Appreciation

 

It was such a lovely day and such a relief to have sunshine after March's near constant drizzle. After walking down from the moor, having found a café in Burley in Wharfedale for a reviving cup of tea, I decided to walk a little further down to the river.  It's a pleasant stroll, though muddy. Last time I ventured this way, they were planning to convert the former textile mill, Greenholme Mill, into housing. This is now well underway, with some new houses almost complete and the mill itself converted into luxury apartments, currently for sale, for around a cool half million pounds! (See HERE) It's a huge project but will create some lovely new homes - though perhaps the residents of the few older properties in this area won't be that pleased to have a big development on their doorstep after living in tranquility for years. I didn't take photos of the new development as there were still hoardings and construction stuff blocking the view. 

On Facebook recently, I've come across a group called 'The Gate Appreciation Society', dedicated to posting photos of gates - beautiful, interesting, hideous or just plain amusing. With a renewed interest in gates (!) I found a couple of examples on my walk. The one above is just a fragment, hanging on for dear life to its gatepost but apparently at one time a rather ornate entrance. The one below is a typical farmer's response to a crumbling dry stone wall...  random metal 'borrowed' from somewhere else, all held together with baler twine. I'm sure the wall will be repaired eventually but it could be some time. I don't know actually if that would qualify as a 'gate' but never mind! 

I eventually arrived at the River Wharfe where it tumbles over Burley Weir, a rather splendid, stepped crescent structure. The river was quite full so there was no space to get round and photograph the weir from the bottom, as you sometimes can in drier times. No matter; this shot from above is quite pleasant.