Welcome Spring

We can hardly complain that it has been a bad winter around here; there has been very little snow and it hasn't even been very cold most of the time. The main problem is the endless rain, culminating in that disastrous flooding just after Christmas, but continuing on and off ever since. At one time I thought spring would come very early and I wondered about the consequences of that - but it seems that actually many things are unfolding much as usual, perhaps a week or so earlier but not markedly different. There are a few bluebells out already though. They are early and are very spindly specimens.

I visited my sister in Lincolnshire, which is a hundred or so miles south-east of here and it seemed that nature was a little further on there. The magnolia here is still in bud but there it is fully out. She has just moved from the old mill house that has been her home for 30+ years, to a smaller - but delightful - bungalow in the next village. There is an attractive old church nearby and the churchyard was full of wild flowers: primroses, celandines and these rather pretty violets.

Diva

I bought some purple tulips. I love tulips at every stage, from upright buds through to when they go drunkenly floppy and blowsy. Somehow even when they are dying the colour seems to deepen. I added some texture layers and I really like the additional glow that gives.

Daffodil cheer

More daffodils clustered around the Half Moon Café, which is still closed for repairs after the floods. Looking up to the upper terrace of the park you can see the bandstand - which will soon come alive again when the summer concerts begin. You can also just see Sir Titus skulking behind a tree! It was such a gloomy day with no light for photos but the daffodils cheer up the scene immensely. Just what we need after a long winter.

Story time

A rare picture of me! Looking a bit silly with my mouth open but I was speaking at the time... These are my favourite times, sharing story books with the girls (even if you do have to read the same ones over and over). It was a unexpected treat that my family called in one evening on their way home from a day out. They wanted to get the girls into their pyjamas so that they'd fall asleep in the car on the way back. It works better than trying to keep them awake beyond their usual bedtime.

E is hugging her current favourite toy cat, which lives at my house. She remembered where it was and climbed all the stairs up to the attic bedroom especially to retrieve it so she could cuddle it. Its nose lights up and it purrs when you stroke it! M is busy signing to me what she can see in the picture book. Bless her, she is a super little communicator these days. She has limited words as yet at 18 months, but she signs a lot of things (her mum has counted that she knows at least 57 signs now) and it's fascinating to see what she notices and wants to tell you about.

Briefly transformed...

Another snapshot from a lunchtime walk.  There are some scrubby trees alongside an industrial unit. Quite suddenly they have burst into blossom... well, catkins I suppose, to be more precise. It seems they are some type of willow tree, briefly transformed from tangled nothingness to something rather pretty. I love the bright yellow against that dark grey background.  Although the angle I used to get the maximum of yellow in a pleasing arrangement has sent the vertical panels into a rather drunken slant...!

Sleight of palm

The area where I am currently working is seriously weird!  There was an old, empty industrial unit with half its windows smashed and very neglected. It seems someone has bought it and is 'doing it up' as a Banqueting Suite (of all things!). They have put in new window glass, with rather ornate gold swirly patterns on it. For some reason they seem also to have decided that a few huge plastic palm trees will create the ambience they are seeking. Mmm.... But 'each to his own', as they say!

A post from a post (box)

'Monday Murals' regularly showcases the varied and wonderful graffiti and artwork to be found in cities all over the world. I don't think this is quite in the same league but I found something oddly pleasing in its swirls and spots. It has a slight feel of Japanese lettering or something similar.  It is just a scrawl on the side of a mailbox. Yet another thing that caught my eye on one of my lunchtime rambles near my workplace.... It is quite surprising how many things I've found to snap, in what at first appears to be a deeply unpromising area photographically.

An empty park

A host of yellow daffodils - but hardly a person to be seen in Saltaire's Roberts Park early in the morning.  The cricket field (right) is fenced off to allow it to recover after the extensive flooding in December.

Irresistible

Reflections and shadows - irresistible. Adriana's Furniture premises again, with Salts Mill reflected.

Foundation Stones

I pass these two massive stone statues every morning on my commute-walk through the centre of Bradford. I've been waiting for a good day to photograph them but where they are situated they rarely seem to catch the light. I've had to apply a bit of an HDR effect on this iPhone photo, to show up the detail in their faces. I rather like their solidity.

They are called 'Foundation Stones', an early work by sculptor Gordon Young (who specialises now in large-scale public art and was once the curator at the Yorkshire Sculpture Park). The plaque with them says: 'The two figures, carved from Mansfield stone, represent the original personal relationship between a Provident insurance agent and customer. The sculpture took nine months to complete and was unveiled on 18 July 1986 at the former location of the Provident Financial Head Office on Sunbridge Road in Bradford.'

So there is a personal connection for me. I was born in Mansfield, where they quarried the stone.

'Insurance agent' is a bit of a euphemism, I think, because what the Provident company were set up to do in the 1880s, and have always done, is to provide affordable consumer credit. Their agents used to call regularly at people's houses to collect the instalments due on loans, in the days before you could make bank transfers online and most folks were paid in cash. I believe they still operate in the home credit arena, lending to people who may have difficulty getting loans. At one time they held an estimated 60% share of the home credit market in Britain. They still have a Bradford Head Office.

The sculptures have been moved from their original location and now stand between the Law Courts and the new Broadway shopping centre.

Car - verley!

The final few steps of our 5 mile Calverley circular walk, back to my little red car...  This will not be my little red car for much longer as I am buying myself a new one - though the new one is also a very cheery red. I will be sad to say goodbye to my trusty friend. It was my mum's car until she died a few years ago and although it's now 15 years old it still has less than 50,000 miles on the clock. It has never given either of us a minute's trouble and, with that reliability in mind, I am buying another Toyota Yaris, but this time a Hybrid model. I only hope it proves to be an equally wise purchase and will last me a good many years.

Calverley walk 5

I always think this is a very fine building, situated on Calverley's main street (now unfortunately a busy through road) and right next to the church. It is a pair of semi-detached townhouses, built in the mid 1700s and unusual for their time. It appears that the building may be empty now, which seems a great shame if it is.

A few blossom trees in the churchyard are a welcome reminder of Spring coming - and it did feel like it in the warm sunshine. Across the road from the church there are more old buildings that give an idea of what the village used to be like. This short and winding little lane is called The Wicket, though I don't know why. An old sketch (here) suggests it has changed little on the face of it, in many years. But the modest semi-detached cottages dating back to before1755 are now worth a cool £250,000.

There is some fascinating information about Calverley in this document if you are interested in social and architectural history.

Calverley walk 4

The church of St Wilfrid in Calverley has parts dating back to the 11th century, making it one of the oldest surviving buildings in the village, though most of it was rebuilt in the 1800s.

There is also a medieval hall, Calverley Old Hall (which I didn't see on my walk). In 1604, its owner Walter Calverley suffered a mental breakdown and murdered two of his three children. Fortunately he fell from his horse whilst trying to reach his infant son, who was with a wet-nurse. He was caught and jailed. Perhaps he regained his sanity because at his trial he refused to plead, an action which meant his infant son inherited the property. Walter however, was sentenced to death by pressing - a horrible torture which involved him being laid on a strong oak table with a wooden door on top of him, onto which heavy stones were piled until the life was crushed from him.

This sad tale was written up as a play: 'A Yorkshire Tragedy' in 1608. At one time it was attributed to Shakespeare and supposedly performed at The Globe Theatre but there is now doubt about this.

The churchyard is well-kept and attractive with spring bulbs. I was surprised to find goats and a few sheep roaming around.  They apparently act as very efficient lawn mowers around the gravestones.

The church yard also holds 'The Calverley Angel', a 30 foot high chainsaw sculpture, carved from a beech tree that is still rooted but was damaged in a storm in 2011. The sculpture is by Yorkshire-based carver Shane Green, who also created the Olympic Trail of wooden sculptures of athletes in London's parks during the Olympics in 2012.

Calverley walk 3

Nearing the end of the towpath stretch of the walk at Apperley Bridge, Woodhouse Grove School can be seen across the fields. Originally founded in 1812 for the education of the sons of Methodist ministers, it is now a fee-paying co-educational boarding and day school.

The walk route doubles back at this point up the interestingly named Parkin Lane and crosses a bridge over the canal. There are a few old properties and a lot of very new townhouses being built in this area. It is a popular residential area, located very conveniently for commuting to both Bradford and Leeds, especially since a new rail station has just opened nearby.

The photo below shows some very desirable Victorian houses, on a quiet lane leading to Calverley Wood. One of them - a five bedroom semi-detached dating back to 1860 - is currently for sale (see here) at around £850,000.

The route then enters Calverley Wood, which surrounds some old stone quarries that perhaps supplied the sandstone for some of Bradford's buildings.  Apparently there was once a WWII Prisoner of War camp here and then later, a fireworks factory which in 1957 suffered an explosion that killed three workers and injured others. Nowadays it is a peaceful wood, with a well-marked path that was at one time a packhorse route, so I didn't get lost this time. 

At the southern exit of the wood there is a lodge house, which suggests there must at one time have been a larger house in the area. It seems there were grandiose plans in Victorian times to build a small estate of fine houses, but it never came to fruition.

Calverley walk 2

This stretch of the Leeds-Liverpool Canal, between Calverley Bridge and Apperley Bridge, is incredibly popular with walkers (and their dogs), runners and cyclists. It has recently had improvements to the towpath which is now broad and smooth and makes for very easy walking.

The fields on the left belong to Calverley House Farm.  The swing bridge below seems to be only for use by the farm, to get from one field to another. It remains open most the time, which must come as a relief to boaters.

The canal has been quiet for a few months but the spring weather has encouraged boaters to venture out, as well as walkers and cyclists.

Calverley walk 1

Spring flowers again, right beside where I parked my car. They get a walk off to a pleasant start.

The village of Calverley sits halfway between the cities of Leeds and Bradford. It has medieval origins and there are a few buildings that are very old, but the majority date from the 1850s onwards. The village's location, within easy reach of Bradford's woollen mills but pleasantly rural in character, led to it being a popular residence for some prominent industrialists in the late 19th century and there are some rather grand houses. The one below is now The Calverley Arms, a pub restaurant with some accommodation.



From this high point there are good views over the northern suburbs of Leeds but we will cross the field (it's OK, no cows!) and drop down to the Leeds-Liverpool Canal nestled in the valley.

The canal crossing, Owl Bridge, is one of the many swing bridges along this stretch, useful for walkers but a trial for boaters, who have to stop to open and close every one. I didn't see an owl though.

Another Sunday saunter

Another beautiful Sunday a couple of weeks ago, with early Spring sunshine and almost cloudless sky. It would have been criminal to stay inside. Are you ready for another walk?

I parked my car in Calverley village, an attractive little place on the boundary of Leeds and Bradford. I took my DSLR but when I took it out of its case it was showing 'No SD card'...  :-(  I thought I must have omitted to put it back in when I uploaded the last lot of photos. Never mind, thought I, I have a spare in the case... er, no... wrong! So I left my camera in the car boot and took my trusty iPhone instead. It doesn't cope so well with bright sunshine but - heigh ho - some photos are better than no photos. The irony was that when I got home I discovered the SD card was in the camera after all but for some reason it wasn't registering properly.

The walk was supposed to be about 4.5 miles. Maybe it was 'travelling light' without my heavy camera or maybe the route was simply easier, but I did it much quicker than the previous walk.

Broken glass

Dance on broken glass, build castles

with shattered dreams and wear 

your tears like precious pearls.

Proud.

Strong. 

Unshakeable.

Anita Krizzan

(Well, you knew one day, on one of my lunchtime walks, I'd stop and take photos of those shattered windscreens on the cars in the scrapyard!)

Trotting

Ooh, I had to be quick to take this. I was just setting off for my regular lunchtime walk from work when I heard the sound of hooves on the tarmac.  Turning round, I saw a horse trotting at a fast pace up the hill, so I had to whip out my iPhone and take a very quick snap as it went past. This version is cropped a lot from the original as I didn't even have time to zoom in, so the image quality isn't great. Nevertheless it conveys the speed quite well, I feel. The horse has the diagonal gait of a fast trot and all four hooves off the ground at once! The little buggy it is pulling is the kind they use for harness-racing. The man's flat cap is a Yorkshire working class stereotype but something you don't see a lot these days. (They've been replaced by the ubiquitous baseball cap, I guess!) I never saw a sight like this on my walks around Salts Mill, so there are some compensations for working in a new but not quite so idyllic area.

Hirst Weir

This familiar shot of Hirst Weir is less familiar since the Boxing day floods. The weir has been substantially rearranged, with stones strewn over a wide area. It has not stopped the fishermen, two of whom were right in the river below the weir, in their waders. The river looks benign again now and some repair work appears to have been done to the bank on this side but in December it must have been quite terrifying for those living in the apartments in the old mill, the lower floors of which were badly affected by the floodwater.  There is a wooden deck (around that conservatory) that is all ripped up even now.

Click the Hirst Weir label below to see what the area has looked like when I have taken previous photos here.