Impressionism in the woods

A wander through the late autumnal woods behind Skipton Castle left me feeling that the reality was better than anything a camera could capture, though I tried to sum it up in an image nevertheless. The best description is 'impressionistic', I think. Bright leaves still hanging on to their branches for dear life reminded me of pointillist paintings, dots of paint quickly applied to capture the essence of a subject rather than the detail. 

A short and sweet burst of sunlight lit up the colourful trees beside the old corn mill alongside the Springs Branch canal. The old wooden mill wheel still works. You can go inside and pull a handle, which brings down a sudden cascade of water (alarming, even though there is a glass panel between you and it!) that sets the wheel slowly turning. The mill wheel isn't powered by the canal, which was built later, but by a goit bringing water from a dam up in the woods, extracted from a stream called Eller Beck. The mill is now shops and offices and has a modern turbine that supplies energy to the National Grid.

The woods are laced with footpaths and some interesting willow sculptures. I've shown this one on my blog before but it is a favourite of mine: The Huntress. She looks a little more fragile every year and I suppose one day she'll collapse and return to nature, which is kind of poetic. 

Walking back into town, I was intrigued by the shimmering rays of light thrown up by the water under the canal bridge; a little light show just for my amusement.