Wharfe water

I'm always fascinated by the patterns that water makes, swirled by currents, blown by the breeze. These are a few shots of the River Wharfe at Bolton Abbey. 

I've put them into a grid as that is easy... but I'm not sure that a square format - steady and solid - is right for a linear, flowing river. So I went back and experimented again using a more elongated format. What do you think? 

The River Wharfe at Bolton Abbey

The River Wharfe meanders through the whole length of the Bolton Abbey estate. As I noted yesterday, this time I walked downstream to Bolton Bridge. The bridge itself is quite hard to see clearly through the vegetation. There is a little hamlet here with a few estate cottages, farm buildings and The Devonshire Arms hotel, which caters for tourists, weddings and conferences. 

Seen from the bridge, the river here is wide and relatively slow moving. (It had a lot more water in it than last time I visited a few weeks ago.)

In contrast, up nearer to the Priory it falls over rocks and swirls in big meanders. 

No-one was going to be hopping over the stepping stones on this day! They were deeply submerged. Thankfully there is also a footbridge, which follows the line of a small weir. 

 

Bolton Abbey - again!

I took advantage of a sunny day to visit Bolton Abbey again. The village green was looking rather attractive, and two cyclists were having a rest under the tree. They had a spaniel in a little trailer. When I returned to my car, gardeners were mowing the grass. I suppose there won't be much more need for that until next year. 

The Priory looks rather complicated from this viewpoint (below). After the dissolution of the monasteries in the 1500s, the nave (with the roof, to the left) was saved as a church because local villagers worshipped there. It is still used. 

The building in front of the abbey was originally constructed in the 15th century as the infirmary for the Priory. In 1700 it was rebuilt to house the Boyle School, a boys' grammar school endowed by natural philosopher Robert Boyle. The building continued operating as a school until 1874, when it was sold to the Duke of Devonshire and used as a rectory for the church's minister.  In 1978 it was converted into a private residence. 

I had a bit of a wander around the graveyard and the ruins. It was one of those days where I'd be attracted to a sun-kissed corner, only to have the sun disappear behind a cloud so the magic was lost before I could compose a photo. A touch frustrating! It was too chilly to stand still for long to wait for the clouds to disperse. 

I decided I'd walk along the River Wharfe to Bolton Bridge, which is a direction I rarely take. The valley here is much more open than further up towards the Strid. There are lovely views of the surrounding fells, though in many ways it's a less photogenic walk than the woodland walks. It made a change though. 

Mandarins

I spotted a pair of Mandarin ducks on the River Wharfe at Bolton Abbey. Aren't they attractive? The males are very showy with their bright colours and 'sails' but I love the more softly coloured females, so dainty-looking. Originally introduced to the UK from China, they have become established in the wild following escapes from captivity. They're not particularly common here but always nice to see. 

Square eyes

My mother used to warn/threaten us, as children, that we'd 'get square eyes' from watching too much television. (Worries about 'screen time' have been with us for decades!) Nowadays, I sometimes decide I'll take my 'square eyes' on a walk, just for a change. It's funny how imposing a restriction, like setting my camera to a different ratio, can sometimes make me more creative, or at least free me up to look at things a little differently. 

I made the most of a bright, dry morning with a trip to Bolton Abbey - and timed it perfectly. The rain started just as I drove away from the car park to come home! It was all very beautiful, quite possibly my favourite time of year when the new leaves are bathing the trees in varying shades of soft green and amber, interspersed with a few bursts of blossom.  

I just blissed out and really enjoyed finding square compositions. When I got home and uploaded the photos, I wasn't sure that my bliss in the moment had translated into all that many wonderful images, but it doesn't really matter. I had fun. 

The little details

It's interesting to notice what catches my eye when I'm out walking. Things 'call' to me. It can be a trick of the light or a slight movement, or an artful natural arrangement, like the bleached autumn leaf nestling among the ivy leaves, above. 

Fungi and moss abound in the healthy air in the Dales, far enough away from major towns and cities to be relatively free of air pollution. 

Spring being 'in the air', the birds seem to be pairing off. Mr and Mrs Mallard were hunkered down among the wood anemones. 

The black-headed gulls seemed to like their individual fence-post perches. They are moving into their summer plumage, though the one in the middle looked to be lagging behind, still sporting his white winter cap. 

Oystercatchers usually overwinter at the coast and some move inland to breed. They are distinctive, with their orange-red bills and legs and stark black and white plumage. (Though it took me a good half-hour to remember what they're called. My aging brain!) I gather that curlews are returning to breed too, though I didn't see any. They tend to prefer the higher moorland, away from the river. 

A flash of white and a bobbing movement on the rocks in the river alerted me to this dipper. S/he was almost too far away to get a good shot through my camera lens.  

Then I started to enjoy the water itself: the swirling currents, the bright leaves caught on the rocks, the dreamlike reflections...

 

Barden Tower

At Barden Bridge I took a slight detour up the hill to revisit Barden Tower. It has quite a history. It was once a medieval hunting lodge, rebuilt in the late 15th century by Henry Clifford, 'the Shepherd Lord', who preferred to live here rather than in Skipton Castle. He also built the neighbouring chapel and Priests House (see my 4th photo). 

After his death in 1523, it was neglected and rarely used. In the mid 1600s the buildings were restored by Lady Anne Clifford, then once again became derelict, stripped of its lead and roof timbers by the 1800s. The tower itself is now a ruin, simply maintained for safety reasons. You can't go inside it, though you can see into the interior, where fireplaces hang halfway up the walls, the floors having fallen away. 

The Priests House and chapel are kept in better repair, now used for weddings and functions. (See HERE) 

On the tower, above the main door, is a plaque commemorating its restoration by Lady Anne Clifford, helpfully translated, though not entirely accurately, on another adjacent sign. She appears to have been fond of the place, perhaps because it gave shelter to her mother when she was pregnant with Lady Anne, who was eventually born in Skipton Castle in 1589.

Isaiah 58:12 says: 

'Your people will rebuild the ancient ruins
and will raise up the age-old foundations;
you will be called Repairer of Broken Walls,
Restorer of Streets with Dwellings.'

Bolton Abbey estate walk

Another trip to Bolton Abbey for a walk... This was on the 10th March... we're at that time of year when the lag time between me taking photos and posting them here makes a difference. Spring is springing, but in early March there were only subtle signs. Things seem to be moving slowly this year. The day had promised to be bright and sunny. It was dry but there wasn't much sunshine, disappointingly. 

I parked in the Strid car park for a change, walked down through the woods to the river, upriver from the aqueduct (above) to Barden Bridge (below) and then back along the opposite riverbank. It's a very pleasant walk with more open views than you get further downstream. There were plenty of people about, mostly with dogs, but it rarely feels crowded there.

Everything seemed somehow to be poised, waiting, caught in that liminal space between seasons...

Stress buster

I seem to be having an incredibly busy few weeks. It's all good things but I notice I'm feeling a bit more stressed than I usually do, having a lot going on in my head. (I don't know how I ever managed to work and be a mother and all that. Getting up and ready for the day now seems like 'work' and I can only really cope with one major event in a day! It doesn't really matter, given that I'm retired and can largely please myself as to how I spend my time. It just amazes me that I ever managed more.) 

Anyway, finding myself with a precious day free of other plans, the only thing to do was to seek out trees and water, always good for stress busting. So I took a walk along the River Wharfe at Bolton Abbey to enjoy the autumn colour, which is really developing now. 

The Wharfe at Boston Spa

Isn't this a lovely view?  It's the River Wharfe as it runs down through the village of Boston Spa. After recent rain, the river is much fuller than it has been. On the right you can just see Jackdaw Crags, an outcrop of limestone that's protected as a SEGI, a Site of Ecological and Geological Importance. 

In the centre of the village, a long-standing and significant river crossing point, once a ford, is now spanned by the five arch Thorp Arch bridge, constructed in 1770.  

Looking upstream from the bridge you can just see the 18th century weir that once harnessed the water's flow to supply local corn and textile mills with power. 

It was hard to get closer to the weir because of the vegetation on the river bank. Where once it was a hive of industry, now it has modern residences with tranquil views over the water. In the foreground you can see the recently constructed fish pass, part of an environmental scheme to enable fish, particularly salmon, to migrate up and down our rivers, bypassing the man-made obstructions. 

I did attempt a more 'arty shot' of the weir through the trees but, given that by this stage I was reduced to using my phone and not my camera, it didn't quite work! 

And finally, here I am with my phone - photo courtesy of one of my friends!