I don't know when they started calling it 'Tarnfield Park'; it's always been known locally as Yeadon Tarn. I haven't been there for a while and I'd forgotten how much higher up it is. Here in the valley the snow soon melted but up there it was still very icy. My walk was more of a slide and a slither on the icy paths, which had been tramped down and polished by many feet. It's a very popular spot with families and dog walkers, as the wide tarmac paths are usually good for kids' bikes, pushchairs and wheelchairs. Despite the cold, there were still plenty of people enjoying the mile or so circuit of the lake, which was almost completely frozen over.
The lake is normally used for watersports and one end has been developed into a small nature reserve with reedbeds and ponds.
It adjoins the Leeds-Bradford Airport main runway, so walks are enlivened by sightings of taxiing aircraft.
All the waterbirds were down at the far end, where there was a small area free of ice, perhaps due to its proximity to the town centre of Yeadon and the nearby buildings. Unless they were after the bread that people were throwing, the swans seemed to prefer standing on the ice to being immersed in the cold water. It's always comical to watch the ducks sliding about; they seem a bit puzzled by the ice.
Downhill from Yeadon, turn left at the Victorian Rawdon Littlemoor school and head up Batter Lane. Nestled beneath the Billing you will find Rawdon Tarn. You have taken your butterfly net and jam jars, of course. Lying on the duckboards in the sunshine, with armfuls of frogspawn and jars full of tadpoles, blissfully fishing for stickle backs you have re-discovered an eight year old's Nirvana. Go on, Jenny. Try it!
ReplyDeleteNice photos. A place to walk in the winter is a treasure. Here, sidewalk navigation can be like an amusement ride in winter.
ReplyDeleteLove the swans 'standing' on water!
ReplyDeleteSo much colour in spite of the snow. I seem to be living in a black-and-white world at the moment!
ReplyDeleteYour last shot is my favourite of the set. What a pretty area!
ReplyDeleteA beautiful but cold walk, glad you slid and didn't tumble! Good boots, I bet. I think I like the last shot best, but also the trees above the people on the walk...oh well, you always capture the feeling of a place.
ReplyDeleteLove the birds on ice! Swans are a fairly rare sight around here -- so beautiful!
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