Betty's Lodge

This pretty little lodge, with its unusual part-octagonal design, stands near the east entrance to the Bingley St Ives estate. I don't know how it got its name, but perhaps someone called Betty lived there once. When the St Ives mansion was a family residence, the Lodge would have been occupied by an estate employee. I believe that nowadays the cottage is privately owned. The owners obviously enjoy feeding the wild birds; there must be a rich variety of wildlife in the surrounding woods. And fairies at the bottom of the garden, I feel sure...

If you go down to the woods...

If you go down to the woods of the St Ives estate, you might get a big surprise... because, dotted around, there are all sorts of strange and magical wooden sculptures, carved with a chainsaw.  I especially like this one; I'm not exactly sure what you would call it but in my mind it's a wood sprite, peeping out from his magic tree.

Bingley St Ives

Last weekend was fairly typically Novemberish, damp and misty, but by Sunday I really felt like I needed some fresh air so I took a trip up to the nearby St Ives estate, a country park on the hill above Bingley. I always like this view down the valley towards Harden, from one of the estate's entrance drives. You can tell, I think, that the surroundings have been landscaped in the past; there are some magnificent specimen trees. The estate was once owned by monks, but after the dissolution of the monasteries it was sold and a mansion, then called Harden Grange, was built in the 17th century. For most of its history it was owned by the Ferrand family but the estate was bought in the 1920s by the local council and has been developed as an area of recreation.

Photo best viewed large

Soft focus

The stretch of canal just beyond Hirst Lock is often rather dark and gloomy, shrouded in trees. Happily, one day when I walked up there, there was a bit of sun and I remembered to change my camera's white balance to shade... amazing how that warms a picture up.  And I was lucky enough to get there just as this boat arrived.  They had to pull over to allow one of the crew to hop out to operate the swing bridge and the lock.  Quite hard work, this stretch of the canal.  You thought you were just going for a lazy afternoon's cruise down to Saltaire, didn't you?

Ars Coelum Est

Anybody speak Latin?  I'm not exactly sure what this phrase means... Art is Heaven?  or Heaven is art, maybe? (You can tell I failed Latin O-level, can't you?) Anyhow, this is the motto that greets visitors and students entering the Exhibition Building in Saltaire. Named after the great Jubilee Exhibition that Titus Salt Jnr masterminded in Saltaire for Queen Victoria's Golden Jubilee, the building was paid for from the proceeds, after it was decided that Saltaire needed an expansion of its educational facilities.  It still forms part of Shipley College and the large hall at its centre provides useful exhibition space even now, for various community and college events.  I think this mosaic floor will be original to the building, which was opened in 1887.

C is for captured

Caught, captured, contained, colourful, charming - all the C words seem appropriate to this image framed within the 'C' of the pretty bridge at Dowley Gap, number 206 on the Leeds-Liverpool Canal. I don't remember seeing narrowboats moored here before, between the bridge and the locks, but one of them looked well-wrapped up, as though prepared perhaps to sit out the coming winter here.

Two trees in autumn

We saw them in the spring, and here they are again in autumn, just beginning to turn brown. There is something comforting, I find, in the regular turning of the seasons, even though I am loathe to trade the light and warmth of the summer for the cold, grey darkness of wintertime. There is a rhythm to Life, although not a uniformity.  I doubt these trees look exactly the same two autumns in succession.

I was glad to see the geese grazing on the field just beyond the gateway. I think they must be the flock that is often found lazing around on Saltaire URC's lawns.  There is something inspiring about geese and especially at this time of year, as Anita's blog reminded me recently.

Hymns of praise

I don't know why I thought the autumn colours were going to be poor this year... This tree on the drive of Saltaire's United Reformed Church is really very attractive, tipped with red and gold - a hymn of praise to the Creator God. The church was open for the Sunday morning service, hence the line of cars  - but it's only in the mornings that the sun catches the church and tree in this way. Later in the day it swings behind the church, not brilliant for photos.  In fact, getting a good picture of the church itself is much more likely on a softly lit winter day.  This one was taken a couple of weeks ago. As a photographer, you have to take your chances while you can; this weekend it's unremittingly damp and grey.

Golden moments

'The golden moments in the stream of life rush past us, and we see nothing but sand; the angels come to visit us, and we only know them when they are gone.' 

George Eliot

Weir-d

A photo of the River Aire and the weir at Hirst Mill. Firstly, note how much the water level has gone down since the heavy rains of September. Secondly, observe the damage that the flood of water caused. There is an enormous tree trunk caught on the weir on the left and it appears to me that on the right hand side a lot more of the stones have been dislodged and swept down, to give more of a waterfall effect than usual.  Still, it hasn't spoiled my pleasure in this part of the river, a good place to head for on a short walk from Saltaire. I never tire of watching the water rushing over the weir and, if I should, a few steps further upriver one can usually see canoeists and rowers from Bradford Amateur Rowing Club practising. I noticed the other day that all their boats have humorous names like "Aire-Row-Nautics" and "Thin Aire". I imagine they spent a few happy evenings in the bar, dreaming them up!

Village stocks

A stroll in the sunshine in Saltaire's Roberts Park might mean that you come across this historical relic, tucked away at the back of the park.  Stocks were used through much of our history to punish and humiliate offenders, pinning their legs so they couldn't escape and leaving them subject not only to the vagaries of the weather but also to being jeered, spat on or pelted with rotting vegetables - or worse!  I can find no record of when or where these particular stocks were used, nor when the practice ceased.  Safe to say that, whatever you do, you are unlikely to be placed here nowadays - though maybe the threat might deter the vandals who regularly daub graffiti or otherwise trash the local area.

???

I can't see what this comment (received today) has to do with my blog or any of its posts - but it made me laugh!

         The fact that it hides the midsection already brings comfort to full-figured women who find it difficult to buy plus size swimming apparel that flatters their body. For example, don't try to go for boy shorts for your bottoms unless you really have a big problematic butt. Avoid two-piece swimsuits with polka dots; they can make you look like a little girl. 

This was it in its entirety - and no, I'm not going to let everybody have the link, no commercial plugs here.  However, Blogger does manage to filter these out pretty well, so still no need for the dreaded Word Verification!
PS I don't even have a double-chin, never mind BOTTOMS!

Autumn song

Roberts Park's bandstand looks pretty in Spring with the blossom on the trees (see here) and I think it looks equally good in the autumn, now that the leaves have turned red and gold. The summer bandstand concerts have finished and now the bandstand sings the sound of children happily playing on their scooters (funny how they seem to love riding round and round in circles!)

Tripping the light fantastic

I often find myself trying to capture the wonderful play of sunlight filtering through leaves.  Mostly my attempts end up far short of the beauty of the reality, but I think this one comes close.  Taken from the Leeds-Liverpool Canal towpath just beyond Hirst Lock, the trees are in Hirst Woods, a small but semi-ancient patch of woodland that grows on a moraine left by retreating glaciers 10,000 years ago.  Many of the trees are beech, with oak and birch too; I love their autumn colours and the way they catch the light.  I recently read that there is supposedly the remains of an Iron-Age settlement within the wood, but I don't think I'd know what to look for to discover that.  It is one of my favorite places for a calming walk; you're never far away from other people (lots of dog-walkers!) but it's very peaceful nevertheless.

The other Saltaire

I'm thinking tonight of those who live in 'the other Saltaire', Suffolk, New York, USA, which is a coastal area east of the city (Fire Island). It is bearing the full force of the fierce hurricane storm that is attacking the eastern USA right now, receiving a terrible battering and already flooded. (See here for photos). Indeed, my thoughts and prayers are with all those in the affected areas and especially those that I know or who know me through our blogs.

I only know about 'the other Saltaire', because 'Google alerts' for Saltaire, which I subscribe to, picks up lots of stuff from there as well. It seems as though it couldn't be more different from here and I'm always fascinated that the two little communities share the same name.  I wonder how they got theirs?  Maybe if it doesn't get washed away completely (!) someone will tell me.

Love's gonna lose my head

I don't know what tomorrow brings
I don't know much 'bout anything
Love's gonna lose my head tonight
I can't stop it

(Nerina Pallot)


(Funny what you think about when you see graffiti...)

Blue hair-net

To complete the series of photos I've shown over the last three days, taken from the top of Salts Mill chimney, I though it appropriate to include one of the chimney itself, complete with its blue 'hair-net', which was added after the scaffolding was erected. Taken on one of the bright, crisp autumn days we've been having, interspersed with fog and drizzle, the golden stone and autumn leaves look wonderful against that blue sky. Regular readers of my blog will also recognise 'the perfect tree' in another of its costumes.

Hawk's eye view

More wonderful views from the top of Salts Mill chimney.  These are perhaps of more particular interest to those who live locally...  Like me, you may be able to spot your own house! (Photos will enlarge if you click them, I think.)

5⇧ We start with the picture above, looking north from the chimney, beyond the New Mill and the river hidden by trees, and over to Baildon's Coach Road. The hamlet of Baildon Green is up to the top right with the main village of Baildon on the hill. To the left is Hope Hill and the woods of Shipley Glen. By the way, as I'm sure you'll realise, the turquoise pole in the foreground is one of the copper lightning conductors attached to the Mill chimney.

6⇧ Swinging round clockwise a little, to the north-east, the foreground shows some warehousing attached to Salts Mill. The modern hexagonal building is the banking centre for Britain's tax authorities (HMRC), bounded by the canal to the front and the river to the back, where the lines of trees are. Behind that on the right is the Victoria Mills apartments complex.

7⇧ A little further clockwise, the office block on the left is the Waterfront Centre, which now houses, among other things, Macmillan Cancer Support's new fund-raising centre. Behind that is the new white-painted orthodontics factory. You can see the Leeds-Liverpool canal slicing through on the left and the railway on the right. In the middle distance is Shipley town centre - you can perhaps make out the modernist clock-tower on the right.  The hill in the background rises up to the areas known as Windhill and Wrose.

8⇧ Swinging clockwise again and looking south-east, Shipley's clock tower is now in the top left. The church sitting prominently on the hill is St Paul's. Behind the church, in the fog-filled dip on the horizon, is the city of Bradford. Imagine the miasma that used to hang over it in Victorian times! No wonder Sir Titus Salt moved his business out to Saltaire. You can see Saltaire Road running through the middle of the photo. The large building in the mid-right is Wycliffe Primary School.

9⇧ Moving clockwise a little further and now looking south, the terraced housing at the bottom of the photo is part of Saltaire. It was built later than the rest of the village, around the turn of the 19-20th century, when the Salts estate sold off some land after the great Jubilee Exhibition. At one time the terraced housing extended down Saltaire Road on both sides, but some of it was demolished and the more modern flats in the middle of the photo were built. You can't really tell from this perspective, but the land on this photo rises steeply from the bottom to the top. The area of green on the far right (behind the fire station, which you can't quite see) was once a quarry. Right on the skyline, about a third of the way in from the left, you may be able to see a chimney which I believe is Bradford's other great Victorian mill, Listers.

[To complete the 360º panorama, look back at yesterday's photos in the order, 4, 3, 2. ]

I'm sure you'll agree that these photos make a wonderful record of Saltaire and its surroundings in 2012. I am delighted to have been able to share them here. Once again, my huge thanks to Paul Taylor whose idea this was, and to the unnamed photographer, who bravely took a camera to the top of Salts Mill chimney to capture the views for posterity. It looks like it was a typically damp, misty autumn day when they were taken, so it was very good of him to brave the drizzle.

Saltaire as you've never seen it before

Regular readers of Salt & Light will have realised, I'm sure, that yesterday's quiz photos were taken from the huge chimney of Salts Mill, looking vertically down. (Not by me, I hasten to add. You wouldn't get me up there! The only way up is by the long, long ladder. I am, however, rather flattered that a few of my friends thought me capable of it...)

You may recall that I showed photos of the scaffolding erected to enable some repairs to the chimney. Someone who works in Salts Mill noted in the comments on that post that he was hoping to get one of the workmen to take some photos from up the top. He was a good as his word and, even better, he has offered me the photos to share here on the blog. I'm thrilled therefore to showcase these fascinating images and would like to offer my huge thanks to Paul Taylor for the privilege - and to the unnamed photographer, who did a great job!

1⇧ The photo above is looking more or less west and shows part of the south frontage of the Mill with its twin towers, and the railway line to the left. You can see that building work continues, to improve one of the main visitor entrances to the Mill.

2⇧ Here, looking north-west, we see the main body of Salts Mill, the satellite dishes giving a clue to the modern use of the building, which houses Pace plc, a technology company. Beyond that is the New Mill with its elaborate chimney. That is actually on the opposite bank of the Leeds-Liverpool canal, though you can't really tell that from this photo. The trees, green lawns and cricket pitch in the middle distance are in Roberts Park. You can just see the River Aire curving round. At the top of the photo you can see Titus Salt School and its playing fields, and the little white shed that is the bottom of the Shipley Glen Tramway.

3⇧ Looking west again, the railway line carves it way through, with the Victoria Road bridge passing over it and, just beyond that, Saltaire station's platforms. You can see how the United Reformed Church sits immediately opposite the main entrance to Salts Mill, within its own tree-filled grounds. The village houses on the left of the photo are among the oldest in Saltaire. Beyond the houses, the woodland towards the top left is Hirst Wood.

4⇧ Looking south-west, the dominant building is the Victoria Hall, with the original factory school opposite. The large school-like building to the bottom left is Shipley College's Exhibition Building. On the left edge, you can see a three-storey building that is the old Salt's Hospital (now apartments). Very bottom right is the grey roof of Caroline's Club and next to that the Caroline Street carpark. That used to be the site of the village's Sunday School, which was demolished. Opposite that space you can pick out some of the shops on Victoria Road. This photo gives a good idea of the grid layout of Saltaire and its relative size. I guess it covers about a square mile altogether.

Vertigo

OK, where's this?  If you can't guess from the first photo, take a look at the second....

Any ideas?