My family have recently returned from an epic holiday in Japan, so it was lovely to catch up with them. They've just about recovered from the jet lag! As it was such a gorgeous day, we went for a walk up a little valley called Jumble Hole Clough.
Calderdale is riddled with steep sided ravines or 'cloughs', where streams tumble down to join the main River Calder. As the textile trade moved from handloom weaving onto a more organised, commercial footing, numerous small mills were built to harness the water power of the streams. This little valley alone held at least four mills in the early 19th century. (To read about its history, see HERE.)
We stumbled across a tiny little burial ground that belonged to Mount Olivet Baptist Chapel. The chapel itself was opened in 1842, closed in 1909 and was demolished about 1946, but its graveyard remains, the gravestones weathered and the land covered in bluebells.
The fresh, green foliage comes in a multitude of layered shades, with attractive glimpses through the branches.
The steep valley stream has been 'engineered' in many places to provide water power for the mills. There are bridges, weirs, mill dams, goits and sluices all along its length, though the burgeoning vegetation and rocky debris in the stream gradually seek to reclaim it all to nature.
Where there are breaks in the trees, you can catch glimpses across the valley, here looking up to Stoodley Pike, a prominent monument built in the 1850s, on the site of an earlier memorial commemorating the end of the Napoleonic Wars. Standing 121 feet high, it is visible for miles around.
Beautiful photographs, especially of the trees.
ReplyDeleteWhat a lovely area. There seem to be so many of these areas around you.
ReplyDeleteYou had the perfect day for it, and I imagine the walk was greatly enjoyed by everyone.
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