Beckfoot Bridge

I haven't walked in this direction for a long time, though it used to be a regular route when I lived near Bingley. This is the old packhorse bridge, built in 1723 to replace a wooden bridge, crossing Harden Beck at Beckfoot. The bridge is just wide enough for one person or a horse to cross, though in some weathers the stream can be forded as it is relatively shallow at this point. (I've seen cars stranded in the beck, mind you, when blindly following their sat-nav.) The bridge is on an ancient packhorse trail through Bingley and along the Aire valley.  The farmhouse alongside dates back, I think, to 1617 and is once believed to have been associated with the Knights Templar, as denoted by the curious lantern finials at the corners.