Harlow Carr #1

Well, the best laid plans don't always work out... I'd arranged to visit Harewood House with a friend, assuming it would be open at weekends in the winter. We arrived to find the gates closed! Apparently they take a couple of weeks in the New Year to take down all the Christmas decor (quite a task) and get the place set up for the next season.  So, plan B then... and we turned round and made for RHS Harlow Carr instead. It was chilly but dry and we enjoyed a wander through the gardens. 

Everywhere is very much in 'wintering' mode but there were still things to notice and enjoy: shapes, colours, textures. The red dogwood stems were really vibrant against an evergreen hedge.  

Drops of moisture clung on to the broad leaf of a leek in the kitchen garden:

The bark of a young Betula Nigra (black birch) tree was papery and peeling:

There are textured seed heads and grasses that make sculptural shapes, even though devoid of colour and life. The skilled horticulturists and garden designers of the RHS know exactly what to leave and what to prune to create interest throughout the year, even when it's cold and the plants are dormant. 

Betwixt and between

Frustratingly, there is a big hold-up in the legal processes for the purchase of my new flat, waiting for some information that I'm informed has not even been requested yet! (Not my solicitor's fault.) So it could be several weeks before I can move. Frankly it is 'doing my head in' as they say colloquially. I can't do anything to expedite it though, so I just have to chill. You'd think chilling would be effortless when the temperature outside hovers around 0°C but it ain't easy! 

At least we've had some drier and brighter weather. My favourite stretch of the canal looked beautiful the other day. They are about to close this length to do repairs and upgrade the towpath, so I'm making the most of it before it is barred. 

One of the little bridges over Load Pit Beck is more visible now the vegetation has died back. I'd not really noticed before that even this has been built with a Victorian Gothic arch, as was the style for all of the Milner Field estate. 

Further up the Coach Road, it almost looked spring-like with the sun coming through the trees. 

So here I am, betwixt and between in every way! Reaching for the light, like the new shoots that are just beginning to appear in my garden tubs. 

Chilly?

As I passed the Ice Cream Boat, I was amused to notice that someone has put a child's hat - presumably dropped along the canal towpath - on the sculpture on the top of the boat. It has been a little chilly lately. Maybe his ears were getting cold. The Ice Cream Boat and Titus, the trip boat, usually move from their moorings in Saltaire in the winter. (Titus usually spends his holidays in the Skipton Marina; I've seen him there.) For some reason, this year, they both seem to be staying put. 

Evening stroll

I enjoy a stroll at the time of day when the sun is setting and the lights are coming on. Everywhere looks a little different: more mysterious, and the lighted buildings look cosy and inviting. A circuit down to and around the park and back takes me little more than twenty minutes but it can be refreshing after a busy day. 

Sparable Lane

For once, a sunny, crisp Saturday! I decided to celebrate by going for a ramble and headed off along the Upper Coach Road. At the gateway to the Milner Field estate, the path branches and I took the right fork which winds its way up towards the village of Gilstead. It follows the boundary of the grand estate of Milner Field, which I've written about before: the huge mansion built by Titus Salt Junior around 1870 and now ruined and almost forgotten. See HERE.

At the 'birdcage gate' (see HERE) I followed the old pathway up towards Gilstead and then, on a whim, I decided to follow a path branching off to the left, noted as Sparable Lane. I've never tried this one before. 

I'm always fascinated by these ancient thoroughfares, dating back to the time before vehicular traffic led to our network of roads. When people walked or used horses, these paths connected village to village, farm and mill to market. A little research suggests that Sparable Lane existed before Titus Jnr built his grand house: 

"An article in the Leeds Mercury of 2nd November 1869 comments about the picturesque old hedges being removed and these quaint landmarks which rendered the district so rurally interesting being replaced by stone walls which ran through the meadows and up the hillsides. This is a direct reference to the new Milner Field being built by Titus Salt Jr. Also mentioned is a pathway to Gilstead which formerly opened onto the moor (referred to as "an odious snicket") being built between high walls. This is a direct reference to the adaptation of Sparable Lane as one of the natural boundaries to Milner Field Estate. The field walls and boundary walls to the Estate still exist, as do the kitchen garden walls." (From a Bingley Town Council document)

A stream had evidently been diverted into a culvert, maybe to supply the lake in the house's grounds. 

The 'odious snicket' wound its way between its walls along the Milner Field boundary. Parts of the path were quite hard going for me, as it was steep and uneven.  Recent wet weather had led to it being rather more of a stream than a path in parts.

This area, now fields, would have been the edge of the moor, looking towards the trees that line the steep sides of Shipley Glen. 

The route skirted the remains of what was Milner Field's kitchen garden (below), where vegetables for the house would have been grown. The Garden House is still here somewhere, hidden away behind walls but still used as a residence, I think. 

Eventually and rather abruptly I found myself at the end of Sparable Lane, where it joins the top of Primrose Lane. There is no pavement there so a car shot past my nose just as I got to the road. Luckily I'd paused, rather than stepping out into its path!

From there it is only a few hundred yards down the hill to the driveway to the Milner Field estate itself, where the very solid Victorian Gothic gatehouse, one of two remaining lodges, still stands. 

Then a pleasant if muddy saunter downhill brought me back to the Upper Coach Road. Almost 10000 steps and a new walking route discovered. 

Chapter House gargoyles

York Minster's Chapter House has the most wonderful medieval carvings. The octagonal space dates from the 1280s and was where important meetings were held (including a gathering of the Parliament of King Edward 1). The stonemasons clearly had a lot of fun in their work: the carvings include animals, mythical beasts, angels and all manner of human faces, some beautiful, some grotesque and some downright funny. It's a wonderful touch of humanity amongst all the grandeur of the Minster. 

Cherubic tears

One of the reasons I love exploring our great cathedrals and minsters is that, although they are grand and packed full of significant and often breathtaking architecture, stained glass, plaques and monuments to the great and good, they also have lots of touches of humour and pathos. Wandering around York Minster this time, I started to notice all the weeping cherubs. There must have been a time when these were very trendy to have on monuments. Aww. 

There was also an imposing lady with a cross, a sword and... a pigeon on her head! I'm not at all sure why.

Crypt-ic

I think this was the first time I'd ever descended into the Crypt under York Minster. It is fascinating. There is a window in the floor illuminating what lies even further beneath: the remains of a Roman fortress. The Crypt is the earliest part of the Minster and dates back to Norman times, with curved rib vaulting and carved pillars. 

It contains the tomb of York's patron saint, Saint William. William Fitzherbert was Archbishop of York from 1141 to 1147 and again from 1153 to 1154, dogged by controversy and power struggles. His death may have been by poisoning. See HERE for more about him.

The Crypt also contains the gruesome Doomstone, which has been dated to the 12th century, a remnant from the original Norman Minster. The carvings depict one of the mouths of Hell, crawling with toads and with sinners tumbling down into a cauldron of flames held up by demons. There is someone with two bags of money (greed) and a well-dressed woman (lust). It was meant as a visual warning as to what may happen if people behaved in an un-Godly manner. 

When in York...

When in York, I usually like to visit the Minster (cathedral) and, on a cold day just after Christmas, it was good to spend time inside rather than pounding the chilly streets. I've taken (and shown here) so many photos of it before and it was challenging to find a slightly different angle. The Christmas lights outside provided one way of framing it. 

Looking from the central crossing down the nave towards the west window, it was hard to believe the building was packed with visitors. 

It's always good to look up and appreciate the soaring vaulted ceilings. The one above is a side aisle to the nave. 

The Minster's stained glass is celebrated. Attention is usually focused on the great East and West windows but those along the nave are also worthy of study. 

A small part of the nave is roped off as a chapel dedicated (I think) to the Yorkshire Regiment. I can't say I'd noticed this before so perhaps it is new. It had a painted canopy (below) but I didn't note down the name of the artist. 

York floods

I made a visit to York at the weekend; such a lovely, interesting and historic city. When it rains in the Dales and in the valleys up here, all that water makes its way downstream to join the River Ouse which flows through York. It's a fairly regular occurrence therefore that the city floods, at least along the riverbanks. The businesses along here are used to it and have measures in place that mean they can recover fairly quickly, though it must get tedious. Flood alleviation schemes have been installed, so to some extent the flooding you see now is part of what they have decided is acceptable disruption. It's the first time I've ever visited the city when it has been flooded and could see for myself what they have to contend with. It was clear that the water level had already dropped by a couple of feet - you can see the high watermark on the wall of the pub (above). Normally this area looks like THIS.  Some of the paths I walked along were slippery with mud and had obviously recently been underwater and the river was much wider than it normally is, with the riverside promenades completely submerged. The rest of the city carries on as normal. 

Friday round up

Friday has come round again, and I still have no hint of a moving date. This is getting extremely frustrating but there is little I can do about it. 

I always start a New Year with good intentions, usually related to taking more exercise, so I've had a walk most days this week. It's one way to take my mind off things. I am still finding bits and bobs to drop off at the charity shops. I must have halved my book collection over the last few months. Gordon Terrace in Saltaire happens to have a thriving Children's Society bookshop (apparently one of the most successful charity bookshops in the county) so most of my surplus volumes have ended up there. Walking home down Victoria Road there was a lovely sky and mist wreathing around Hope Hill in the distance. 

I also had a walk one day from Burnsall, along the River Wharfe. Again, there was a good sky, though the terrain was so muddy that most of my attention was on the ground, not the sky! I did look up enough to glimpse a splash of sunshine on the distant hills; that's been a rare sight this winter! 

So much rain in recent days has swelled the River Aire afresh. It was about as full as it could be without overtopping its banks and the riverside path was very muddy indeed, despite having been relaid and resurfaced during 2023.  The water was flowing fast but silently. It made me think of a slithering snake, and there was a slight sense of menace about it.  Not that the mallard ducks seemed to mind, gliding along on the current.

I made it to the aqueduct without mishap, thankfully. My two favourite trees are skeletal though no less beautiful in their winter tracery. They had company: a small herd of cattle. Milner Field Farm is a dairy farm but these looked like calves rather than dairy cows. Not that I'm an expert! 

I returned along the canal towpath - whilst I still can. As the sign declares, they are starting remedial work on the stretch from Shipley (Otley Road) to Hirst Lock, which will be closed from mid January until mid March. More on this HERE.  Once I've moved house, it will be easy enough for me to walk down to Hirst Lock and along the canal towards the aqueduct, before following the river path to Saltaire, so I'll still be able to do a circular walk.