Viewpoint

I have less time than usual to get out and about taking new photos, but I realised that I could also reprise a few of the earlier posts from my blog.  I used to post photos quite small too, so it will be good to see some at the larger size I now use.  This one shows the famous Bingley Five-Rise Locks from the top of the 'staircase',  looking towards Bingley.  You can see the red-brick shed I had in my photo yesterday (though that was a more recent photo).  Click here to go back to my original post for this picture.

Red brick

I'm afraid my postings are a bit more geographically haphazard than I prefer them to be at the best of times.  As you will recall, these are not quite the best of times.  And I'm sorry I'm not managing to get round to reading and commenting on other blogs very much, as my focus is necessarily elsewhere.  But never mind, that's life, with all its seasons. There will be time again for dallying, one day... 

Talking of seasons, this to me is a very springlike scene.  It only needs a few daffodils strewn over that green bank - I'm surprised no-one has planted any.  It's not in Saltaire, but a bit further up the canal at Bingley - in fact at the foot of the famous Five-Rise Locks.  I am not sure what purpose the little red-brick shed has; perhaps it holds some kind of pumping mechanism related to the locks.  What surprises me most is that the shed is red-brick, which is hardly used at all in this part of Yorkshire.  Nearly everything is stone-built, as are the lock-chambers themselves.  There's plenty of red-brick over in Leeds ten miles away but Pennine Yorkshire is characterised by its stone.

Riverside walk

There is a pleasant riverside walk along the bank of the River Aire through Bingley.  It's quite a while since I passed this way and I was pleased to see that they have tidied it all up considerably.  The river runs parallel to the town's main street.  Behind the shops and down to the river there is a warren of old houses and commercial premises, which at one time were a bit run down.   Some have recently been converted into apartments and some new apartments built too, all with an attractive aspect onto the river.  Far from spoiling it, it seems to have done a lot to improve the area.  There is still a lovely pathway to walk too, right from the church down in the oldest part of the town up to Myrtle Park, a large open park where the annual Bingley Show is held.

It's a while since I entered James' Weekend Reflections - I think this photo will fit the bill nicely, don't you?  For more interpretations of the popular Reflections theme, please click here.

Purple patch

The next town along the Aire Valley from Saltaire is Bingley - quite an attractive little market town, much improved a few years ago by the building of a by-pass that diverted some of the traffic from the town centre.  I had a wander along the riverbank and through the town square and passed this bank of crocusses, such a cheering sight and a reminder that spring is on the way.  No doubt certain of my readers would have preferred to see more of the pub in the background - The Ferrands Arms, named after one of the local gentry families. (See this post for another mention of the name).  The pub serves 'real ale' and appeals largely to a late-night crowd of youngsters - or so I gather, since I don't frequent the centre of Bingley late at night, as a rule!

Lady Blantyre

One of my Christmas rambles took me up to the St Ives Estate above Bingley, a mile or two up the Aire valley from Saltaire.  The estate and house once belonged to the Ferrand family, though the house is now a residential home for young adults with disabilities.  I passed a large stone dedicated to the memory of the mother-in-law of William Busfeild Ferrand. The dedication is typically Victorian in its sentimentality but nevertheless reads rather touchingly:

The Dowager Lady Blantyre for nearly 30 years was accustomed, in Summer to sit under this rock reading and enjoying the scenery.  In 1857 St Ives was altered and enlarged from plans entirely drawn by herself and her daughter the Honr'bl Mrs Ferrand. The Terrace and the flower garden were also designed by them. Her Ladyship ended her last visit on the 21^st November 1874 and died resting on the Rock of Ages at Lennox Love in East Lothian on the 19^th of the following November, in her 84^th year with facalties uninpared, and most deeply lamented. Mr Ferrand her son in law mournfully dedicated this rustic monument to her beloved memory, and with confidence requested the future owners to preserve it as an affectionate Memento of the best of Mothers and the sweetest of women. 

In addition to the rock, there is now this wooden carving of Lady Blantyre reading her book.  Sadly, all these years later, the view she must have enjoyed looking over the valley is blocked by tall trees but it's still a peaceful spot.

Dusk's pink

(Best viewed large)
Yesterday evening I had to pop over to a friend's house just as dusk was approaching.  It had been a very cold day and as I travelled on the bus I could see the mist slowly creeping down the river and filling the valley bottom.  By the time I arrived on the hill where my friend lives, it was all looking very pretty.  The picture is hand-held and taken on my compact camera, so it's very 'soft' - but in a way I think that suits the subject.  Sometimes you just have to take a chance on a shot.

On a more sober note, there was a serious accident in Saltaire yesterday, when a car crashed onto the railway lines just outside Saltaire station.  Thankfully it seems no-one was hurt.  The Telegraph and Argus newspaper carries full details here.  (Sorry, your own intrepid reporter was stuck in the office at the time!)

Another bridge

Since I noted a week or two ago that I didn't have many photos of bridges I seem to have been snapping nothing but bridges!  This is one of my favourites - Beckfoot Bridge.  It's local to where I used to live in Bingley and it was a much-loved and often enjoyed stroll down to the ford and old stone bridge over Harden Beck.

It is a packhorse bridge, just wide enough for one horse or a pedestrian.  Built in 1723 by two local masons at a cost of £10, it replaced an earlier wooden bridge.  The road is an ancient forest trail that developed into a bridle way and packhorse route from Bingley along the Aire Valley.  Beside it is an old farmhouse that once belonged to the Knights Templar.  When I was there the other day the house was shrouded in scaffolding, having roof repairs, so I didn't take a photo - I'll go back another day.

It's a fairly quiet spot now - but I have seen several cars stranded in the middle of the ford, which is much deeper than it looks.  Some sat-navs apparently direct people along this road and some idiots obviously leave their reasoning faculties at home and drive along, ignoring the signs that say 'Unsuitable for Motors'.  The man who lives in the farmhouse has a pair of thigh-high waders, as it is a fairly regular occurrence that he has to rescue people from the beck!

For more Sunday bridges, please visit Louis La Vache's blog.

May I also say a huge thank you to those people who responded to my 'big ask' yesterday for votes for the Photography Competition I've entered.  What lovely, encouraging people you are.  I'll let you know what happens....  If you missed it, please go back and have a look.

Beckfoot School

This is the upper school, on the outskirts of Bingley, that my daughter used to attend.  (She was in the same year as Kimberley Walsh, who is now famous as one of the Girls Aloud pop group.)  In those days we lived right opposite the school gates - very convenient.  (Although, as is often the case, living close meant J was frequently late setting off, running across the road with a slice of toast in her hand!)

It's a school with a good reputation and it has steadily expanded.  The original buildings - on the left with the clock tower - must date back to the 1930s, I think.  There have been two or three phases of new building work, and now they are building a entirely new school on what were originally the sports fields.  It is scheduled to open around Easter next year.  I feel slightly guilty that the people who bought our old house have had to contend not only with the building of the Bingley by-pass just down the road but also the new school.  I feel I had a lucky escape at just the right time!

Lock mechanism

This is part of one of the lock gates at the Five Rise Locks in Bingley. It's the mechanism for raising one of the sluices at the bottom of the gate, through which the water passes to fill the lock chamber up (or to empty it into the next chamber down.)

For a simple, animated explanation of how a lock works, click here. It's pretty cute. And there's a slightly more technical but extremely fascinating account of exactly how the Bingley lock keepers work the staircase ("staircases without side ponds") and why the locks at Bingley are not very water-efficient compared with some others - click here.

View from the top

Climb to the top of the Five Rise locks and you are rewarded with a good view back down the Aire valley towards Bingley. The canal follows the line of trees (or vice versa, I suppose!) but then veers to the right in front of the buildings you can see. At one time that was a mill, now converted, as are so many in this area, to apartments and houses, which have a nice outlook over the canal. You can also see the big black chimney of the Damart factory and, just behind that, the rather ugly (to my mind) 1960s concrete building that used to be the HQ of the Bradford & Bingley Building Society - a casualty of the banking crisis. There's a picture on this page - locals have dubbed it 'the Hanging Gardens of Babylon'. Prince Charles once said it was 'the ugliest building in Britain'!

You will note that I took this picture earlier in the spring. Once the trees have leaves you can't see so much.

Bingley Five Rise Locks

As I mentioned a few days ago, the Five-Rise Locks in Bingley is a few miles along the Leeds-Liverpool Canal from Saltaire. This is a hugely popular spot with locals and tourists alike. It's a very pleasant stroll from the centre of Bingley - which is itself quite an attractive little market town. You pass the Damart factory (stock up on your thermal underwear for the winter from the mill shop!) and then climb alongside the three-rise lock. A further short walk brings you to the five-rise. At the top there are always boats moored and there's a nice little café too, where you can sit outside in the sun (perhaps!) and watch the activity.

The locks (and therefore the canal from Gargrave to Leeds) were opened in 1774, with 30,000 people enjoying great celebrations, all the local church bells ringing and a ceremonial firing of guns by the local militia!

It's fascinating to watch how the lock keepers move the boats up and down the stair. Because it involves very intricate series of moves, which have to be done in the right order, lock keepers are employed full-time there and the locks are locked(!) at night. As you can imagine, it takes quite a while - a good half-hour - to move a boat up or down the whole series of five locks. And with the three-rise just a bit further on, boaters are advised to allow plenty of time to negotiate this stretch of the canal. (There's a funny little time-lapse film of a boat going through Bingley's three-rise lock on this link.)

Hockney by Silver

Glimpsed through a doorway in Salt's Diner, the restaurant at the heart of Salts Mill, this series of photographs of the artist David Hockney remind us of his connection to this area and to Salts Mill. I think they were most probably taken by his friend Jonathan Silver. Jonathan was the 'saviour' of Salts Mill, rescuing it from dereliction in the 1980s and setting it up once again as the vibrant heart of this small community of Saltaire, albeit in a very different form from its origins as a textile mill. I have written before of his friendship with David Hockney, which led to Salts Mill becoming the home to a large collection of David Hockney's art.

Bradford & Bingley Rugby Club

Watching some of the Six Nations rugby tournament on TV at the weekend reminded me that I had this wintry photo of the Bradford & Bingley rugby club's ground on Wagon Lane in Bingley. The club has a claim to fame as one of the first sides to play against the newly conceived Barbarians side in 1890. (The match was drawn.)

For those who are not rugby fans, The Barbarians are an invitation-only touring side, drawn from some of the best international rugby players. They owe their existence to the vision and enthusiasm of one man, William Percy Carpmael. He conceived his grand idea late one evening in 1890 in Leuchters Restaurant, Bradford. Carpmael's vision was that the Barbarian Club should be absolutely cosmopolitan, bringing together players from different clubs to play a few matches each year of 'adventurous, attacking rugby', and with the aim of spreading good-fellowship amongst all rugby football players. This continues to this day. Even though club and international schedules these days demand huge commitment from players, nevertheless playing for the Baa-Baas is considered a great honour. According to their website, the qualifications considered when issuing an invitation are: that the player's football is of a good enough standard and secondly that he should behave himself on and off the field. There is no discrimination whatsoever by race, colour or creed.

Of course, this area of Yorkshire is perhaps better known for Rugby League than Rugby Union - with the Bradford Bulls and Leeds Rhinos both attracting huge support locally. But I confess I'm a Union fan myself.