Otley Chevin

Finally got a haircut! Hooray; my first since last September! The salon is in Guiseley so I celebrated by driving a little further to Otley Chevin to get some fresh air. The views are wonderful from this gritstone ridge along the south side of  Wharfedale, overlooking the town of Otley. In fact at this point it is called 'Surprise View'. There's not much colour in the trees yet but the gorse is coming into flower and the bilberries are showing new growth. 

In the photo above, on the horizon, you can no doubt see the outcrop of rock known as Almscliffe Crag. During the time of the Napoleonic Wars (late 1700s - early 1800s) a network of warning beacons was maintained in case of invasion by the French. Fires would be lit on high points, each within sight of others as a communication chain, so there is a Beacon Hill on Otley Chevin, a beacon site at Almscliffe and one near Ilkley known as Beamsley Beacon. I don't think they were ever used for that purpose, though beacons around the country have been lit several times for national celebrations.  

Looking in the other direction, the view is of the town of Otley. 

You can see the remains of a small farmhouse or cottage (below), variously known as Jenny's Cottage, Beacon House or Chevin Top Farm. (An interesting history of it can be found HERE.) It was demolished in the 1970s but at one time visitors to the Chevin were able to buy refreshments here. Nowadays you have to make do with an ice cream van in the nearby car park.