Throstle's nest

I walked back a little way along the other side of the river from Ireland Bridge and then climbed up steep stone steps from the river bank into Bingley's town square, where there was a lovely display of crocuses. 

Bingley was granted a market charter by King John in 1212. By the 1300s it was probably the largest town in the Aire valley (more important in those days than what are now the cities of Bradford and Leeds). The old town was sited around the church and the Old White Horse coaching inn, by the Ireland Bridge river crossing, and the market would have been set up along what was then the main street. 

The market hall, dating to the late 1600s (when a second market charter was granted), is a long, low, open-sided building with stone columns and an oak roof covered with stone slates. When the main street was widened in the 1800s, it became redundant and was moved to a Bingley park and in the 1980s it was relocated again to what is now the town square.    

Behind it is the buttercross, thought to date from the 13th century (the original market charter) and later given a canopy. Vendors would have laid out their butter and dairy produce on its steps. There is also a set of stocks preserved beside it. 

An early historian noted: 'Ancient houses round its venerable parish church, the little place lays deeply embossed amidst high craggy hills and embowering woodlands and well does it deserve its title of: The Throstle’s Nest of England.'  On the riverside there is a stone plaque illustrating this old title, showing a thrush (throstle) feeding its young in the nest. 

River path

From Beckfoot Bridge I took the footpath along the river that leads round towards Myrtle Park. There are lovely views across the park and up into the woodland around Bingley St Ives. You wouldn't know you were only half a mile away from Bingley town centre.

There's a point where you look down and glimpse water between the trees. This isn't the river (which lies beyond). There are a couple of small lakes that at one time I think were fishing lakes, though I'm not sure they are used now. It's all quite attractive, though there are few clear views through fences and trees. 

Eventually I arrived at Ireland Bridge, which leads across the river to the oldest part of Bingley around the church. 

Beckfoot bimble

I had a stressful few days trying to get fibre broadband connected. How can BT/Openreach get things so consistently wrong? Eventually, after a lot of hassle, on the third day I did get the working connection I needed. Phew. It was a lovely day, unseasonably warm and sunny, with gorgeous light so the best way for me to decompress was with a walk. I decided I'd go to Bingley as I haven't walked that way for ages, though it's a familiar, favourite route. (I used to live over in that direction.) 

I walked down Beckfoot Lane to the gorgeous little packhorse bridge which has spanned Harden Beck since 1723, though there was a wooden bridge here before that. I've shown it several times before on my blog but I do think it an attractive spot, with the ford and the narrow bridge. Packhorse bridges were traditionally built without parapets so that horses heavily laden with panniers could cross unimpeded. Wooden balustrades have been added to the structure much more recently, as health and safety is taken more seriously these days. 

After recent rain the ford was quite deep and fast-flowing. Misguided visitors to the area, using sat-nav, have many a time come to a halt in their cars half-way across! 

I wanted a photo showing the bridge from the other direction. Beside the bridge, there are some lovely old buildings with a rich history: Templar Cottage and Beckfoot Farmhouse - but what with the sun being in my eyes and an abundance of brambles and shrubbery, that proved more than a difficult assignment! 

Nearby, on the banking, I spotted a really pretty little cluster of newly minted daffodils, the first I'd seen this year. 

Froth

Trees in the allotments have suddenly erupted in frothy white blossom. It only needs a little bit of sunshine to coax it out. I'm not exactly sure what trees they are. Google suggests that cherry plums are among the first to flower in the UK, in late February/early March, so that's a possibility. Blackthorn also flowers early but they tend to grow wild so I wouldn't have thought that likely in this spot. I couldn't get near enough to get a closer look. They looked very pretty where the sunshine was catching them. 

Shipley Glen and Trench Meadows

After my walk up beside the Tramway, I was intending to have a ramble along the moor at the top of Shipley Glen. The paths were, however, so muddy and slippery that I thought better of it, instead threading my way gingerly down the bridleway (also muddy!) to the Coach Road.

That path skirts its way along the side of Trench Meadows nature reserve, a rare lowland meadow habitat. It's owned by Bradford Council, who had it on their 'Disposals List' until it was included in the new Bradford Pennine Gateway National Nature Reserve, which covers eight different sites in our region and protects a variety of priority habitats. Launched in 2023 to mark King Charles III's Coronation, the King's Series of National Nature Reserves (NNRs) is a 5-year initiative by Natural England to create 25 new, significant nature reserves. The project aims to boost biodiversity, connect habitats, and improve public access to nature.

I was struck by the difference in the reserve's appearance when the sun was shining (above) and when it clouded over (below). I quite liked the soft, silvery look and have processed the photo below to emphasise that. 

Just at the edge of the reserve are some of the oldest buildings in the area: Trench House and Trench Barn. Both date to the mid 1600s, with some later additions, and are now listed buildings. They originally belonged to the Hudson family, yeoman clothiers - small holders practising a little subsistence farming but whose main income came from spinning wool and weaving cloth in their own homes.

Raising funds

Shipley Glen Tramway has hauled people up and down the hillside from Saltaire to Shipley Glen and Baildon since 1895. The oldest, still working, cable hauled tramway in the UK is now run on a shoestring by dedicated volunteers, who have a tough job keeping the old rolling stock and machinery safe and in good working order. They've recently raised an appeal for £89000 to repair the trackway that has, over the years, been patched to keep it safe. Recent bad weather has eroded it further and it now needs professional attention to preserve it for the future. 

Part of the fundraising drive was a 'Dinosaur Weekend', with brave souls leaping around in inflatable suits! It was popular with families, so much so that there were long queues for the trams. I abandoned my intention to ride up and walked instead. It's not actually that long or steep a path. 

I also abandoned my intention to take photos of the cars, as there were too many children for that to be advisable. Instead I've dug out a very old collage I once made... but the tramway's appearance doesn't really change over the years, faithful to its 130 year history.  

Lock work

I walked along to Dowley Gap Locks, which is a staircase of two locks on the Leeds-Liverpool Canal, completed around 1773. Not surprisingly, these structures need an increasing amount of maintenance to keep them in working order. It was difficult to see into the locks themselves, but they have been drained. Those blue tarps are holding back the water at either end and there were big pumps and pipes leading down into the lock chambers. It appeared that there was some repair work going on to the walls on either side and I think they are replacing some of the lock gates too. These kinds of scheduled works are mostly done in winter time to minimise inconvenience to boaters and holiday makers. It may be completed by now, as the Canal and Rivers Trust schedule says the waterway would be closed until 27 February. 

Springing

At last, it begins to feel like we're edging closer to spring. There's the faintest hint of colour on the trees... No leaves yet, of course, but buds start to appear and the lichen on the branches seems to brighten in colour. 

There are purple crocuses now, along with the yellow ones. Still a lot of mud rather than grass but they're a cheery sight. 

Some of the trees have catkins. A faint hint of sunshine and warmer temperatures tempted people out into the park. The river is pretty full but, around here at any rate, the inflow of water seems to have more or less kept pace with the outflow and there's been no flooding as far as I'm aware.

Snowdrops sit in the grass around the church. With no leaves on the trees, a new viewpoint is opened up... What looks simply like a tower (from the familiar front view down the church drive) is revealed to have quite a lot more building behind! 

F**ked

Many of you will know that I’m profoundly deaf, having gradually lost my hearing since I was in my late twenties. No-one has been able to tell me why; I suspect some of it has to do with the very loud rock concerts I enjoyed at uni. No-one in those days warned that noise might damage your hearing… I’ve worn hearing aids since I was about thirty and I’ve been lucky that, as my hearing has worsened, technology has improved. Emails, the internet, texts, TV subtitles - all a real blessing. I rely very much on the imperfect art of lip reading when in conversation with people. Very occasionally I feel upset about the difficulties, especially when it means I can’t easily converse with my grandgirls. But mostly I just get on with life as best I can and remember to laugh at the absurdities I sometimes find myself in as a result of mishearing. My family and friends are all very thoughtful and forgiving. There are certain activities I can’t easily participate in, but many that I can. Photography is a great hobby for a deaf introvert.

Just lately, however, I’ve noticed I’m struggling more. I’ve recently been fitted with new hearing aids, having last had them updated about ten years ago. I’m deeply grateful for our NHS provision, and for the new technology they keep adopting, so that even hearing aids now come with all sorts of fancy things like phone apps. Unfortunately I’m not doing terribly well with the new aids. They do pick up a greater range of sound but my brain seems to be having trouble adjusting and making sense of the soundscape. Sometimes it just feels irritating. If the TV is on or I’m in a busy place, I often feel like I’m surrounded by cawing rooks rasping away!

My audiologist is really helpful and has tweaked things several times, so it’s a bit better now, but at my last appointment she gave me a test. She played random words for me to identify (with my hearing aids), just audio, not lip reading. If you get less than 50% correct, you’re at the threshold to be considered for a cochlear implant. I scored 17%!  So that was a bit of a nasty shock. Basically my hearing is f**ked! Anyway, she has referred me for implant assessment. So now I need to be brave and face this. It feels like a big deal. I don’t honestly know that much about cochlear implants. I was once assessed before, years ago, when the technology was very new. At that point they advised that with hearing aids and lip reading I was functioning at least as well as I would with an implant, so the risk was not deemed worth taking. Things have, however, moved on a lot since then. But I'm really worried that if I had implants and struggled with them, there is no going back. 

So, I’m going to have to do a bit of research and see if I can calm my fears. The other side of the see-saw, of course, is the documented increased risk of dementia with untreated hearing loss. I feel like I’m between a rock and a hard place. I don’t usually write about such personal things on my blog but it feels important as part of being honest and facing the challenges of getting older. We all have our own!  I also think there are many worse things that could be wrong (and so far aren't) in an over 70 body, so let's look on the bright side. 

And today it's Spring!! 🌷🌷🌱🌱 At least meteorologically, even if we've to wait until the 20th for the vernal equinox. 

(Picture not mine, unashamedly poached from the internet! 👀) 

Textural studies

I always come away from a visit to The Hepworth wanting to make photos. Luckily there is no shortage of subject matter around the gallery, in the gardens and in the surrounding river. 

In the playroom

One corner of the gallery where the Edmund de Waal/Axel Salto exhibition was displayed was set out as a playroom, with art supplies and various objects. I love how The Hepworth encourages creativity in this way, especially for children. Edmund de Waal clearly feels very passionate about this too. In his words: 'A section in the exhibition in Yorkshire is going to be an area in which children (if they manage to fight off the adults) get to play with printing stamps. The idea is to have a space where young people can just try things out, not for any kind of curriculum needs, but because being a human being is about discovering what happens, bodily, with you in the world – which is play. Play makes you alive to the world in a material way. Stripping play and craft from children’s lives is just a disgrace.'

I rather liked the felted 'pebbles' - squishy and tactile, and with lovely colours.  

I was also absolutely fascinated by these things... They looked a bit like mushrooms but they appeared to be wood - and I think they are natural rather than carved. I've no idea what they are. Google and Google lens is no help - it identifies them as 'portobello mushrooms' from the 'gills side' (well, yes, that's what they look like but they were definitely wood, not fungus) and trepanned skulls from the smooth side! Ha. I'd say they are some kind of burr/burl... Incredible things, anyway. 

Apologies for the soft focus. It was so dark that I was using a very wide aperture on my lens and thus had a rather too narrow depth of field. 

Axel Salto

Edmund de Waal and Axel Salto: Playing with Fire - at The Hepworth, Wakefield

And so to Axel Salto's work, as curated by Edmund de Waal. Salto (1889-1961) was Danish: 'a radical, polymathic figure who crossed boundaries from one discipline to another, producing an extraordinary body of ceramic work alongside paintings, wood-cuts, drawings, book illustration and textiles.' Most of his work was inspired by organic forms: buds, seeds, sprouts and occasionally creatures. 

You weren't allowed to touch the exhibits, of course, though the surfaces almost begged you to reach out and caress their knobbly forms. 

Apart from the three pronged 'tooth' things (above top left) that just served to remind me of the tooth extraction I've recently endured (!), I enjoyed all the shapes and colours. 

There was more than a hint of what we might now call 'Scandi modern' in his fabrics and designs: complex, lyrical and yet at the same time still spare and clean. (The above photo shows three lengths of fabric and a clay relief panel.) 

I really enjoyed seeing them all. The exhibition is on until 4 May 2026, so local peeps still have chance to visit it. 

Edmund de Waal #2

Edmund de Waal and Axel Salto: Playing with Fire - at The Hepworth, Wakefield

In contrast to the ethereal, light coloured ceramic vessels and sheets I showed yesterday, Edmund de Waal was displaying 'the largest vessels I have ever made. Into their damp surface I inscribed fragments of Rilke's poetry, marking and erasing and rewriting the words, a kind of elegie. They are made with a rough, red clay that turns as black as volcanic stone: that is the alchemy of the kiln'.  

These were monumental, solid, textural... magnificent pieces. I loved them. There was a timelessness about them, a kind of Biblical significance. 

There were a couple of niches too, that contained much smaller pieces but in a similar dark tone. I loved the light on light/dark on dark displays in the exhibition. Magical.