Leeds canal walk

It was a pleasant walk in the sunshine back to Leeds rail station, along the towpath of the Leeds-Liverpool Canal. There are numerous bridges and it's all quite green and leafy, with waterlilies on the surface. 

A section sandwiched between the canal and river has been made into an urban park, quite untamed and full of wildflowers and butterflies. 

Graffiti 'artists'/hooligans (depending on your viewpoint!) have run amok. One wonders how they have managed to access some of the more out of the way stretches, like the wall below tightly sandwiched between the canal and rail lines.  And still more high-rise blocks are under construction. 

Here and there, reminders of the industrial past of this area have been retained. The Italianate tower (below), built in 1866 and modelled on the Torre dei Lamberti in Verona, was a dust extractor for the Tower Works, operational from 1864 until 1981, which made steel pins for carding and combing in the textile industry. 

Eventually the canal arrives at its Leeds endpoint, Granary Wharf (the name being no doubt a bit of a giveaway as to what used to be situated here). In the distance in my photo below you can see the lock that releases it into the River Aire, which becomes navigable from here through the centre of the city to the Leeds Dock marina and then into the Aire and Calder Navigation. 

Angles

There was something quite compelling about all the new glass and steel office blocks in Wellington Place in Leeds. Those vast expanses of windows reflect the sky quite wonderfully and the grids break and intersect in intriguing ways. I had fun trying out different compositions; I could have stayed and played a lot longer. I do, however, wonder if they'll have as long a life as the amazing Victorian and Edwardian buildings right in the city centre. Probably not! 

Monk Bridge Viaduct

Just south of the Wellington Place development (see yesterday), what's left of the disused railway viaduct has recently been reopened as a pedestrian walkway and urban garden, linking the office development with residential areas south of the river. 

The grade two-listed Monk Bridge Viaduct was built around 1846 as part of the new railway network being constructed in the Wellington Street area of Leeds. It became an important part of Leeds Central Station which was completed in 1857, carrying high level lines to the station and connecting to the lifting tower which still stands on the Wellington Place development today.

It still spans the Leeds-Liverpool Canal as that winds its way into the city:

as well as the River Aire which runs alongside the canal: 

The old trackway has been made into an urban park, quite attractive though I'm not sure I'd want to be wandering around there at dusk. 

Leeds Wagon Lifting Tower

I met a friend in Leeds recently. We had two objectives: 1) A coffee and a good catch-up 2) To find and explore the Leeds Wagon Lifting Tower mini museum. Both were achieved!

Just to the west of Leeds railway station there's a large area of development called Wellington Place, a  new urban quarter, 'blending high-specification office space with all the perks of the city centre: independent restaurants, enviable facilities and attractive outdoor spaces'. It is indeed quite an interesting area, with wide pedestrian boulevards linking modern high-rise glass office blocks. In the middle sits one of the last remaining pieces of history in this area: one of the twin towers that, using steam power and hoists, lifted railway wagons down from the rail viaduct that spanned the river and canal to deposit them in the Great Northern Goods Yard, at a lower level, ready to be unloaded. 

On the ground floor there is a tiny museum with old signs, photographs and sketches showing its history and how the area used to look between the 1850s and 1950s when it finally closed down. There were originally several rail stations in the city, belonging to the various railway companies. Eventually they were amalgamated into the existing Leeds station. 

It's a fascinating little piece of history and good to see a bit of Leeds' past restored and incorporated into the new urban quarter, part of Leeds' future. 

Atkinson Grimshaw

A brief 'summer' rapidly turned wintry again, with 10ºC difference in the temperature between one day and the next! Plus wind and rain... so I hopped on the train to Leeds civic art gallery to catch an exhibition that will soon be closing. I couldn't resist an internal shot of the gallery itself. The bright, modern mural contrasts interestingly with the classic white interior of the next room. 

The exhibition was 'Don't Let's Ask For The Moon', featuring work by the Leeds-born Victorian artist John Atkinson Grimshaw [1836-1893]. (A more Northern name would be hard to find!). Atkinson Grimshaw specialised in 'Nocturnes' - twilight and moonlight pictures - which brought him great commercial success. Many were waterside scenes on the Thames in London (below), Liverpool, Scarborough, Glasgow and the Aire in Leeds.   

On display were several Leeds scenes that I've not seen before.  'Boar Lane, Leeds by Lamplight' is evocative of the wet streets, slightly misty evening air and the gas-lit shops, with the lights of a steam tram halt in the distance. 

I really liked 'Tree Shadows on the Park Wall, Roundhay Park, Leeds', with the lone figure telling quite a story, I thought. 

Most of his work was landscapes but he also painted a series of works depicting mythical fairy-like creatures, including 'Iris, messenger to the Gods'. Here he was able to pursue an interest in mythology, a serious classical subject, sanctioning his painting of erotically charged nudes. No doubt they made him money too! 

I loved 'Snow and Mist' (below), which was much lighter and more minimal, one of the last paintings he completed. Overall, it was an enjoyable exhibition. I like his paintings, though they don't quite rank in the 'thrilling' category of art, for me. 

Leeds station

I'm afraid I've not been doing anything very interesting since New Year. It's been so cold and icy that I've tended to avoid going out (even though we've had very little actual snow here, to speak of). Our hospitals are under such pressure; the last thing I want is to slip on the ice and end up in A&E facing a long wait for treatment, so I've been staying safe and cosy at home. 

I did venture across to Leeds on the train one day, to meet a friend. I was mildly amused to spot a man in the station concourse standing talking, quite loudly, to a mobile phone on a tripod, obviously filming himself. It looked quite a serious endeavour, as he even had a script of some sort in his hand. (Of course, deaf old me couldn't hear what he was saying.) I did wonder whether it was one of the local TV channels, as he looked vaguely familiar, though I'd have thought they could afford an actual camera operator and not rely on a mobile phone.  Modern life's zeitgeist is that everyone younger than me (and there are a lot of them!) seems to be permanently either 'talking to themselves' or cut off from the world with massive headphones. I find it really weird. 

Meanwhile, outside the station, work goes on to 'improve' the environment. They are enlarging the pedestrian forecourt; moving the bus shelters and spacing them out so there’s more room to wait for a bus and creating an additional pedestrian crossing to make it easier to get to and from the station. They say: 'We want to make a significant difference to the look and feel of this important ‘gateway’ to Leeds and the wider city region. We want visitors to get a great first impression of our city as they come out of the station.' It seems to be taking forever though, and is currently quite disruptive to pedestrians and traffic. 

Leeds Market

Kirkgate Market in Leeds is supposedly the largest covered market in Europe, much of it housed in an ornate Grade 1 listed building built in 1904. There has been a market on the site since 1822 and various buildings have been added and lost, some to a fire in 1975. Currently there is a large covered market and an open-air market at the rear. 

In 1884, it was the founding location of Marks and Spencer, originally a penny bazaar stall. There's a clock that celebrates the company's centenary.  

Markets are wonderfully colourful places but I found that photography was discouraged, particularly in the indoor market, which is a shame. I did rattle off a few snaps! 

Leeds, Briggate

Briggate is the middle one of three parallel streets that run north/south through the main shopping area in Leeds. It's linked to the other streets by various side streets, malls and arcades. It's pedestrianised too, so it makes for a safe environment for shoppers. It's always fairly busy and there are street food stalls and often buskers - plenty to enjoy and a good spot for 'people-watching' if that's your thing. 

In the UK, it's fairly normal to have such concentrated shopping areas, around a high street or perhaps a central square. When I went to the USA, although the only city I really visited was Boston, it seemed that there wasn't 'a shopping centre' as such (or if there was I didn't find it, despite covering most of the city by foot in a few days). Shops seemed to be well spread out rather than concentrated in one central district.