Leeds Liverpool Canal

This is the Leeds and Liverpool Canal from our walk with Ro & Pete last week. It is  a beautiful piece of engineering from the 18th Century that just seems to blend in with the landscape perfectly.

Dutch River

Looking south from the Navigation across the Dutch River (a straightening of the River Don carried out in 1635 by Dutch engineer Cornelius Vermuyden) towards the wind farms on Goole Moors. There is much beauty here in the flatlands.

Layla

Layla on Hatfield Moors. She is becoming a good companion on my photography/walking trips. Our host in Scotland said of Layla "She's full of nonsense" which is also true.

Dead Straight

I walked along the Aire and Calder Navigation from Goole inland. It is an impressive wide dead-straight canal that reminds me of those in Belgium and the Netherlands. Once we had negotiated a group of old folk walking en masse, Layla and I had it to ourselves.

Family

I last saw my sister Ro and her husband Pete in February, just before a month of puppy-lockdown and 8 months of covid-lockdown. So it seemed about time the four of us met up for a walk. We were lucky: a beautiful day, a great walk on the Leeds-Liverpool Canal and the Pennine Way, and good to catch up with Ro and Pete. Layla was on good(ish) behaviour too.

Canal

I walked on a section of the Selby canal that I had not been on before. This lovely canal bridge with the looming presence of Eggborough power station in the background might make it into the Elmet book.

Cormorants

Seeing Cormorants land and perch on cables, with their webbed feet, is bewildering but not uncommon. This was on the River Aire this week.

Squashed

The squash on the right I planted and grew from seed. The one on the left seeded itself via the compost. En route to becoming squash risotto I think.

Benched 4

Last bench for a while. New York City, two old souls observing new developments 2015. Bit clichéd but I like it.

Benched 3

A bench and table looking across to Cleveland Ohio. They are trying to regenerate the city, but it is hard work, and hard to get right.

Benched 2

Deep in the heart of Elmet. A bit of a surprise, as it is in the middle of nowhere, but welcome none the less.

Milano

 

Rowan was due to go to Milan at the weekend with friends, that did not happen for Covid reasons, so they went for an Italian meal in London instead. Nearly as good I should think.

Benched

 I do like an empty bench shot. This was in the grounds of Kirkstall Abbey, with the River Aire beyond it.

Leeds Liverpool Canal

I drove Rowan to Armley again, in Leeds, to her hairdressers. I got a good walk in down the canal to Kirkstall Abbey. This is the canal, with the reflections and graffiti catching my eye.

When I was a student in Liverpool I decided to head off on a very old bike (my girlfriend's dad's) and ride the canal to Leeds. I had a sleeping bag (slept in a field above Blackburn) which was good preparation, but no repair kit which was pathetic preparation. In the end I had to ring my girlfriend's mum to collect me from Skipton. Good trip though.

Judgement

I quite often get asked to judge photography competitions. I enjoy doing it a lot (probably a bit too much), and yesterday I judged one in Poppleton just west of York. There were some really creative shots and I was happy with the three winners.

Danielle and I walked one day in the Wolds last week. This is Brubberdale, which looked lovely in the cloudy sunshine.

The Layla in the Lake

 Last shot from Scotland for a while. Words not really necessary. 

Squirrels

Day 1: "Oh look, Red Squirrels!"

Day 3: "They're not much different to Grey Squirrels really."

Day 5: "One's trying to eat the cottage"

Ghost Dog

 The forest behind the cottage was pretty amazing; Layla doing her best here to look supernatural.

Killin 5

We drove to Crianlarich Station (the only time we used the car all week) which is one of the best station locations in the land. Took the train to Tyndrum then walked back to Crianlarich on the West Highland Way. It was Layla's first time on a train; as with most dogs she assumed the central corridor of the train was for her personal use, but apart from that it all went smoothly. Tyndrum has two main line stations (one of the line to Oban, one of the Fort William line) and a population of 167.

Killin 4

As the day went on the mist cleared and the sun and the cloud produced plenty of dramatic light. No cars on this track, just walkers, cyclists, deer and sheep.

Killin 3

I set off early on a bike ride that took me along Loch Tay (where this early morning cloud produced some interesting effects) then up over a col to Glen Lyon which I followed right to the end (seeing a Hen Harrier on the way) then up over another col on a track before dropping down to Glen Lochay which I followed back to Killin. It was not a long ride but had 1000metres of climbing and I really enjoyed it.

Killin 2

This is the view from the grounds of the cottage we were in, with the Ben Lawers range range in the background. It was great to be back in the Highlands, there is just so much to explore and discover.

Killin 1

Our first day we had a walk through the forest and into Killin where we got some locally smoked salmon. We walked back via the old railway line that our cottage backed onto.

It was good moody weather, with this felled part of the forest looking a bit like Macbeth's blasted heath to me.

Rowan Cottage

Our first time away from home since January when we went to DC and Pennsylvania. We had a week in a cottage near Killin in the Highlands. The weather was good (one wet day in a week) the location great and the walks and bike ride fantastic. It was also the first time we had taken Layla anywhere but home so I was a little anxious as to how she would get on. I needn't have worried, it all went well.

I had chosen this cottage on the Sustrans bike track that we had ridden with Rowan when she was 9, for obvious reasons, and it was well fit for purpose. We could walk straight out of the cottage, past red squirrels to the forest where tracks and paths spread out for miles.