Stroll 46 final

One last shot from last week's Stroll, a flooding river Hull to the north of Beverley

 

Stroll 46 pt3

It is strange that a drainage ditch across a man-created pancake-flat landscape can appear dramatic, but get a sun-clouded sky and it all comes together.

 

Stroll 46 pt2

The changeable winter weather lead to some great light.

Saw plenty of interesting birds on the walk: a pair of Great White Egrets, Kingfishers and plenty of ducks and geese.

Stroll 46 Beverley to Hutton Cranswick

A walk across the wetlands of the Hull river. This is part of the Humberhead wetlands area that stretches both south (Thorne and Hatfield moors) and north (the Hull river and the Derwent river) of the Humber. Layla is posing next to one of the many drains and dikes that make the land fit for farming and for walking.

 

The Return

 

Rowan is safely home, Danielle is seeing her tonight in London. Here is a picture from her trip, a group en route to a volcano I imagine.

Birds on a Wire

Taken by the canal in Hyde last week, Cormorants enjoying the view from a high pylon.
 

What Goes Up

 One of the things Rowan has been doing on her trip to El Salvador and Nicargua is go up a lot of volcanos. How do they come down, you might wonder. Like this.

    

Stroll 45 pt3

The Peak Forest Canal is a great one to walk on: contouring along the valley side with various post industrial sights, including this one which tended to a little menace in its looming presence. 

 

Stroll 45 pt 2

I don't like this as much as yesterdays, but it gives a glance of the rural beauty to the canal from with the dark tunnel.

Stroll 45 Greenfield to Marple

 

A beautiful day walking on the Huddersfield Narrow and the Peak Forest Canals to Marple in Cheshire. This shot was taken near Stalybridge in a very urban section of the canal. There are more rural shots to follow, but I think this one is pretty good. 

Nicaragua

 Rowan is on holiday in central America. Last week was El Salvador, now she is in Nicaragua where this photo was taken on the roof of Leon cathedral. In the background is a volcano; she has already been a couple on this trip, with more to follow.

Back to the Moors

 Back out on Hatfield Moors last week, usual day of wonder. Saw no one.

Egret is Back

The Hob Moor Egret is back, looking more magnificent still. This was taken in the beck at the bottom of the garden.

 

A Cycling Life 5

 Next year 1980, I was climbing my first col in the Alps. It has featured a couple of times in the Tour since then.

A Cycling Life 4

 

1979 I think, Ro & Pete and I with bikes, taken at my parent's house in Kirtlington. I am holding a bike I bought with money that Great Uncle Charles had left me. It was a five speed Puch with flat bars, I think it cost £70. I have my Rock Against Racism badge on my shirt. Not sure what Pete's badge is.

Wood Shed

Stefan built this open wood shed for us earlier in the year. Keeps the wood dry, looks good lit by a torch.

Full of Beans

The runner beans provided a good green crop through the summer. Now it is time to use the beans that have grown in the remaining pods. Autumn soup time.

70.

 

We went by tandem to Sue's 70th birthday do at a wine bar on Bishopthorpe Road. Good to see people, and good wine too.

Stroll 44

 Further up the river the Hull turns from tidal mud to pastoral beauty. The shimmer on the water in this shot is from the light and not from some mercurial pollution.

Stroll 44

 I walked from Hull to Beverley via the river Hull and across the common land. Hull still has a real industrial feel. There might be footpaths named the Wilberforce Trail and such like, but you are left to cross highways with no crossings for pedestrians. It was an interesting walk though, with the river being tidal much of the way.

Tidal mud and industrial engineering past and present.

Evening

 Band practice today. Just the three of us jamming basically. A lot of fun and very relaxed. 

The evening sky on the moor the other day was pretty magical.

Rail works

The last two weekends have seen York Station effectively shut apart from the dreaded Bus Replacement Service. This photo shows why, the track into the station from the south is being completely overhauled, look in the lower left and you can see sparks flying as rail is aligned.

Weekend visitor

Rowan came up for the weekend, always good to see her. We all went to Skosh on Friday evening, then spent most of the time at home. Danielle has damaged a tendon in her ankle, so is off running and walking too much for a month. 

Up on top of the moors, about to start the descent towards Marsden.

 

Stroll 43

 I started in Greenfield in Lancashire, and walked back along the canal and then over the Pennines to Marsden in Yorkshire. It was a great day to be up on the moors.

My path followed the Huddersfield Narrow Canal up through Saddleworth to the Stanedge Tunnel under the Pennines. The railway which superseded the canal strides across it to great effect.

Stroll 42

Once over the bridge the path followed the south bank of the Humber to New Holland (named after the Dutch drainage engineers from the 18th century). This is the view of the Hull waterfront.

Stroll 42 - The Bridge

I took the train to Hessle where the Humber bridge joins the north bank of the river. I walked across the bridge which is a great experience, and one that was being enjoyed by a fair number of people. The bridge was closed to pedestrians and cyclist a few years back because of the suicide risk. This was plain daft, and I am glad it is now fully open again.

Stroll 41

Last picture from Stroll 41. This is the now defunct lifting bridge across the Trent at Keadby. It carries the main line to Scunthorpe, and the main road as well. Magnificent but redundant.

 

Elmet - The Play

 At the weekend we made our first visit for Bradford's years as City of Culture. A play has been made of Elmet, the novel by friend Fiona Mozley, which we went to see with Robert and Julia. A quick lunch in the indoor market, then an intense couple of hours of the play. The Unthanks were  performing the music live, and the whole thing worked well. Not as good as the book, and a film would be amazing, but still a great experience.

This is what a Trent looks like these days, taken from the Keadby bridge.

Stroll 41 Scunthorpe

I walked from Scunthorpe to Crowle. Never been to Scunny before, and found it leafy and pleasant. This lane was just a short way from the centre. The path went right to the Trent river, which I crossed by the impressive and now redundant lifting bridge at Keadby.
 

Stroll 40 Thorne to Crowle

After dramatic highland walking, it was back to the Stroll. It is still mild, and I managed to get a good couple of walks in this week. First was a route that took in Thorne Moors, walking right across it from west to east, then via the Isle of Axholme through Crowle and Ealand to the Stainforth and Keadby canal and Crowle station. Good to be rolling again.

 

Cranes

These cranes were in place, ready to lift a heavy new iron cycle and foot bridge over the east coast mainline. It is all part of the redevelopment of York Central, an area of disused railway land. It is an exciting development, which our sometime lodger Pat is heavily involved with through her job with York City Council.

Holiday in Strathyre 8

 So, we returned home after a good break. I got a couple of shots that I might exhibit. Here is one, taken on the loch, abstract enough to draw people in, I hope.

Holiday in Strathyre 7

Danielle is into (quite) wild swimming. So the wet suit was packed in the car and she got two swims in loch Lubnaig. As you can see Layla was a little non-plussed; she does not swim.

 

Holiday in Strathyre 6

We walked into Callander via the forest ridge, to get a paper on Saturday, then walked back on this old railway line that is now a Sustrans track. There was a great cafe in the park at Callander, so all in all a good day. 

 

Holiday in Strathyre 5

We took our traditional trip to a distillery; this one at Deanston across the river Teith from Doune. The old tall building used to be, a cotton mill until the 1960s when the whisky distillery was established. We got a half bottle of some very nice single malt from muscatel casks. The staff were happy to welcome Layla into the shop (quite a leap of faith on their part, but she did not cause any mayhem), and showed me their stills and casks. The distillery has its own hydro electric plant linked to the river, which provides for all their electric needs, and exports to the grid as well.

 

Holiday in Strathyre 4

I climbed to the top of Ben Ledi. Misty on the top, but a strong wind blew the cloud away from time to time, giving dramatic changes of view which would then be snatched away by the clouds once more. 

Holiday in Strathyre 3

We further explored the forest the next day, the difference being we now had glorious sunshine. Just great to be here.

Holiday in Strathyre 2

We got ourselves sorted out in our cabin, then walked up through the forest. Great to be exploring and path-finding right on our doorstep. Layla located a path for us, she goes ahead, finds the path then just sits there waiting for to see the route she has planned. 
 

Holiday in Strathyre 1

We had booked a forest cabin at Strathyre in the Trossachs on the banks of Loch Lubnaig. When power to the whole area went down during Storm Amy it looked like we might have to miss the first day of our time there. But amazingly all was sorted out and we survived potential range anxiety to arrive on Monday in time for the storm to cease; and I was able to photograph the moon over the loch as I took the dog an evening walk. 

 

A Cycling Life 3

When I went away to school, aged 8, I had a large heavy second hand bike that was hard work. A couple of years later I got a new bike for christmas, which opened a new world up to me. 5 gears! Drop handlebars! I have no memory of this bike race at Sports Day one year, so I think I'll say that it shows me winning the race.

 

A Cycling Life 2

I progressed to a real trike, with my improvised hay-turner on the back (actually an old umbrella stand so legend has it).

 

A Cycling Life 1

 

First trike. Grimsargh, Preston

Naming

 

This pond is currently part of the soon to be closed tip. It will then be part of the new community forest west of York. We call the forest the new forest, and this area will be known as the lake district. The raised land that is built on the tip will be the peak district.

Quiz Time

I got a call from friend Emma, in need of reinforcements for a pub quiz team. Hugh and Velveda from the US, and Imogen from around the corner. I couldn't really hear anything. We came last. But it was fun, and not something I have done often.
 

Stroll 39

Layla enjoying a dip in a lake en route to Sheffield

 

Stroll 39

From Kiveton to Sheffield, via the post industrial landscape of old pits, disused railway lines and heathland. A great route that passed through the Rother valley park woods, that I planted in a 1978 holiday job in the freezing winter.

 

On the Station

Not a great photo, but it was hard not to capture this image. Not a stag night, but actual old soldiers.

A rose arose

"I never thought I would see you photographing a rose, like that" So spoke Danielle when I took this shot, and I know what she means; but it is beautiful that it had to be done. Picked from the garden.
 

Still Life

Low sun casting shadows onto the redwood table. Can't resist.