Path to the tower

The view from the aqueduct bridge up the River Wharfe to Barden Tower is lovely, I think. Barden Tower is the romantic ruin of a 15th century hunting lodge, part of the Bolton Abbey estate.

Disguises

The aqueduct bridge at Bolton Abbey, where they were doing the filming, is cunningly disguised to act as a footbridge over the river. A disguise that would be appreciated by the Gunpowder plotters, for sure... In fact the castellations hide pipes that carry water from the large reservoirs of Upper Nidderdale to reservoirs lower down that provide the water supply for West Yorkshire's towns and cities. Someone has also thought fit to disguise a hard stone seat as a sofa, too!

If you go down to the woods today...

In between Storm Doris and the next band of rain and wind, we had one lovely, sunny, springlike day, when it seemed criminal to stay at home. So off I tootled, for a walk in the woods alongside the river at Bolton Abbey. It was all so beautiful and I enjoyed the way the views opened out between the trees as the path rose and fell. I walked from the Cavendish Pavilion as far as the aqueduct bridge and back past the Strid, almost four miles of easy walking. When I was nearing the bridge my eye was caught by a group of people on the opposite bank, which I assumed to be a large group of hikers. A little further on and I was politely prevented, by a security guard, from walking further.

It turned out that the BBC were filming a new historical drama, to be screened this autumn.  (My life these days seems to involve an awful lot of film crews!! ) Called 'Gunpowder', the drama is about the failed plot in 1605 to oust King James I. It stars Kit Harington (of 'Game of Thrones'), Liv Tyler, Mark Gatiss and Peter Mullan.

From where I was standing waiting I couldn't really see much, but they were using a drone to film a scene on the bridge. They did a few takes and then all the actors walked back along the path. I've no idea who they were, from that distance, but there are swords, capes, ruffs and plentiful beards involved! I'm sure it'll be explosive! 

(PS: Having watched the drama, I can now identify some of the cast below as Shaun Dooley [Sir William Wade], Mark Gatiss [Sir Robert Cecil] in the green hat, and a couple of actors playing the Spanish lords.)

Eventually, they let me continue my walk. A little further on they were packing up lights, cameras and one of those iconic clapperboards. Then all retreated to their little camp in the woods. It amazes me how much effort goes in to making films and TV shows and how many people it involves. They'd even placed more clumps of grass on the bridge, for effect. Further on, there was a huge encampment of film-related caravans and trucks in one of the Bolton Abbey car parks, so they must be doing a good deal of filming in the area. 

Branches

'Your branches can only reach high if your roots go deep.' 

Brian Logue

Pink

The showy, waxy hellebore, the Christmas or Lenten rose.  This one might be Helleborus x ericsmithii but I can't swear to that... as I said, I really ought to take a photo of the label...

Below, another favourite of mine, miniature cyclamens. I love the bright magenta colour.

Then some snowdrops interplanted with tiny cyclamen - gorgeous. 

Yellow

Winter aconite (Eranthis hyemalis) nestled around the base of a tree, so cheerful at this dark time of year. Below, growing in the alpines glasshouse, is Adonis amurensis 'Fukujukai', an alpine originating from Japan. They are both from the same family of Ranunculaceae.

Iris, inside and out

I didn't know there were so many varieties of miniature iris - Iris reticulata. Some were growing outdoors and some in the glasshouse, and there are many variations of colour and shape. The ones above are - perhaps - called 'Harmony', paired with a variety of winter flowering heather. The irises below, were in the glasshouse, although there were also some outside. They are 'George' (the purple ones) and 'Katharine Hodgkin'  (the exquisite pale blue and lemon ones)... a marriage made in heaven. I've a soft spot for irises as they were my mum's favourite.

Winter blossoms

A friend and I visited the RHS gardens at Harlow Carr near Harrogate, again. It was cheering to see the wonderful colour in their winter planting. I hope you won't get bored of photos from there because it is going to be one of my favourite destinations, now that I have time to 'play out'.

These are: Witch hazel (Hamamelis - 'Jelena', I think), their quirky blooms like lots of little fireworks, and Viburnum x Bodnantense - 'Dawn' (again, I think... I really should photograph the labels as well!) with their fragrant pink blossom made up of hundreds of tiny flowers. There was such a wonderful sweet, almost honeyed, fragrance in the air and yet it was hard to track down to one plant.

Ring-necked parakeet

I'd been told that there were ring-necked parakeets (Psittacula krameri) in our local Northcliffe Park. I'd heard them calling (squawking!) but never seen them until I spotted a pair in a small tree. The one in front is the female, without a neck ring, and the male is behind, though he never showed himself so that I could get a good picture. Initially they are quite thrilling to see, very exotic birds compared to most of our native species. Then you come to realise that they are a pest, on a par with grey squirrels and Japanese knotweed: big, noisy and outsmarting our native species when it comes to food and nest sites, whilst breeding prolifically. No-one knows how or when they started to spread in the wild in this country. It's likely they began from captive birds that escaped or were freed. At first they were confined to the south-east and London area but populations have spread dramatically since the 1970s.

I mist

I tried to photograph the fog but I mist.

Red army

Lined up two by two, in the Springs Branch Canal by the marina in Skipton, an army of hire boats waiting for the summer season. They belong to Pennine Cruisers, who operate out of Skipton, and they can be hired by the week.

Snowdrop varieties

At first glance one snowdrop (Galanthus) looks much like another, but closer inspection reveals the differences between the varieties. It is not a species native to Britain. Some say bulbs were brought over by the Romans from Europe and the Middle East, and others that it was introduced in the 16th century. There are about 20 different species, some taller than others, some with simple flowers and others with double flowers. Species have been hybridised; there are known to be over 500 cultivars and there are some absolutely passionate collectors. The way the bulbs spread into drifts is most attractive and the flowers, naturalised in woodland or in garden borders, are such a welcome sign of early Spring.

Snowdrop gardens

The gardens at Goldsborough Hall are known locally for their display of snowdrops in February and are open on just two Sundays for public viewing. On the first Sunday this year there was more snow around than snowdrops, so I chose to visit the second Sunday. It was a day that promised sunshine but, in the end, disappointed, even though it was quite mild. The massed snowdrops are very pretty though I think I prefer them when they are interplanted with more colourful species like the hellebores below. 

Goldsborough Hall

Goldsborough Hall, near Knaresborough, is a Grade II* listed building that dates back to Jacobean times, the early 1600s. Built by Sir Richard Hutton, a prominent lawyer who became High Sheriff of Yorkshire in 1623, it was for many years a family home, eventually becoming part of the Harewood estate in the 1750s. It was the home of Mary, Princess Royal, after she married the 6th Earl of Harewood in 1922. She was the daughter of King George V and Queen Mary and the King and Queen are known to have stayed here many times in the 1920s.  It was a school during WWII, then reverted to a family home and later became a nursing home. In 2005 it was sold again and once more reverted to a family house, though now the owners host weddings and corporate events, accommodating guests in luxurious rooms. 

They have also replanted the neglected gardens, which are open to the public on a few days each year as part of the National Gardens Scheme. It raises money for charity (and provides retirees like me with an endless source of pleasant outings!)

The surrounding estate and village bear all the hallmarks of an English country house estate, although the village was auctioned off in 1952, ending 1000 years of estate ownership. 

Lightness of being

I've not read Milan Kundera's book (yet) though I love the title: 'The Unbearable Lightness of Being.' For some reason it came to mind when I opened the curtains the other morning and saw the fog. My bedroom window overlooks trees (such joy!) and the gorgeous, though currently naked, copper beech looked delightfully ethereal, framed by the holly tree that is nearer to my house.

The Birds

Leeds is one of those cities that very much repays 'looking up' beyond the obvious at eye level, to take in the detail of the buildings, both old and new. It also has a wealth of public sculpture. There's a notable bronze flight of birds by Lorne McKean on the side of one of the office buildings in City Square. Nearby, I spotted these two bronze birds, though I can't find out if they are by the same artist.

Leeds Central Library

Leeds Central Library is, in my view, a 'must see' building for anyone interested in architecture or history. It is a Grade II* listed building, built between 1878 and 1884 as a library and municipal offices. You can read detail of the construction and decor on Wikipedia. Parts of the building - even the stairwells - are extremely ornate, with beautiful Victorian tiles, lovely stained glass, parquet and tiled mosaic floors. As is clear from the photo above (one of the stairwells), each level is treated differently, with a wealth of detail in the plasterwork and balustrades. Some of the pillars are made of 380 million-year-old red Devonian coral reef and you can see fossils in them. Stunning! 

The original reading room, a vast and beautiful space with a tiled, barrel-vaulted ceiling and exquisite tiled walls, is now the Tiled Hall Café, worth a visit in itself. I've never managed a decent photo of it because it's just too huge, but the pictures below pick out some of the tiled detail from the building. 

Gone up in the world

Looking east along The Headrow. The roofs of the Library and Art Gallery in the foreground left, and the war memorial.

I took my camera to the top of the clock tower of Leeds Town Hall.  Yes, lugged the heavy thing up all the steep spiral stairs. Despite it being a very dull, grey day, the views were still fabulous.

Looking south towards the rail station. The tallest skyscraper (skyline, on the left third) is Bridgewater Place, 112m high. 

Looking northeast, with the white Leeds Civic Hall tower on the far left.
The odd green bulge just right of the two cranes is the new(ish) Leeds Arena (concert venue)

Looking west. The green space on the left is Park Square.

Looking north west, with the Leeds General Infirmary (hospital) - old and new buildings - dominating the right side of the photo.

Victoria Concert Hall, Leeds

Leeds Town Hall has at its centre a large concert hall, dedicated to Queen Victoria who formally opened the Town Hall in 1858. These days it hosts anything from rock concerts to the renowned Leeds International Pianoforte Competition. The most glorious feature of the hall is the huge and ornate pipe organ, still used for recitals. The hall itself, with double tiers of seating, is richly decorated in a style that would be considered OTT these days, with lots of gilt and carvings, and liberally sprinkled with mottos like 'Except the Lord keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain'. The only jarring note, perhaps, is the 1930s Odeon-style lights, installed to replace the original Victorian chandeliers.

Leeds Town Hall

Leeds Town Hall is a magnificent edifice. It was built between 1853 and 1858 (about the same time as Saltaire) to a design by a young architect called Cuthbert Brodrick. Commissioned by Leeds Corporation to make a statement about the wealth of the city, which by that time because of the Industrial Revolution was an important industrial centre, and to symbolise civic pride and confidence, it over-ran its budget (nothing new there!). It was felt by some to be an indulgence at a time when there was huge poverty and need among the working classes. It towered over the city, being the tallest building by far from 1858 until 1966, when a skyscraper office block was built. 

I joined an interesting guided tour of the Town Hall, which took us into the concert hall, an original law court, old prison cells in the basement and right up the tower to the parapet by the clock faces. It must be a bit of a nightmare to maintain these days. Parts of the interior are a bit tatty and there is work ongoing on the exterior, so that the front is currently hidden by sheeting (with pillars painted on, as seems the way these days!)