My goodness, I have rarely looked forward to Spring with quite the fervour that I feel this year! Despite last year being more than averagely pleasant weather-wise, the winter has felt long and miserable, compounded by the lockdown and gloomy Covid statistics. It was with a great deal of pleasure, therefore, that I spotted these crocus pushing up through the leaf litter, just by the roadside at Cottingley Bar.
Idly wondering, as I wrote this, why the area (the junction between the Shipley to Bingley road and the road up to Cottingley village) is called Cottingley Bar, I looked it up (as you do!) It turns out there was a toll bar here in times gone by, where road tolls were collected from travellers using the turnpike road from Bradford to Skipton. (See HERE). The Bar House was demolished in 1913. Fascinating,
