell fruit and veg but if I need those I buy from the specialist greengrocer, The Orange Grove. They are a little more expensive but usually good quality. I can buy exactly the quantity I need, even if that's just a couple of carrots or one jacket potato. They also stock more unusual items that the supermarkets often don't have: pomegranates, Jerusalem artichokes, heritage tomatoes. On some days of the week you can buy fresh fish here too. During the Covid lockdown this shop was a real lifeline for people. They even started a delivery service. I'm very much hoping they're still in business at whatever point in the future I need to give up my car and truly shop local. 

A hop to Skipton

I had a number of errands to do in Skipton. It's a busy market town about half an hour's drive from here. It has the advantage that it's easy to get many of the things you need in quite a compact area. I find there's something truly satisfying about being economical in my movements. I had the car washed; got my glasses realigned so they don't press on my nose; purchased the expensive eyedrops that only my optician stocks; bought some walking poles in one of Skipton's many 'outdoor' shops; stocked up on dried fruit and nuts relatively cheaply from the store that sells them in bulk; explored a new yarn shop that several friends had recommended; had a walk along the canal and enjoyed coffee and cake in a lovely café near the canal basin. Then I finished off with my weekly supermarket shop in Keighley on the way home. All most satisfying and a good use of a fairly chilly, dull, damp day. 

There was a lady feeding bread to the gulls and pigeons. That is definitely not encouraged but people don't take any notice! 

 

The struggle is real

We are nearing the end of January and I don't think winter has fully played out yet. A very cold spell was followed by a mild, wet spell - and it seems that has enticed some of the buds out. The shrub above is a camellia. They do flower early and that leaves them very prone to frost damage, which is a shame as they are such beautiful blooms. 

There are catkins in abundance on the trees bordering Caroline Street car park. 

Crocuses also tend to flower in February-March and they are already pushing through the grass in Roberts Park.

But, oh dear, look at this... Where they flower on the grassy bank leading down to the river, there is more mud than grass. Part of the reason is the very wet weather. Part of the reason too is that they have had the path under the footbridge closed for months (despite the fact that the remedial work on the footbridge is supposed to have been completed). That means that people walk over the grass to reach the viewing area by the weir, and that footfall has worn away most of the grass. In a good year the area looks like THIS - but I don't think 2026 is going to be a good year for them, somehow! 

All the rain does mean there's plenty of water rushing over the weir, which is always good to see. I love the shapes and crests that the water makes. 

Another place where the struggle is real is the Wash House Gardens, a small garden square in the centre of Saltaire. It was originally the site of the Victorian wash house and baths, which were intended to support the residents of the village (whose newly built and, for that time, well-equipped homes had outdoor privies in their back yards but no indoor bathroom). The facilities so thoughtfully provided by Sir Titus Salt were, however, not well used. People seemed to prefer to bathe (in tin baths in front of the fire) and do their laundry at home. In the late 1800s the wash house building was converted to housing and then demolished in the 1930s. Now it's a volunteer maintained garden, so it is sad to see that once again there appears to have been a theft of the slabs around the raised beds. It's happened several times before. Yorkshire stone is valuable. It's heartbreaking for those who put time and effort into caring for the gardens. 

There's rather a lot to be depressed about in the state of our world at the moment, I'm afraid. 

Twilight, Albert Terrace

It's no wonder that Albert Terrace is used so often as a film location. It is very atmospheric, and timeless (at least when there aren't too many cars visible). I love it best at twilight when the moody shadows add even more character. 

 

Murky

We Brits have a reputation for talking about the weather all the time. It's no doubt deserved, though is it any wonder when our days can be so markedly different from each other? In this small part of our world, since the New Year, we've had frost, ice, a dusting of snow and temperatures below zero, rain, mist and damp drizzle with temperatures above average for this time of year, plus a few days of crisp, bright sunshine. To be honest, I wouldn't like to live anywhere where the weather is the same all the time but even so the rapid changes have been dizzying. 

The ice stops me venturing out. To make sure I get the exercise I need, I therefore have to brave the rainy, damp days. I don't really mind. There's something soothing about a walk in the drizzle, when there are many fewer people about. It's fine provided you have appropriate clothing. 

As an illustration, I took these two photos from roughly the same spot just two days apart. (Some idiot in the meantime churned up the football field with - presumably- a quad bike. Grr.) 

I had to laugh one day when I saw this - that's me all over!! I only have a tolerance range of about 12ºC.

Talking of which, you remember on Christmas Eve I went to watch the Calderdale charity tractor run (and got thoroughly chilled to the bone.) Well, I just read that they raised a total of £25,141.35 for charity, so very well done to them all.  (That's over $36,600, for my US readers.) 

 

Along the Wharfe

Bolton Priory is in a lovely setting, hugged by the meanders of the River Wharfe.  There are extensive walks on the estate, though it was a bit too cold for me to go far on this visit. 

I couldn't resist trying some 'arty' shots of a patch of foam on the water. It looked a bit like someone had spilled a few cauliflowers! 

Also couldn't resist this curious sheep. You have to be quite careful at this time of year as the ewes are in lamb (as the red mark denotes) and can easily be spooked. I think they are most wary of dogs and they didn't seem to mind me walking slowly along the path. They continued to graze or - as this one - had a good but friendly look at me. 

Around the ruined Priory

This is a classic view of the ruined Priory. It's not as large nor as well preserved as some of our other great Yorkshire abbeys but its setting in a curve of the River Wharfe does make it rather beautiful. Looking down to the river from the ruins themselves, much of the floor plan just exists as broken walls. 

There are traces of what would have been a cloister, with a piscina in the wall. 

Some of the tracery of the windows and doors remains. 

The graves to the north and east of the Priory Church are relatively recent compared to the 850 year history of the site and the graveyard to the east, sloping down towards the river, is still in use. 

It's rare that you can see much of the detail of a stained glass window from the outside, but the sunlight shining through the larger windows on the south side of the nave illuminated those on the north side quite effectively. 

The Priory Church

The colourful Advent wreath was still on display in the Priory Church at Bolton Abbey. It's not a huge church, taking up just the nave of what was once the Augustinian monastery's church, but it is beautiful and has an interesting history. At the Dissolution of the Monasteries in 1539, special dispensation was given to the local villagers to continue to worship here, which they had been doing since 1170. The east wall, behind the altar, was built in 1539 to separate the nave from the rest of the priory that was sacked and is now in ruins.  

Rebuilt in 1877, the east wall is now painted with flowers and symbols including Madonna lilies, a reminder that the church is dedicated to St Mary. 

Various renovations in the late 1800s included the addition of six windows by Augustus Pugin, a leading figure in the Gothic Revival. (See three of them below)

In the side aisle there is a stone altar, the oldest item in the church and probably the original high altar, in use by 1170. During the Reformation, many stone altars were destroyed. They believe this one was saved by being used to cover the entrance to a crypt. It was rediscovered and re-erected here in 1985. It had a brass plate set in the middle that showed the name of the occupant of the crypt but there is speculation that that was added over a hollow that might originally have held a sacred relic, covered by a thin sheet of stone. If that's true, this is rather a rare piece. 

This Anglican church remains rather traditional, leaning towards anglo-catholicism. The lights above the altar are kept lit day and night to indicate that the Blessed Sacrament (the bread and wine used in Holy Communion) is reserved here. The Reserved Sacrament is used to give Communion to the sick and housebound.  

The flower arrangements in the Priory Church are always beautiful. I suspect there is at least one professional florist in the congregation, or perhaps they 'buy them in', since the church attracts so many visitors.