Micklethwaite (Walk part 2)

The track I was following (see yesterday) led through this cluster of cottages, into the village of Micklethwaite. It's an attractive village that has won the 'Best Kept Village in Yorkshire' accolade a couple of times and is protected as a Conservation Area. A settlement here dates back to the days of the Vikings (10th century) but the existing village buildings date to between the 17th and 19th centuries, with some more recent housing at the lower end of the village. Whereas once the residents worked in textile mills (there were at least two mills in the immediate area), nowadays the occupants are mostly professional and business people, or retired.

The village's red telephone box, which I guess is rarely used, could not have a more picturesque setting.

There are some lovely houses and pretty gardens, all very well cared for.

The walk leaves the village and climbs up again, giving a view over Micklethwaite and back to East Morton, a neighbouring and much bigger settlement.

I then followed the road back down to the canal at another swing bridge, with a goose on guard duty!

The fields to the left in the photo are earmarked for development, a huge estate of more than 400 houses. There has been a massive fight over the last nine years by local residents to prevent the development going ahead, but I understand it has recently been approved by the Secretary of State for Communities, although there may yet be another appeal by the action group.

One of the sticking points is that the only access is by the single track swing bridge shown below, which will have to be enlarged and replaced. The building shown, now a house, was originally a warehouse for goods transported along the canal. You can see the bricked-up loading bay at the bottom of the wall.

As I said yesterday, it was a short walk but a most pleasant one.

A short walk but a pleasant one (Part 1)

Not long ago, one of my blog friends, Jacquie, did a post (here) about a walk she'd followed on a visit to the Yorkshire Dales, inspired by one I'd posted on my blog. By sweet coincidence, the walk she'd written about the day before (here), which was quite local to me, encouraged me to visit Micklethwaite again. So here's my walk, with thanks to Jacquie for the inspiration!

I started on the towpath of the Leeds-Liverpool Canal just above Bingley Five Rise Locks. There's a marina and boatyard so always lots of narrowboats moored on this stretch.  See the sleeping swan?....

Well, the swan was guarding its partner on her nest, built right beside the towpath next to someone's garden wall! You'd think they could have found a more tranquil site than this busy area!

A little further on, I had to scoot quickly across the swing bridge crossing the canal, as a boat was coming. (If you time it wrong, you can wait for a quite a while as the boaters struggle with the mechanisms to move the bridges.) The attractive canalside house is for sale, should you fancy it - so long as you have the patience to wait for boats passing, at the bridge at the end of your drive!

Just beyond the bridge, my route turned right to follow Morton Beck, along a pretty little stream-side footpath through lush drifts of wild garlic.

Ahead, through the trees, you can just see old mill buildings, now converted into homes sitting picturesquely alongside the old mill pond.

A rabbit froze - assuming, I guess, that I wasn't likely to spot him if he stayed still. Well, I did spot him - and I shot him, ha! But only with my camera.

The beck tumbles over a few little waterfalls. I like walking along and hearing splashing water.

Beyond the mill pond, my route climbed away from the stream, along an old trackway connecting the villages of East Morton and Micklethwaite. It's most likely a packhorse route, left over from the days when people transported their goods by horse to the market in Bingley or Bradford. 

The views open up as you get higher, looking across the Aire Valley. The rather bedraggled horse was a Shetland pony or similar, quite small and quite unconcerned by me and my camera.

To be continued....