Boats

Two boats: a colourful traditional narrowboat, moored on the Leeds-Liverpool Canal at East Riddlesden, and a small motorboat. Motor cruisers of this type are very rarely seen on the canal. I'm not sure whether there is a reason you don't see many but I did notice that, even though it wasn't going very fast, the wake behind it was much more powerful and possibly more destructive than that of the more sedate narrowboats. Either way, on a hot day it looked tempting to be cruising on the water rather than walking in the blazing sunshine beside it.

East Riddlesden Hall

A friend and I had a wander along the canal path and ended up visiting the National Trust property, East Riddlesden Hall, a 17th century manor house. I've always liked it. It is small enough to feel cosy and to get a feel for how a relatively ordinary, though well-to-do, merchant family lived in the past. The Murgatroyds were staunch Royalists and there are Royalist symbols in the stonework on and in the house. It has been altered many times over the years and all that is left of one wing is just the front wall punctuated by windows. The small gardens are attractive too, with a large duckpond at the front and beds of unusual herbs that were grown for culinary and medicinal use and to make dye. The hall is reputed to be haunted but it always feels a warm and friendly place to me.

Audley Clevedon

I went to visit a friend who lives in Ben Rhydding, a village near the spa town of Ilkley. Although it was a dull and drizzly day, we went for a short walk up to Audley Clevedon, a luxury retirement complex. I'd actually never heard of it before but it is set in a stunning location, high up on the edge of the moor and with wonderful views across the valley. It consists of about 90 new houses, cottages and apartments, all built to a high specification. Properties are sold on a lease, with maintenance of the property and the surrounding gardens all taken care of. At the centre of the complex is an older building, which used to be a preparatory school. Now it is a clubhouse with a luxury hotel feel. It has a restaurant/bistro, bar, swimming pool, gym, spa, library and comfortable lounges for use of the residents. The restaurant and bar is also open to non-residents so we enjoyed a coffee in elegant surroundings, looking out over the terrace at the lovely view. 

This retirement lark has its perks! Although I couldn't afford to and would not wish to actually live in a place like Audley Clevedon, I can see its attractions. 

Hewenden Viaduct (3)

The objective of our walk was Hewenden Viaduct, which you see from roads in the area but which I'd never seen up close. It's an impressive stone structure, built between 1881 and 1884, with 17 huge arches. Its foundations had to be half as deep (62.5 feet) as the height of the bridge (124 feet) because of the soft shales and clays it is built upon. The viaduct was part of the Great Northern Railway, linking the industrial towns of Keighley, Bradford and Halifax. The railway closed in 1963 but the route is now being re-opened in stages as a cycle trail.

Our walk wasn't intended to take us across it but, encountering a herd of cows and bulls in a field, we decided to take the safer option of a shortcut along the viaduct! It actually proved very interesting, with scenic views over the parapet.

The reservoir, seen below, was there before the railway. It provided a water supply for the nearby City of Bradford. The city Corporation objected to the railway's originally planned route, fearing it would pollute the water. The revised route necessitated building the huge viaduct.

Walking with friends (2)

Part of our walk around Cullingworth (see also yesterday) took us along the Millennium Way, through Goitstock Woods and past Goitstock Falls. I described this on a walk last year (see here). Despite our spring having been very dry, there was still plenty of water going over the falls, which I think are rather pretty with those three separate cascades.

A little further upstream, the beck (stream) is dammed. At one time this provided water power for a cotton mill. The mill is now converted into residences and the mill dam has become a garden pond, full of waterlilies.

Wildflowers are out in profusion, among them a few orchids. I'm not good at identifying them but I think this is a Common Spotted Orchid - not rare but still good to see.

Senior Way (1)

I recently took a walk with some friends around the nearby village of Cullingworth. The first part of it followed a footpath signposted Senior Way. The name is not, as might be expected, because it is aimed a senior citizens (such as me!) It is named after the late Ron Senior, a local man who helped to get the walk recognised and signposted.

I always love this valley. It's so lush and green; you could be miles from civilisation although it is not at all remote. My eagle-eyed friend spotted a heron skulking in the grasses. Harden Beck runs along the valley bottom and it tends to be a bit marshy in some parts; fertile territory for a heron looking for frogs, I guess.

Oranges are not the only (orange) fruit

Jumping back a month, the theme for my online photo group for June was 'orange'. I didn't really come across anything that seemed to fit when I was out and about on my travels and by the last week of the month I'd still not had any inspiration. I thought about photographing an actual orange... but then I noticed the apricots I'd just bought and realised they were more interesting, with their subtle colour variations.

I've recently acquired a soft box, so lighting still life arrangements is a bit easier. This needed my tripod, the soft box, an umbrella to reduce unwanted reflections from ambient light on the shiny blue plate and a small reflector to bounce light back into the shadows. It was hard to get the apricots to stack and not tumble about... maybe I should have used a bowl rather than a plate but I liked the rich blue contrast.

Black and White Cropped Square

Also taken at Bingley Show, this is my entry for the July theme for my online photography group: Black and White Cropped Square. I noticed the shadows of the guy ropes on the sides of the canvas marquees. They looked like something I could play with a bit in an image. In the end, I think this picture has more the feel of some kind of torture chamber than a tent!

Balloons

So colourful, I could not walk past without taking a photo. Just looking at them makes me smile.

Plants

Another category in Bingley show is for plants and flower arrangements. I've lately started to appreciate the beauty of bonsai and I was rather attracted to this graceful little tree. I also liked the way the bonsai was displayed on round, red mats that referenced the Japanese flag. 

Among the cut flowers, sweet peas always delight me - for their glorious colours and their heavenly scent. 

Handicrafts and produce

It's such fun exploring the handicrafts and produce marquees at Bingley Show (though I was melting in the heat under the canvas!) My friend's mum, who has won prizes several times in the past for her knitted toys, is now selling them through her daughter's craft shop, so she's no longer eligible to compete as an amateur. Somebody equally talented appears to have taken up the vacant place; her doll and teddy were really cute.

The muffs below are called Fidget or Twiddle Muffs and are made for people with dementia, whose restless hands appreciate something to stroke and play with. 

There was a category for multi-coloured jelly! (Whatever next?) It made a nice picture. 

The home-made wines and liqueurs also made a nice picture - and, no doubt, a tasty drink.

Who knew there were so many sizes and colours of eggs? 

People watching

The lady was watching the dog-show. Her dog was watching the people-show.

Limousin cattle

My other favourite bit at Bingley Show is the cattle section. I love to watch the judging of these huge beasts. They are as polished and primped as cattle can be, though they don't always do as the handlers want them to. A little tickle under the belly with a sharp stick usually makes them behave. I don't know why like them so much. I hardly ever eat meat and I certainly don't like walking through fields with cattle in, but there is something amazing about being so close (safely) to such magnificent animals.

The bulls in my photos are Limousin cattle, bred for beef. They originated in France.

Bird watching

The Wise Owl birds of prey display is possibly one of my favourite bits of Bingley Show. They are such beautiful birds and it is a privilege to get up close to them. Wise Owl rescue and rehabilitate birds (for example, after accidents) and then release them into the wild again. They also have a mobile display team, which was doing demonstrations at the show.

One of the stars is the gorgeous Barn Owl, Bubbles (above, bottom right and also in the photo below). He was happily flying through tunnels made by children's linked hands, stopping every so often to have a good look at things. You can hire him to fly up the aisle to deliver your wedding rings at your wedding. That must be quite a sight!

The other birds pictured are:
Top left -  a pretty kestrel, whose name I don't know
Top right - Ghost, a Gyr x Saker falcon
Bottom left - Gizmo, a White-faced owl

Bingley Show day 2017

It doesn't seem long since last year's Bingley Show but it came round again, the 136th show. The day started off very wet and I was wondering whether I should brave it. The lower field in Myrtle Park can become a mud bath in inclement weather. When it stopped raining, I set off. By the afternoon, the sun had come out and it was really quite warm. I should have taken a sunhat!

There's a nice view from the upper park down into the lower field, where the classic cars and vintage tractors were parading in the show ring. In the foreground are displays of the most modern vehicles, including a Yaris Hybrid very like mine. It was like bumping into a relative! I didn't actually bump into any relatives, but I did bump into a lot of people I know - camera club colleagues, friends from church, former workmates. All part of the fun of the Show, which is still a big event in the local calendar.

The full Half-Moon

It is very good to see the Half-Moon Café in Saltaire's Roberts Park open again this summer. It was badly damaged in the massive floods on Boxing Day 2015. Leased from Bradford Council by Saltaire Cricket Club, it took ages to be dried out and repaired. Other local facilities were up and running after a few months and no-one seems sure why it took nearly 18 months to refit and re-open the café. Anyway, it is now open, from Wednesdays to Sundays. It is a well-used facility for the many visitors to the park.

A braver man than I...

Photo © Dr John Rhodes, used with permission

One of my good friends, Dr John Rhodes, also a keen photographer, recently took the opportunity to climb the tower of St. Peter's Church, Shipley (see here) with his camera. He has kindly agreed to let me show some of the photos he took. They give an interesting view of the area that can't be seen from any other vantage point. 

Photo © Dr John Rhodes, used with permission

Despite having been church warden at St. Peter's for a number of years, I was never brave enough to venture up the steep staircase (see left) which is topped by a 20ft ladder to reach the parapet of the tower. Not for the faint-hearted - and I get vertigo even on a step ladder!

But the views from up there are wonderful.  Photo one (above) shows Moorhead Lane, the road leading down past the church to the junction where Saltaire roundabout used to be (now traffic lights). To the left (beside the orange truck) is Saltaire tram-sheds, where the old trams used to be garaged. It's now a bar/restaurant called The Hop. In the middle distance you can see the western end of Saltaire village on the right and also Salts Upper School, the modern white building. Beyond that, the wonderfully named Hope Hill rises up to Baildon Moor.

Photo © Dr John Rhodes, used with permission

The photo above is a telephoto view of Salts Mill, with Saltaire village in the foreground and the Victoria Hall on the right, with its tower visible.  Behind the Mill, at the foot of the escarpment, is the hamlet known as Baildon Green, with Baildon itself on the hill top. 

Photo © Dr John Rhodes, used with permission

No prizes for identifying the iconic domed tower of Saltaire's famous Victorian United Reformed Church, nestled among trees.

Allotment

As well as visiting lots of open gardens recently, I also went to my friend's allotment Open Day. These are the plots beside the River Aire in Bingley that were devastated by the Boxing Day floods in 2015. After much hard work, fundraising, new fences and topsoil, you'd hardly know now that there had been a problem.

We've been enjoying some wonderfully bright, sunny days this spring/summer but really it's too contrasty for good photos. It makes me appreciate all the more the wonderful photos I see from my blog friends in sunny places like Australia and Florida. How do you do it?

Cherry picking

'The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness....'  (Galatians 5: 22-23)

Beauty close up

This is a passion flower.