Banana boat?

I've passed this vibrant yellow barge a few times, as it is usually moored at Shipley Wharf. I've mentally christened it 'the banana boat'! I believe it belongs to a charity, the JAMES Project (Joint Activities and Motor Education Service) which works with disadvantaged and 'at risk' young people to provide: 'an effective, caring and understanding environment where young people and families can overcome disadvantage and lack of provision to achieve their full potential in life through the enthusiastic delivery of relevant education, training and leisure opportunities.' Good stuff. They have workshops in several places and their marine division is based here in Shipley. 

Such bright colours made for equally cheerful reflections. 

Graffiti abstracts

Unlike in some cities, people don't tend to paint genuine 'street art' in Bradford or the surrounding neighbourhoods (or not that I've noticed anyway). There is, of course, the usual scrappy graffiti, mostly people's names, sprayed under bridges and along walls. Much of it looks ugly and it makes a place look rundown. I've found, however, that some small sections - abstracted from the whole - can make quite pleasing images, abstracts in the best sense of the word.

Bramble art

I shall have to gee myself up to make some trips further afield, as I am running out of/getting bored with pictures of the immediate locality. I'm still a little wary of the virus situation, not convinced it's advisable to come out of lockdown yet but I am perhaps too cautious.

In an effort to find some inspiration, on a walk back from Shipley, I decided I'd look for square format pictures, just using my phone. I quite like this one. Bramble throws out exploratory creepers and is really rather a tatty plant, albeit it can produce luscious blackberries in the right spot. I don't think this one will bear fruit but I loved the vibrant colour against the fading graffiti on the wall.

Up the Junction

I rarely actually walk across Junction Bridge on the Leeds-Liverpool Canal, more often simply walking past along the towpath. When I walked down from Dock Lane and had to cross the bridge, it struck me how much more you can see from the bridge, although it's not really that high a structure.

The top photo is looking east, away from Shipley, with the old Junction Mills and Dockfield Mills on the left and newish apartments, Amber Wharf, where a canal dock used to be years ago.  I found some interesting old maps of the area on a blog HERE.

The black and white photo is Junction Bridge itself. The one below is looking south, where a stump - all that remains of the Bradford Branch Canal - forms a pool in front of the flats.

The photo below is looking west towards Shipley. You can just see the modernist clock tower in the town centre, in the distance. There are more boats along this stretch, Gallows Bridge permanent moorings, with the boatyard on the left.

Restoration

Walking down Dock Lane towards the canal, I happened to pass a yard and noticed this lovely old car. A guy was working on it so we got into conversation, which proved to be most interesting. 

The car is a 1929 Model A Ford, which the owner said he had rebuilt from scratch. He now uses it for pleasure trips and at 1940s re-enactment events. I'm no expert but it looked beautifully restored and appeared to be in pristine condition. He told me its top, bone-shaking speed is 35mph so it obviously cannot be driven far on normal roads but he has a large van into which it fits, so he can drive anywhere and unpack it when he arrives. 

This little cluster of buildings comprises the old pumping station for the Bradford Branch canal (below), alongside an even older lock-keeper's cottage. I first mentioned them on my blog HERE. Chatting to the owner of the car and cottage, he told me something of its history. As I mentioned yesterday, the Bradford Branch canal, opened in 1774, suffered terrible pollution and caused a canal-side outbreak of cholera after which it was closed for a while. It seems that a lack of fresh water flow was the problem so the pumping station and system was built in 1872, to bring in water from the main Leeds-Liverpool canal. 

There was a lock behind where the pumping station is now. The lock-keeper's cottage was built at the same time as the canal, when it was a tiny one-up, one-down place. In the 1800s it was extended, more or less doubled in size. The canal, as I said yesterday, closed in 1922 and was filled in in the 1950s. The man I was talking to bought a parcel of land and the buildings many years ago. He commenced a painstaking restoration, extending the cottage some more but retaining many of its old features. He converted the pumping station for residential use and sold it on. 

Later, the pumping station house again came up for purchase and was bought, strategically, by Bradford Council, apparently with an eye to the planned regeneration of the canal and canal corridor down into Bradford. Of course that was an ambitious scheme that came to naught and the pumping station remains empty and unused, no doubt deteriorating as time goes on. It seems a great shame as potentially it is a lovely house with an interesting heritage. 

New builds

Looping back round the other side of the scrap yard (see yesterday), you cross over the railway line and then across Bradford Beck. This area used to be where the 3.5 mile long Bradford Branch of the canal ran. It was an offshoot of the Leeds-Liverpool Canal, opened in 1774 to carry goods to and from the centre of Bradford. It was, apparently, plagued with problems, suffering serious pollution that caused a major outbreak of cholera and led to its closure for several years. The canal was eventually closed in the 1920s and subsequently filled in, with only a stump left by Junction Bridge. 

In the early 2000s, a plan was drawn up to recut the canal all the way from Shipley into Bradford as part of an ambitious regeneration scheme... but it came to nothing. Since then a cycle route has been laid (which is where I was walking) and some new townhouses and flats have been built. With a bit more investment and care, the area could become quite attractive but I suspect in the current climate it will be difficult to find the money for an improvement project. 

Scrappy

Just to prove it's not all historic and attractive around here... Right in the centre of Shipley, next to the railway station, there's a scrapyard. In actual fact, you might not really notice it's there unless you arrived by train. The railway runs beside it but the road is at a higher level and a wall around the yard means it isn't all that obvious to passers-by. That is a good job really, as it is a bit of a jumbly mess. With the lockdown, the yard didn't seem to be open and working when I went past. The machines and lorries were idle. It's a huge site, extending at least as far again under and beyond the road bridge you can just see in the distance, on my photo below.

I think there is scope for some interesting photos if you could actually get down near the skips. If I'd had my big camera I might have been able to zoom in to pick out some detail, even from up above on the road bridge. I only had my phone though and it doesn't do a good job of zooming in. The area all looks rather messy but in fact the scrap was mostly sorted into different skips. There was one entirely full of wheels, of many different styles. I hope they get recycled. 

You turn your back for a minute...

You turn your back for a minute and everything changes! Well, I suppose by 'a minute' I really mean three months. It must be at least as long ago as that since I drove (or walked) through the part of Shipley town centre that lies beyond the shops and market square. There used to be a drive-through automatic car-wash here. I sometimes used to take my daughter through it as a treat when she was little (in the car, of course!!) as the whirling brushes and soapy white-out used to make her giggle. The car-wash ceased to be, driven out of business by several 'hand car washes' in the neighbourhood, mostly staffed by Eastern European migrants. They work hard and generally do a good job. Anyway, this little bit of land sat idle for several years but it appears now that there is a business developing it, with a new showroom under construction. I'll take bets on what it will be... a car dealer? 

The building beyond is flats with a retail unit on the ground floor that currently (and curiously to my mind) houses a branch of Laura Ashley, the clothing and homewares chain. I say curiously because it sits well away from Shipley's main shopping centre and, though it has a small car park, seems a bit of an anachronism. They closed the branch in Leeds city centre, which always seemed as though it would attract more custom. I'm also taking bets that this branch will fall victim to the post pandemic recession. I can't really see it surviving unless high-street retail bounces back quickly.  

Joyful exuberance

Beyond Saltaire, the main road down into Shipley town centre is lined with business units, most of which have had a facelift in the last year or so, with new cladding and paintwork. It all looks a good deal smarter as a result. There is a small patch of waste ground between the units, which had some scrubby trees that have been felled. It has opened up a glimpse of a view over to the old mills alongside the canal and up to Baildon on the hill beyond. Red, pink and white valerian has sprung up. It's a (garden escaped) weed but it adds some joyful exuberance to the boxy industrial feel of this stretch of road. It also does a neat job of hiding the self-storage containers that have recently been squeezed in to the space behind. 

Boat lift

I've not really taken much notice before of the boatyard at Gallows Bridge in Shipley. When I walked past a couple of months ago I noticed they have a huge machine for lifting boats into and out of the water. (That tractor thing with orange loops hanging down.) It is apparently a new initiative. They provide a number of services to boaters, including supplying fuel and gas, visitor moorings and toilet disposal facilities. Now they can lift boats to repair and paint them or put them on/off transport vehicles. If you look at their website HERE you can see pictures of the lift in action but it was idle when I passed by.

Secret spaces 2

One of the silver linings in the cloud of the coronavirus lockdown has been the opportunity necessity to explore some of the hidden paths in my local area. One such walk took me along a track at the back of some houses and through a wood, before pitching me into an old and overgrown cemetery belonging to St Paul's Church in Shipley. The church itself has a graveyard around it but at some point around the turn of the 19th century it must have become overcrowded. An overspill cemetery was established a mile or so away in Nab Wood. Nowadays this area is rarely visited and, I think, is no longer used for burials. It sits next door to but is separate from the current municipal crematorium and cemetery. Most of its graves date from the early 20th century. There's been some recent attempt to tidy it up a bit. (Last time I tried to explore several years ago it was almost impassable.) It's still dark and overgrown and many of the graves are damaged. It is, however, wonderfully atmospheric.

The picture below was a bit of an accident, in that I'd jiggled one of the settings on my camera by mistake so that it applied a retro filter effect to the image - but I decided that it had worked out quite well for the subject matter.

Secret spaces 1

A child's hideaway: a pretty pink teepee, the ideal spot for a cosy read or even a snooze. You could be forgiven for thinking it was pitched in a secret glade. In fact it was on the grass in front of Saltaire's church, outside the row of cottages that are part of what was originally the stable block for Salts Mill.

The stable block sits around a central cobbled courtyard. The buildings are now all converted to residences and often the heavy front gate is shut, concealing what's inside. When the gate is open, there's a glimpse of a lovely wisteria around a doorway. Its flowering season is short but I always think the blossom looks glorious against the blue-mauve glass panels in the door.

The third 'secret space' is one I've only recently discovered, at the back of St Paul's Church in Shipley. I didn't realise there is a footpath through what is presumably part of the original graveyard. The headstones were removed from all the graves years ago and laid as paths and up against walls. I suppose it was to keep things safe (the stones can work loose and topple) and to enable easier grass mowing. The path cuts a corner off my usual route up to Shipley and provides a sweetly peaceful little space in the midst of the busy streets.

Urban trees

With more time than ever to 'stop and stare', I've been really noticing how the colours of spring trees are as varied as their autumn foliage. I'm lucky to live in an area with lots of woodland to explore but often it's the urban trees that stand out as singletons. Their different shapes and leaf colour can truly stop you in your tracks. Here's a few I've particularly noticed recently.

There are several pairings of maples in the locality, one with slightly variegated pistachio green leaves set against another whose colour reminds me of chocolate. These two are on the edge of the Wycliffe estate and there are some around Saltaire's Exhibition Building that are similar in colour.

I was excited to realise that this tall specimen is an elm. It has distinctive asymmetrical leaves and a forked trunk with deeply fissured bark. English elms all but died out in the last century due to Dutch Elm Disease. This one is either a slightly different variety or a very hardy old soul.

Behind St Paul's Church and bordering Crowgill Park there's a line of lovely mature trees - sycamore, I think, though I didn't walk up close to inspect them.

Along the Coach Road there are some pretty old hawthorns with their craggy bark and lovely blossom and a little further down there's a superb copper beech. Its spring leaves are a really wonderful shade of purpley-red.

Riotous

Given that I love this time of year when all the trees are in blossom, I count myself fortunate to live in an area where there are many mature ornamental cherry trees. Their blossom is riotous, extravagant, explosive and wonderful against the very clear blue skies we've been enjoying. (Is the intense blue a positive spin-off from the coronavirus lockdown? Less pollution?)

The tree below isn't in a very scenic spot, slap bang in front of some utilitarian social housing flats but it is beautiful to behold at the moment.

Peace in our time

In the midst of the current turmoil, it is still possible to find tranquil scenes in nature. In turn that perhaps provides us with a measure of peace in our hearts. Walking along the canal to Field Locks in the warm spring sunshine was balm for my soul. I love the feeling when my whole body gets into its rhythmic stride and my mind stills, to pay attention to the scenery.

This stretch of the Leeds-Liverpool Canal out east from Shipley is by no means one of the prettiest; in fact in parts it's pretty messy and ugly. As you get nearer to the locks and pass through Buck Woods it gets rather nicer.

These are peaceful pictures but underneath you can almost certainly detect the rapidly beating heart of nature, as Spring, pulsing resurrection life, starts to quicken the trees and the wildlife.

Incidentally, in the photo below, the overhanging leaves are ivy, climbing over a tree, rather than very early tree leaves. The trees were only in bud when I took the pictures. It has all greened up a bit since then.

Negotiating the locks

This rather impressive widebeam boat moored just downstream from Field Locks whilst I was there. I had a brief chat (at a suitable distance!) with the boatman, exchanging information about our respective camera clubs. His was Harrogate, though, since he lives on the boat and travels around, he said he didn't get to club nights very often.

At one time Field Locks used to have assisted passage and a lock keeper used to sit in a little hut alongside, certainly in the summer months, waiting for traffic. The hut is still there but now there are smart instructional signs and the boatkeeper I spoke to had to run up and down opening paddles and generally sorting it all out for himself. He seemed to know what he was doing. A three rise lock is quite complicated to negotiate.

Going up, the top two locks have to be full at the start and the bottom one empty. The middle lock then fills the bottom one and the boat moves a step. The top lock then fills the middle one and again the boat can move. Then water from the canal refills the top lock and the boat can pass out from the lock chamber. You can work out the 'going down' sequence for yourself, perhaps!!

Field Locks

In March, before the lockdown was fully imposed, I took a walk along the Leeds-Liverpool Canal from Saltaire in the direction of Leeds. After Hirst Lock in Saltaire it is a walk of three miles or so to the next set of locks, Field Locks. These are an impressive staircase of three locks in an attractive setting, with woodland on either side.

Signs of the times

A sign of the times in one of Saltaire's shops, due to the ongoing coronavirus crisis. It is very sad that businesses are having to close; hopefully some will survive and re-open when they can. Many are trying to innovate to keep going. Some of the restaurants are now doing take-aways and deliveries. I took this photo on a short walk I did, simply to get some exercise, in the late afternoon. There weren't many people about. The sun was low and there were some golden reflections in the shop windows.

Another day, on the outskirts of Shipley, I saw this sign at the gates to a factory. The company, Carnaud Metalbox, manufactures machinery for the production of beverage, food and aerosol cans. It looks like they are continuing to work, though obviously with some stringent checks on anyone entering.

Both these photos were taken before the announcement on Monday night that we in the UK are on pretty much total lockdown, so these measures may also be changed now. We are only allowed out to shop for food (as infrequently as possible) and once a day for exercise. Some people are still allowed to go to work in vital roles, obviously. I'll bet there will still be people who try to get round the rules. As for my photography, I'm sure I can take a few quick phone snaps when I'm walking for exercise but it's all going to be a bit boring and parochial for a while, I'm afraid.

Concert for Palestine

I went with friends to enjoy a wonderful concert at my church. It was organised by a couple in our congregation, as a 50th birthday celebration and to raise money for the Amos Trust. The Amos Trust is 'a small, creative human rights organisation, committed to challenging injustice, building hope and creating positive change'. In particular, they are working for justice in Palestine, in the West Bank and Gaza, calling for peace, reconciliation and equal rights for all Palestinians and Israelis.

The music was provided by singer-songwriters Yvonne and David Lyon. My ability to appreciate music is greatly impaired because of my hearing loss, but I enjoyed it nevertheless. We were also treated to a tasty Middle-Eastern inspired meal, prepared and cooked by members of the church. It was a lovely way to spend an evening, with chance to catch up with folk from church that I don't always see, since we have a number of different Sunday services. I gather that upwards of £1200 was raised for the Amos Trust.

Shipley Wharf

In winter, when I tend to take fewer long walks, I make a point of walking rather than taking the car if I want to go into Shipley town centre to the library or shops. If I haven't too many heavy things to carry back, I'll take 'the scenic route' back, avoiding the main road. I join the canal towpath at Shipley Wharf. The view up towards Salts Mill and Saltaire from the elevated bridge is one that I rather like; I call it the 'three chimneys view'. Two of the chimneys belong to the old mills on Ashley Lane. The third one, on the right, is Salts Mill chimney. It is much taller than the others but so much further away that perspective plays tricks.