Gently flows the river

Last Monday morning, my plan was to spend much of the day catching up on household chores, neglected because I've been out and about a lot. But... it was such a beautiful day that it seemed criminal to stay indoors. The joy of retirement is that, within reason, you can do exactly as you like. So Plan A was ditched and Plan B followed... a drive to Bolton Abbey and a walk through the early autumnal woods. 

We've had some rain but not really a great deal. The River Wharfe was flowing gently and its surface was mirror-like. 

The Strid Gorge was slightly fuller than last time I visited about a month ago, but by no means as full as it sometimes gets. It's astonishing that the wide and mighty river narrows here to just a couple of meters across as it churns through the rocks. 

It was a blissful walk - my soul was singing - and I made the most of every minute. It's such a privilege to be within easy striking distance of all these beautiful places. I saw this quote (below) on someone else's blog (Barbara?) and thought it was wonderful. I am so deeply grateful for my life and circumstances. 

On the way up to Baildon Moor

I took the photo above from the top of Baildon Moor, looking down over Saltaire, which is the tight grid of streets in the middle of the shot. You might be able to see the top of Salts Mill chimney, just peeping over the trees on the far left (in front of the green patch). 

It is a good though quite challenging walk from my home on the opposite side of the valley, down into Saltaire and then up all the way to the trig point, which stands at 282m/925ft above sea level. I'm delighted that I can still do it! Google suggests the elevation gain/ascent is around 244m/800ft. My phone told me my total walk was 14400 steps or about 5.7 miles - and that was after getting a taxi home from Baildon village, as my friend's knee was hurting! Anyway, it was a good workout and a lovely day out, to see the soundscape I showed yesterday and to enjoy the views from the moor. 

Looking west over in the Bingley direction.   ^

Looking south-east towards Bradford.  v

Looking more or less north-west in the general direction of Ilkley Moor.  v

A 'Cup and Ring' marked stone dating back to the Late Neolithic and Bronze Age (c 2800-500 BC). Similar stones can be found all over the local moors. Their exact meaning remains a mystery, though theories range from religious and sacred symbols to ancient maps or astronomical charts. 

Bingley St Ives circular - out

It's a while since I went up to Bingley St Ives estate, a country park criss-crossed with paths and bridleways, but I fancied a good ramble and there is an easy circuit to follow. From the car park, I walked up what must be a very old track called Blind Lane. You can see at one time it appears to have been paved. The estate holds a large equestrian centre. There are stables, and horses in the fields, so it was no surprise to be passed by three riders. 

Occasionally, as I climbed the incline, the views opened up over the Harden valley. In the foreground are some of the test beds belonging to the Sports Turf Research Institute, where they trial various grass mixes to supply to sports bodies all over the world. Even they are having a problem with the drought, with everything as dry as straw. In the middle distance, a glimpse of the old St Ives Mansion, once a fine house and now derelict and awaiting development.

In fact there are derelict buildings all over the place, like the barn below, a testament to what was once apparently an important estate. Some parts still thrive - the stables, a golf course, a children's adventure playground - whilst other areas have been left to grow wild. No bad thing I suppose, as it is a lovely estate for walks. 

Autumn seems to be coming early. The hedgerows are full of blackberries and lush purple sloes, the fruit of the blackthorn. 

Progressing ever higher towards the top of the estate, I came across this twisted tree. I have no idea why it might have developed like that... but it seemed to be just waiting for my granddaughter to climb it! I'll have to take her up there. 

At the highest point, there's a kissing gate in the boundary wall that leads onto Altar Lane, an unmade road that leads from Bingley up onto Harden Moor.  This area has a long history, from the Bronze Age, through the Brigantes (who used a gritstone altar overlooking the valley, that gives the lane its name), the Romans, skirmishes in the English Civil Wars in the 1600s, the Jacobite army in 1745 and then military training during WWII (which left some unexploded ordnance in the area). Read its history HERE.

It's a kind of tradition for me on this walk that I pass through the kissing gate and spend a few minutes just gazing out over the Aire valley. It's looking rather too yellow at the moment! Then I go back into the estate for the downhill leg of the circuit. 

Oakworth back to Haworth

The Railway Children Walk #4

Our route then took us down to Oakworth Station, which is the focal point for a lot of the 'railway' elements of the Railway Children film. Mr Perks, the station porter who befriends the children, lived in the cottage right beside the level crossing. (Now white painted. The adjacent cottage is a more recent addition.)  

Oakworth Station itself featured in many scenes, most notably the tear-jerking bit where the children's father returns from wrongful imprisonment as a spy, and Bobbie (played by Jenny Agutter) runs to him shouting 'Daddy, my Daddy!'  It always makes me cry! (Watch the clip HERE - oh, do watch it!) 

We walked along Station Road, past Vale Mill, the former cotton spinning mill. The road passes under part of the mill and has some sharp, narrow bends. Vehicles are instructed to 'Hoot!' at the worst corner - which I'm sure is an ongoing delight to those still working in the mill's business units! The steps in my photo lead up and under the railway. 

The attractive row of cottages called Vale Fold Cottages, which I assume once belonged to the mill, also featured in the film, during the 'paper chase' scene. 

At this point we found ourselves alongside Bridgehouse Beck again, with some obvious relics from the time when it powered the mills. 

We were just alongside the railway line when we heard a train coming. It was a steam locomotive, though for some reason it was hitched to the carriages backwards (probably because there is no turntable at Oxenhope Station?) Unfortunately we were in deep shade from the surrounding trees, peering through a small gap in the foliage. I didn't have time to reset my camera so I didn't capture the movement sharply but I was pleased nevertheless to have seen the train and got a picture of it, albeit imperfect. It being a hot day, there wasn't much steam! There's something about steam trains that I love though, and to see one when we were doing this iconic walk was 'the icing on the cake'. 

On the way back into Haworth we walked past Ebor Mills, now converted into a residential complex.

The beck in front of the mill might once have been a mill dam and now it is a nature reserve, though currently overgrown by our old friend, the Himalayan Balsam. 

From here it was uphill and then a slow downhill back to Haworth Railway Station where we had started our walk. It had been about six miles of interesting walking through a variety of landscapes - but very hot and humid walking. My shower when I got home was a blissful experience!

Haworth to Oakworth

The Railway Children Walk #3

The next stretch of the walk took us through Haworth village - which was quite busy with visitors - and down Mytholmes Lane towards Oakworth.

Along the way we passed this interesting little cottage, with a sign saying Toll Bar House. I have not been able to find much information online but the stone plaque on the wall says: 

'CAUTION AND PUBLIC NOTICE
This is a private occupation (?)  road to  (?) Oakworth Hall and Ebor Lane Top and is the private freehold of John Craven of Berridge House in Bingley.
No person can lawfully pass here without his leave. Except persons going on ordinary business to and from the estate of the late Hiram Craven of Dockroyd, deceased and of the said John Craven. And persons going on like purposes between Oakworth Hall and Lower Laithe, the Lodge and Oakworth Corn Mill Farm the property of John Wright of Lower Laith and between Oakworth and the Lower Providence Mill the property of Caleb Leach of Halifax. All other persons passing here on after this NOTICE will be treated as Wilful Trespassers.
Borridge House Bingley
July 1843 John Craven.'

So it seems it marks the end of a private road associated with some mills. 

The route turned off the road eventually and led us up leafy lanes, past old mills still tucked into the landscape. 

Vale Mills was an early 19th century water-powered cotton spinning mill, apparently employing a lot of children sent up from London. It still houses various businesses (without the child labour!) 

The chimney of Ebor Mills, a 19th century worsted spinning mill, still rises high above the trees. The mill complex suffered a major fire in 2010. What remains has been converted to residential dwellings with several new blocks also constructed on the site. I think the distinctively-shaped hill on the horizon is Pendle Hill. 

Oxenhope to Haworth

The Railway Children Walk #2

From the rail crossing near Oxenhope Station (see yesterday) we climbed steeply uphill away from the railway, to Bents House (above), which in the film is called 'Three Chimneys' and is where the Railway Children lived. It looked rather different from the 1970s, having (it seems) had two extensions added - though what you see in the film may well be the other side of the house.

Next to it is an old stone stile, which, in the film, Perks has difficulty negotiating whilst carrying a large basket.

We went slightly off track at this point (luckily my friend soon noticed and we retraced our steps) but it did give me chance to take a photo overlooking Oxenhope village. 

Rejoining the correct path towards Marsh Lane, we passed a house name carved into a lintel. I love the elaborate fonts they used in those days; you see them on old gravestones too. 

We skirted the farmyard at Old Oxenhope Farm. It had an old drinking trough and this little trickling pipe, with rather an ancient duck sitting there! 

Up a farm track over the brow of the hill we passed a beacon that said it had been erected as part of the celebrations for Queen Elizabeth II's Platinum Jubilee in June 2022. When burning, it must have been visible for miles. Poignant now, as we know she died just a few months later, in September 2022. 

We had circled back to Haworth again and there were good views over the village from up on the hill. 

Another ancient trackway led us right through to Haworth church, with the old schoolhouse in the background. The Parsonage where the Brontës lived is over to the left beyond the graveyard (but not shown in my photo).  

Hot and thirsty, we were able to stop in Haworth for a much needed drink and a brief rest, before completing the final 2.5 miles of the walk. 

Ticking off a walk!

 

The Railway Children Walk #1

I finally managed to complete a walk that I've been meaning to do for a good ten years, as a friend and I arranged to do it together. It's always really good to tick something off my 'bucket list' but these days I'm a bit nervous about trying new walks on my own, especially if they are slightly longer. The walk in question is a 6 mile circuit around Haworth, Oakworth and Oxenhope, visiting various locations seen in the 1970s film 'The Railway Children'.                                                                                                                                                  We started just beyond Haworth station, walking up the Worth valley towards Oxenhope, following the line of the railway and the stream called Bridgehouse Beck. It was a very warm and humid day; the promised showers barely materialised. We felt about ten drops of rain! The heat made it in some ways quite hard going and I was a sweaty mess by the time we finished

The first stretch was a gentle incline, along a well-defined path that has obviously existed for years. Despite passing a new housing estate in Haworth right at the start, and then a few much older dwellings and a water treatment works en route, it all felt very rural - and surprisingly green, given the very dry weather we've had. 

We passed through several 'kissing gates' (see top photo) and over a rather attractive iron bridge. They don't make them like that anymore! 

There was at one point a graceful but very narrow stone packhorse bridge over the beck. It must have been there for centuries, a reminder that these well-trodden pathways existed long before railways and motor transport. 

I'm not sure I'd trust the 'thin blue line' holding the little swing... 

I was a little disappointed that we didn't see more wildlife. I have seen deer in the area when I've been on the train travelling up the valley. There were a few small birds, and a grey heron flew across and landed by the beck. He took off again as we approached, keeping a safe distance from unpredictable humans! I think it was simply too warm for anything to be exerting any energy. 

Nearing Oxenhope, we had to cross the railway line - we stopped, looked, listened... We had heard trains and a little earlier we saw one of the vintage diesel locomotives that the Keighley and Worth Valley heritage Railway keeps in service. Nevertheless we crossed safely. 

Looking up the line into Oxenhope station, we could see the diesel train sitting beside the platform. 

Another day, another canal

I went to visit a friend who lives near the Calder and Hebble Navigation. It's a unique waterway, quite different from the Leeds-Liverpool Canal (LLC) that I'm more familiar with. The Navigation is based around the Rivers Calder and Hebble. By the year 1700, they had created 'canal cuts' in places where the rivers are winding or have weirs. These canal cuts allow boats to bypass those tricky sections. It means sometimes you find yourself walking along the river and other times on a stretch of canal. This makes the waterway quite complex, with floodgates to protect the canal sections and locks to adjust the heights between the rivers and canals.

It's more urban than many parts of the LLC too, though still quite attractive in some areas. It has a few marinas, with the usual mix of hire boats, well-kept narrowboats that are used by their owners for leisure and adventures, and quite a lot of smaller, scruffier craft. Those often belong to people who've fallen on hard times and find a boat a more affordable living solution than bricks and mortar. 

Unfortunately, our planned walk was interrupted by the closure of the waterside path, due to the Transpennine Route Upgrade (TRU). This is a major project to upgrade the railway across the north of England between Manchester and York. The TRU aims to increase capacity by adding extra track, electrifying the entire route, introducing digital signalling, and upgrading stations. It's a huge and costly project. We came up against a large working area, where they are moving and rebuilding Ravensthorpe Station. 

It meant we had to abandon the waterway and strike off along the busy main road, though thankfully after a while we did manage to find a route that led us through quieter woodland and eventually back to the canal towpath. 

It was a good walk, adding another 6 miles on my 'steps app'. My phone must wonder what's going on, since this month I've done many miles more walking than I usually average!