I had a bit of a mad day recently, having to take my car for its annual service and MOT. My garage is in Silsden, about a half hour drive from home. I got there fairly early and dropped the car off. Then went home again on the train... but the nearest rail station is a half hour walk from the garage. It's not an unpleasant walk, though the roads are busy. There's a lovely view along the River Aire, which here meanders lazily through a flood plain. It was a still day and the reflections in the water were lovely. Green shoots on the shrubs show that spring is here, though it was a cold day despite the sunshine.
The view in the opposite direction isn't so lovely. Silsden has very recently been augmented by several massive new housing estates. This one is not only situated right in the flood plain, which doesn't seem very sensible, but also typifies those mass-produced little boxes that the large developers seem to like building. They are ostensibly 'detached houses' but there is barely room to thread a sheet of paper between them. I do wonder why they didn't just build a terraced row!
Anyhow, later in the afternoon I set off back to collect the car, again using the train, but I was early so I had a walk around Silsden too. Then they informed me the car needed more work and they wanted to keep it overnight... so, I had another trudge back to the railway station. 16461 steps in total, that's just over 6 miles according to my phone app. Good for my fitness anyway!
We sure know how awful things can happen to housing in a flood plane! Hope they can get flood insurance at least. I'm quite impressed with your many steps. I'm very grateful that my garage which knows my car better than I do, is situated just next door to a nice local coffee shop.
ReplyDeleteMy garage is directly across the road from me which is so convenient.
ReplyDeleteYou got some great shots.
ReplyDeleteLove the reflections of the sky in the river!
ReplyDeleteThat’s quite a journey—both in distance and experience! Despite the unexpected delay with your car, it sounds like you made the most of your time, taking in the scenery along the River Aire and squeezing in some extra steps. It’s always frustrating when urban expansion feels rushed or poorly planned, but at least the walk itself offered some moments of quiet appreciation. Six miles is a solid effort.
ReplyDeleteBy the way, I’ve just shared a new post. I’d love for you to take a look and share your thoughts.
That was a lot of walking for one day, and part of it unplanned.
ReplyDeleteAs for the housing estate - well, as long as people keep having babies, new housing estates will be built, and of course they build what sells best... The location doesn't seem sensible at all, and I wonder how planning permission was obtained.