Spaw Sunday
Opening ceremony
.
The Spa has recently been restored by a joint project by Cragg Vale Local History Group and Calderdale Countryside Volunteers.
Cragg Vale Spa revisited
Below the old stone bridge almost forgotten
Water gurgles quietly from subterranean fault
The surface air scented with sulphurous stink.
Contrasting with earthy woodland and river mix
The nose turns towards the Spa lending it’s name
to nearby cottage row and farm.
Celebrated in past times with ‘Spaw Sunday’
Religious and Political gatherings drew crowds in hundreds
After the confinement of winter, a time of Cleansing
Parents and children dressed for the occasion
‘Taking the Waters’ with a little Spanish to stop the Retch
“Get it down, it’ll do you good”
Black Crow and Gray Heron watch from a distance
Speeding Dipper stitches the torn river with a bubbling silver thread
Brown Tout pushes against the flow avoiding the throng
Graham Ramsden
Spaw Sunday
Opening ceremony
.
The Spa has recently been restored by a joint project by Cragg Vale Local History Group and Calderdale Countryside Volunteers.
Cragg Vale Spa revisited
Below the old stone bridge almost forgotten
Water gurgles quietly from subterranean fault
The surface air scented with sulphurous stink.
Contrasting with earthy woodland and river mix
The nose turns towards the Spa lending it’s name
to nearby cottage row and farm.
Celebrated in past times with ‘Spaw Sunday’
Religious and Political gatherings drew crowds in hundreds
After the confinement of winter, a time of Cleansing
Parents and children dressed for the occasion
‘Taking the Waters’ with a little Spanish to stop the Retch
“Get it down, it’ll do you good”
Black Crow and Gray Heron watch from a distance
Speeding Dipper stitches the torn river with a bubbling silver thread
Brown Tout pushes against the flow avoiding the throng
Graham Ramsden