Sandbeds, West Yorkshire

Fraser Island is a World Heritage Site and the largest sand island in the world. It is a place of full of superlatives, incredible uniqueness and immense diversity.

 

More than 865 species of plants thrive on the island. It is the only place on earth where tall rainforest grows in sand. In Pile Valley, 1,000-year-old rough-barked satinays trees are found. Despite being logged the kauri pines dominate in some areas.

 

Fraser Island has over 100 freshwater lakes as well as the second highest concentration of lakes in Australia. The freshwater lakes on Fraser Island are some of the cleanest lakes in the world.

 

The water in this river at first looks mirky but it's the exact opposite. The water is SO clear that all you can barely see it and what you do in fact see is the sandbed that the river runs over and everything under the surface.

Fraser Island is a World Heritage Site and the largest sand island in the world. It is a place of full of superlatives, incredible uniqueness and immense diversity.

 

More than 865 species of plants thrive on the island. It is the only place on earth where tall rainforest grows in sand. In Pile Valley, 1,000-year-old rough-barked satinays trees are found. Despite being logged the kauri pines dominate in some areas.

 

Fraser Island has over 100 freshwater lakes as well as the second highest concentration of lakes in Australia. The freshwater lakes on Fraser Island are some of the cleanest lakes in the world.

 

The water in this river at first looks mirky but it's the exact opposite. The water is SO clear that all you can barely see it and what you do in fact see is the sandbed that the river runs over and everything under the surface.

A Bibron's Frog from the coastal sandbeds of New South Wales.

Walking on the beach of Nieuwvliet (Netherlands), low tide just revealed those nicely shaped ripples. It's fascinating how water currents can create such nice ripples, with in between every ripple, larger sized sandgrains of a different color. I upped earlier a colored version of this texture. I took this shot a bit closer to the ripples. I thought that a B&W version would be lovely too, with a more enhanced contrast between the ripples.

Two on sandbed.

Extracting a nutritious worm from sandbed. Saw 300-500 of these foraging on a Pacific Northwest beach.

Just went to Dunkirk in France. I heard about a bunker, which is completely covered with mirrors. Here is one of the views I took. It's pretty impressive to see such a bunker. Who's done that, nobody knows. I just like the idea. It shines in the sun from far away, and it attracts lots of people. That why we have all those steps in the sand. I would have preferred a nice rippled sandbed. Maybe after a good storm, I should go back. I tried to make an HDR with the sunset, but bad luck, the sun was hidden behind a bunch of clouds.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/River_Wharfe

  

The River Wharfe is a river in Yorkshire, England. For much of its length it is the county boundary between West Yorkshire and North Yorkshire. The name Wharfe is Celtic and means "twisting, winding".

 

The valley of the River Wharfe is known as Wharfedale. The river source is at Beckermonds, Langstrothdale in the Yorkshire Dales National Park and flows through Kettlewell, Grassington, Bolton Abbey, Addingham, Ilkley, Burley-in-Wharfedale, Otley, Wetherby and Tadcaster. It then flows into the River Ouse near Cawood. The section of the river from its source to around Addingham is known as Upper Wharfedale and has a very different character to the river downstream.

 

The river is approximately 97 km long before it joins the River Ouse. It is a public navigation from the weir at Tadcaster to its junction with the River Ouse near Cawood and tidal from Ulleskelf.

  

Course

  

The river source is the confluence of Oughtershaw Beck and Green Field Beck in Langstrothdale near Beckermonds. It flows east and south east taking the flows from many small streams, whose sources are the shake holes from Yockenthwaite Moor on the north bank and Horse Head Moor on the south bank. After Hubberholme, the river flows south past Buckden and Starbotton and then south east past Kettlewell before flowing south again. Near Conistone are the gentle waterfalls of Scar Lash. Near Grassington, the river turns south east over Linton Falls. South of Appletreewick, the river flows south west for a short distance until it reaches Gill Beck and returns southward. To the north of Bolton Bridge, the river narrows and goes over waterfalls in an area known as The Strid. The river winds south and south east towards Ilkley where it heads east through Otley and Collingham. It briefly flows north to Wetherby before turning south and then south east past Ulleskelf to the confluence with the River Ouse.

  

Water levels

  

Monitoring Station[1]

 

Station Elevation

 

Low water level

 

High water level

 

Record high level

 

Kettlewell 212 m (696 ft) 0.17 m (0.56 ft) 2 m (6.6 ft) 2.54 m (8.3 ft)

Grassington 171 m (561 ft) 0 m (0 ft) 1.5 m (4.9 ft) 2.79 m (9.2 ft)

Ilkley 78 m (256 ft) 0.09 m (0.30 ft) 2.9 m (9.5 ft) 3.88 m (12.7 ft)

Otley 56 m (184 ft) 0.36 m (1.2 ft) 1.5 m (4.9 ft) 2.46 m (8.1 ft)

Pool Bridge 46 m (151 ft) 0.09 m (0.30 ft) 2.9 m (9.5 ft) 3.77 m (12.4 ft)

Arthington 46 m (151 ft) 0.32 m (1.0 ft) 3.3 m (11 ft) 4.14 m (13.6 ft)

Collingham 25 m (82 ft) 0.35 m (1.1 ft) 1.59 m (5.2 ft) 4.7 m (15 ft)

Wetherby 25 m (82 ft) 0.4 m (1.3 ft) 1.8 m (5.9 ft) 3.10 m (10.2 ft)

Tadcaster 11 m (36 ft) 0.18 m (0.59 ft) 2.9 m (9.5 ft) 3.79 m (12.4 ft)

Cock Beck Sluices 6 m (20 ft) 3.44 m (11.3 ft) 7.3 m (24 ft) 9.26 m (30.4 ft)

Fleet Pumping Station 6 m (20 ft) 2 m (6.6 ft) 6.5 m (21 ft) 7.35 m (24.1 ft)

Low and High Water Levels are an average figure.

  

Natural history

  

Fauna

  

There are over 230 species of bird observed along the river valley including Eagle-Owl, Red Grouse, Stonechat, Whinchat, Golden Plover, Pied Flycatcher, Redstart, Wood Warbler, Common Sandpiper, Grey Wagtail, Dipper, Tawny Owl, Sparrowhawk, Greater Spotted Woodpecker, Nuthatch, Treecreeper and, in wetter places, Snipe and Woodcock, Chiffchaff, Willow Warbler, Garden Warbler, and Twite.[2]

 

The Wharfe has populations of Signal Crayfish and the few White-clawed Crayfish remaining are at great risk.[2]

 

There are populations of Rabbit, Red Fox, Grey Squirrel, Otter, Water Voles and deer.[2][3][4]

  

Flora

  

Ferns found here include Wall Rue, Maidenhair Spleenwort, Brittle Bladder-fern, Hart's-tongue and Hard Shield-fern. In Upper Wharfedale the scars and screes support a range of plants including the Alpine Cinquefoil and Hoary Whitlowgrass. Also to be found are Lesser Meadow-rue, Goldenrod, Scabious and Bloody Crane's-bill with, to a lesser extent, Mountain Melick, Limestone Fern, Wood Crane's-bill and Melancholy Thistle, Green Spleenwort, Wall Lettuce and Hairy Stonecrop.[2]

 

Lower down the valley, species including Alpine Cinquefoil, Lily-of-the-valley, Mountain Melick and Herb Paris, blue sesleria, Common Valerian and Wild Angelica. The limestone outcrops have uncommon species including Rock Whitebeam and Solomon's Seal as well as Bird's-eye Primrose, Butterwort, Rockrose, Dropwort and Limestone Bedstraw.

 

The limestone pavements of the area are a habitat for several species usually confined to woodlands, such as Dog's Mercury, Wood Anemone and Ramsons. Rarer species to be found in the grikes include Baneberry and Downy Currant. Ferns in the moist grikes include Rigid Buckler-fern. Also to be found are Alternate-leaved Golden Saxifrage, Reed Canary-grass and Stone Bramble.

 

Some of the inaccessible cliffs are home to ledge dwelling flora including mosses and liverworts, such as Red Leskea, Sharp Rock-bristle and the very rare Zygodon gracilis. The ledges also support Woodrush, Polypody and Water Avens, Purple Saxifrage, Yellow Saxifrage, Hoary Whitlowgrass and Roseroot.

 

Blue Moor-grass can also be found, with Sheep's-fescue and herbs such as Thyme, Salad Burnet and Common Rock-rose. There is Wild Thyme, Common Milkwort, Fairy Flax, Bird's-foot Trefoil, Autumn Gentian, Harebell, Eyebright.

 

Species of tree and shrub include Ash, Downy Birch, Hazel, Hawthorn, Yew and Rowan. In the woods shrubs such as Wild Privet and Spindle can be found. More rare is Dark Red Helleborine.[2][5]

  

Geology

  

Upper Wharfedale is an area from the Lower Carboniferous era and lies north-west of Burnsall. Its main features are the Great Scar Limestone which forms a base to the overlying Yoredale Beds, a 300-metre deep strata of hard limestones, sandstones and shale. These have been slightly tilted, toward the east. To the south-east of the area are the Millstone Grit laid down in the Upper Carboniferous era, and is covered by heather moorland, hard crags and tors.[6][7]

 

Weathering of the Yoredale Beds has produced a stepped profile to the valley sides, consisting of a shelf of limestone, sometimes grassy but often displaying such karst features as limestone pavement, gorges and sinkholes. During the last ice age, the local ice cap at the head of the Dales fed glaciers to produce the classic U-shaped profiles seen today.[8]

 

Where the river valley changes course into Lower Wharfedale, the change of underlying rock can be seen in the darker stone in the field walls. The Millstone Grit outcrops at the Cow and Calf Rocks near Ilkley form a rolling dissected plateau. Due to the impermeable nature of the rock, blanket bogs and mires form, and drier areas have wet and dry heaths and acid grasslands.[9]

 

Coarse sandstones in the area are known as Addingham Edge and Bramhope Grits. The Otley Shell Beds become exposed at Otley Chevin. At Great Dib Wood the Otley Shell Bed is sandwiched between two Namurian sandstones.

 

Glacial lakes once filled Lower Wharfedale and deposited sand and gravel. These were quarried and now form the basis of the Otley Wetland Reserve, and Ben Rhydding and Knotford Nook gravel pits.[10]

  

Waterfalls

  

Linton Fall (Grid Reference: SE001633) are located just south of Grassington and can be accessed from the village down Sedber Lane. There is a footbridge straddling the falls for viewing.

 

The Strid (Grid Reference: SE064565) is a series of waterfalls and rapids associated with a deep underwater channel caused by the dramatic narrowing of the River Wharfe from approximately 30 ft (9 m) wide just to the north of the start of the Strid, to the width of a long stride less than 100 yd (91 m) later.[11] It is especially dangerous as both banks are undercut,[12][13] and it has been the scene of a number of fatalities including those of a honeymoon couple.[14] The Strid walk is very popular and is accessed from the car park at Bolton Abbey.[15]

  

History

  

Wharfe is a Celtic river name meaning the winding river.[16][17]

 

Iron Age fields and hut circles can still be seen in outline on the hills above Grassington and Kettlewell.[7] The Romans built a road through Wharfedale that went over Stake Moss into neighboring Wensleydale. The local tribe of Brigantes were subdued by the Romans in AD 74. The Romans mined lead in the hills on Greenhow Hill overlooking Appletreewick until AD 410.[7] After AD 620 the Celtic settlers were joined by Angles and increased the amount of forest clearing to establish fields for crops and animals. These were overrun by Danes initially before they too settled to farming near Burnsall and Thorpe. Vikings then settled the area in the 10th century, lending their language to some of the names of hamlets and landscape features of Upper Wharfedale, especially near the head of the valley.[7] During Anglo-Saxon times, large estates were established and the River Wharfe and its valley came under the protection of Earl Edwin of Bolton-in-Craven. After the Norman invasion, the lands were given to Robert Romilly.[7]

 

In medieval times low intensity methods were used to produce both crops and livestock but the great monasteries of Fountains, Rievaulx and Bolton Priory had large sheep flocks and sold their wool on the European market. In 1155, Alice de Romilly donated land for the establishment of Bolton Priory and land at Kilnsey to Fountains Abbey. The monasteries helped develop vast sheep farms and the founding of drove roads, which can still be seen and walked today. The success of the monasteries was also responsible for the growth of the market towns of Grassington and Kettlewell.[7]

 

When the monasteries were dissolved in 1539, and wool prices fell, many tenant farmers took to cattle and sheep rearing. However, at the end of the 17th century there was still small-scale arable production. By the early nineteenth century there was a demand for food from the growing industrial towns and farmers and many farms began to produce milk from the lower lands and use the higher fells for sheep.[18]

 

The river has had appearances in films. In 1992, the town of Grassington was used as a filming location for Wuthering Heights.[19] The 2003 film, Calendar Girls, was filmed at several locations in the river valley including Buckden, Burnsall, Kettlewell and Kilnsey.[20]

  

Economy

  

During the 1990s there had been an increase in the number of second home ownership, particularly in the Upper Wharfedale area. This had been partly due to subsidised Council Tax rates for a second property. The 1991 census had shown 13% of homes were classified as second properties, which had risen to 18% by late 1998.[21] The 2001 census showed that this figure had dropped to 15%[22] and further still to just 7% by 2011.[23]

 

The Upper Wharfedale area has been traditionally associated with farming, but there has been a change in the numbers and types of employment. Whilst there were declines in the number of people in this industry, farming accounted directly for 9.16%[24] of employment in 2001 but this had increased to 11.27% by 2011.[25]

 

Lead mining was once the main industry in Wharfedale. From the seventeenth century to the late nineteenth it employed hundreds of men and boys, exploiting the veins in the limestone at Greenhow, Hebden, Grassington, Linton and Conistone, Appletreewick and elsewhere. The heaps of mining waste remain, contaminated with lead, and on which little will grow. The few plants that will are known as 'lead plants' such as spring sandwort and alpine penny-cress.[26][27]

 

Tourism is big part of the rural economy in Wharfedale and there are many short, mid and long distance walks, with clear waymarkers. There are also other outdoor activities such as rock climbing, most notably at Kilnsey Crag, and canoeing. Other activities include cycling, mountain biking, horse riding and caving.[28] The following Long Distance Walks pass near or over the river:[29]

Dales Way (follows the river valley from Beckermonds to Ilkley)

Lady Anne's Way (enters the river valley near Hubberholme and leaves to the west of Bolton Abbey)

Inn Way to the Yorkshire Dales (part of walk from Grassington to Buckden)

The Way of the Roses (part of the cycle route from Appletreewick to Thorpe)

  

Lists

  

All lists are from the source of the river:-[30]

  

Tributaries

  

Deepdale Gill

Hagg Gill

Bowther Gill

Strans Gill

Kirk Gill

Cow Close Gill

Buckden Beck

Step Gill

Cam Gill Beck

Falcon Beard Beck

Hush Gutter

Kettlewell Beck

Black Geld

River Skirfane

How Beck

White Beck

Davy Keld

Dib Beck

Robin Hood's Beck

Captain Beck

Brow Well

Isingdale Beck

Howling Beck

Hebden Beck

Sandbed Beck

Barden Beck

The Old Gutter

Hall Wells Dike

Foul Sike

Fir Beck

Bumby Dike

Gill Beck

Hollin Beck

Posforth Gill

Cowpert Gill

Stead Dike

Pickles Beck

Raven's Gill Beck

Kex Beck

Lathehouse Beck

Wine Beck

West Hall Beck

Dean Beck

Mill Stream

West Beck

Mill Dam Beck

Boot's Beck

River Washburn

Weeton Beck

Stank Beck

Collingham Beck

Hay Dike

Cock Beck

Owl Sike

Pailbank Drain

The Fleet

  

Settlements

  

Beckermonds

Deepdale

Yockenthwaite

Hubberholme

Buckden

Starbotton

Kettlewell

Kilnsey

Conistone

Threshfield

Grassington

Linton

Hebden

Burnsall

Appletreewick

Bolton Abbey

Beamsley

Addingham

Nesfield

Ilkley

Burley in Wharfedale

Otley

Pool

Castley

Netherby

Chapel Hill

Collingham

Linton

Wetherby

Boston Spa

Thorp Arch

Newton Kyme

Tadcaster

Kirkby Wharfe

Ulleskelf

Ozendyke

Ryther

  

Crossings

  

New House Farm footbridge

Deepdale Bridge

Yockenthwaite Bridge

Hubberholme Bridge

Buckden Bridge

Starbotton footbridge

B6160 Kettlewell New Bridge

Conistone Bridge

B6265 Grassington Bridge

Tin Bridge (footbridge), Linton Falls

Linton stepping stones

Suspension Bridge (footbridge), Hebden

Burnsall Bridge

Drebley stepping stones

Barden Bridge

Barden Aqueduct and footbridge

Wooden Bridge (at Cavendish Pavilion)

Friars' Steps (stepping stones)

Waterfall Bridge (footbridge)

Bolton Bridge

A59 Bridge

Suspension Bridge (footbridge), Addingham

Old Bridge, Ilkley (footbridge)

New Bridge, Ilkley (New Brook Street)

Ilkley Susupension Bridge (footbridge)

Denton Bridge

Greenholme stepping stones

B6451 Otley Bridge

Footbridge

A658 Pool Bridge

Railway Bridge (Leeds-Harrogate railway line)

A61 Harewood Bridge

Woodhall Bridge (footbridge)

Linton Bridge, Collingham

Footbridge

A661 Wetherby Bridge

A58 bridge, Wetherby

A1(M) bridge, Wetherby

Thorp Arch Bridge, Boston Spa

Wharfe Bridge (dismantled railway)

Viaduct Walk, Tadcaster (footbridge)

A659 Tadcaster Bridge

A64 bridge (Tadcaster By-pass)

Railway Bridge (Dearne Valley Line)

East Coast Main Line Railway Bridge

 

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/River_Wharfe

  

The River Wharfe is a river in Yorkshire, England. For much of its length it is the county boundary between West Yorkshire and North Yorkshire. The name Wharfe is Celtic and means "twisting, winding".

 

The valley of the River Wharfe is known as Wharfedale. The river source is at Beckermonds, Langstrothdale in the Yorkshire Dales National Park and flows through Kettlewell, Grassington, Bolton Abbey, Addingham, Ilkley, Burley-in-Wharfedale, Otley, Wetherby and Tadcaster. It then flows into the River Ouse near Cawood. The section of the river from its source to around Addingham is known as Upper Wharfedale and has a very different character to the river downstream.

 

The river is approximately 97 km long before it joins the River Ouse. It is a public navigation from the weir at Tadcaster to its junction with the River Ouse near Cawood and tidal from Ulleskelf.

  

Course

  

The river source is the confluence of Oughtershaw Beck and Green Field Beck in Langstrothdale near Beckermonds. It flows east and south east taking the flows from many small streams, whose sources are the shake holes from Yockenthwaite Moor on the north bank and Horse Head Moor on the south bank. After Hubberholme, the river flows south past Buckden and Starbotton and then south east past Kettlewell before flowing south again. Near Conistone are the gentle waterfalls of Scar Lash. Near Grassington, the river turns south east over Linton Falls. South of Appletreewick, the river flows south west for a short distance until it reaches Gill Beck and returns southward. To the north of Bolton Bridge, the river narrows and goes over waterfalls in an area known as The Strid. The river winds south and south east towards Ilkley where it heads east through Otley and Collingham. It briefly flows north to Wetherby before turning south and then south east past Ulleskelf to the confluence with the River Ouse.

  

Water levels

  

Monitoring Station[1]

 

Station Elevation

 

Low water level

 

High water level

 

Record high level

 

Kettlewell 212 m (696 ft) 0.17 m (0.56 ft) 2 m (6.6 ft) 2.54 m (8.3 ft)

Grassington 171 m (561 ft) 0 m (0 ft) 1.5 m (4.9 ft) 2.79 m (9.2 ft)

Ilkley 78 m (256 ft) 0.09 m (0.30 ft) 2.9 m (9.5 ft) 3.88 m (12.7 ft)

Otley 56 m (184 ft) 0.36 m (1.2 ft) 1.5 m (4.9 ft) 2.46 m (8.1 ft)

Pool Bridge 46 m (151 ft) 0.09 m (0.30 ft) 2.9 m (9.5 ft) 3.77 m (12.4 ft)

Arthington 46 m (151 ft) 0.32 m (1.0 ft) 3.3 m (11 ft) 4.14 m (13.6 ft)

Collingham 25 m (82 ft) 0.35 m (1.1 ft) 1.59 m (5.2 ft) 4.7 m (15 ft)

Wetherby 25 m (82 ft) 0.4 m (1.3 ft) 1.8 m (5.9 ft) 3.10 m (10.2 ft)

Tadcaster 11 m (36 ft) 0.18 m (0.59 ft) 2.9 m (9.5 ft) 3.79 m (12.4 ft)

Cock Beck Sluices 6 m (20 ft) 3.44 m (11.3 ft) 7.3 m (24 ft) 9.26 m (30.4 ft)

Fleet Pumping Station 6 m (20 ft) 2 m (6.6 ft) 6.5 m (21 ft) 7.35 m (24.1 ft)

Low and High Water Levels are an average figure.

  

Natural history

  

Fauna

  

There are over 230 species of bird observed along the river valley including Eagle-Owl, Red Grouse, Stonechat, Whinchat, Golden Plover, Pied Flycatcher, Redstart, Wood Warbler, Common Sandpiper, Grey Wagtail, Dipper, Tawny Owl, Sparrowhawk, Greater Spotted Woodpecker, Nuthatch, Treecreeper and, in wetter places, Snipe and Woodcock, Chiffchaff, Willow Warbler, Garden Warbler, and Twite.[2]

 

The Wharfe has populations of Signal Crayfish and the few White-clawed Crayfish remaining are at great risk.[2]

 

There are populations of Rabbit, Red Fox, Grey Squirrel, Otter, Water Voles and deer.[2][3][4]

  

Flora

  

Ferns found here include Wall Rue, Maidenhair Spleenwort, Brittle Bladder-fern, Hart's-tongue and Hard Shield-fern. In Upper Wharfedale the scars and screes support a range of plants including the Alpine Cinquefoil and Hoary Whitlowgrass. Also to be found are Lesser Meadow-rue, Goldenrod, Scabious and Bloody Crane's-bill with, to a lesser extent, Mountain Melick, Limestone Fern, Wood Crane's-bill and Melancholy Thistle, Green Spleenwort, Wall Lettuce and Hairy Stonecrop.[2]

 

Lower down the valley, species including Alpine Cinquefoil, Lily-of-the-valley, Mountain Melick and Herb Paris, blue sesleria, Common Valerian and Wild Angelica. The limestone outcrops have uncommon species including Rock Whitebeam and Solomon's Seal as well as Bird's-eye Primrose, Butterwort, Rockrose, Dropwort and Limestone Bedstraw.

 

The limestone pavements of the area are a habitat for several species usually confined to woodlands, such as Dog's Mercury, Wood Anemone and Ramsons. Rarer species to be found in the grikes include Baneberry and Downy Currant. Ferns in the moist grikes include Rigid Buckler-fern. Also to be found are Alternate-leaved Golden Saxifrage, Reed Canary-grass and Stone Bramble.

 

Some of the inaccessible cliffs are home to ledge dwelling flora including mosses and liverworts, such as Red Leskea, Sharp Rock-bristle and the very rare Zygodon gracilis. The ledges also support Woodrush, Polypody and Water Avens, Purple Saxifrage, Yellow Saxifrage, Hoary Whitlowgrass and Roseroot.

 

Blue Moor-grass can also be found, with Sheep's-fescue and herbs such as Thyme, Salad Burnet and Common Rock-rose. There is Wild Thyme, Common Milkwort, Fairy Flax, Bird's-foot Trefoil, Autumn Gentian, Harebell, Eyebright.

 

Species of tree and shrub include Ash, Downy Birch, Hazel, Hawthorn, Yew and Rowan. In the woods shrubs such as Wild Privet and Spindle can be found. More rare is Dark Red Helleborine.[2][5]

  

Geology

  

Upper Wharfedale is an area from the Lower Carboniferous era and lies north-west of Burnsall. Its main features are the Great Scar Limestone which forms a base to the overlying Yoredale Beds, a 300-metre deep strata of hard limestones, sandstones and shale. These have been slightly tilted, toward the east. To the south-east of the area are the Millstone Grit laid down in the Upper Carboniferous era, and is covered by heather moorland, hard crags and tors.[6][7]

 

Weathering of the Yoredale Beds has produced a stepped profile to the valley sides, consisting of a shelf of limestone, sometimes grassy but often displaying such karst features as limestone pavement, gorges and sinkholes. During the last ice age, the local ice cap at the head of the Dales fed glaciers to produce the classic U-shaped profiles seen today.[8]

 

Where the river valley changes course into Lower Wharfedale, the change of underlying rock can be seen in the darker stone in the field walls. The Millstone Grit outcrops at the Cow and Calf Rocks near Ilkley form a rolling dissected plateau. Due to the impermeable nature of the rock, blanket bogs and mires form, and drier areas have wet and dry heaths and acid grasslands.[9]

 

Coarse sandstones in the area are known as Addingham Edge and Bramhope Grits. The Otley Shell Beds become exposed at Otley Chevin. At Great Dib Wood the Otley Shell Bed is sandwiched between two Namurian sandstones.

 

Glacial lakes once filled Lower Wharfedale and deposited sand and gravel. These were quarried and now form the basis of the Otley Wetland Reserve, and Ben Rhydding and Knotford Nook gravel pits.[10]

  

Waterfalls

  

Linton Fall (Grid Reference: SE001633) are located just south of Grassington and can be accessed from the village down Sedber Lane. There is a footbridge straddling the falls for viewing.

 

The Strid (Grid Reference: SE064565) is a series of waterfalls and rapids associated with a deep underwater channel caused by the dramatic narrowing of the River Wharfe from approximately 30 ft (9 m) wide just to the north of the start of the Strid, to the width of a long stride less than 100 yd (91 m) later.[11] It is especially dangerous as both banks are undercut,[12][13] and it has been the scene of a number of fatalities including those of a honeymoon couple.[14] The Strid walk is very popular and is accessed from the car park at Bolton Abbey.[15]

  

History

  

Wharfe is a Celtic river name meaning the winding river.[16][17]

 

Iron Age fields and hut circles can still be seen in outline on the hills above Grassington and Kettlewell.[7] The Romans built a road through Wharfedale that went over Stake Moss into neighboring Wensleydale. The local tribe of Brigantes were subdued by the Romans in AD 74. The Romans mined lead in the hills on Greenhow Hill overlooking Appletreewick until AD 410.[7] After AD 620 the Celtic settlers were joined by Angles and increased the amount of forest clearing to establish fields for crops and animals. These were overrun by Danes initially before they too settled to farming near Burnsall and Thorpe. Vikings then settled the area in the 10th century, lending their language to some of the names of hamlets and landscape features of Upper Wharfedale, especially near the head of the valley.[7] During Anglo-Saxon times, large estates were established and the River Wharfe and its valley came under the protection of Earl Edwin of Bolton-in-Craven. After the Norman invasion, the lands were given to Robert Romilly.[7]

 

In medieval times low intensity methods were used to produce both crops and livestock but the great monasteries of Fountains, Rievaulx and Bolton Priory had large sheep flocks and sold their wool on the European market. In 1155, Alice de Romilly donated land for the establishment of Bolton Priory and land at Kilnsey to Fountains Abbey. The monasteries helped develop vast sheep farms and the founding of drove roads, which can still be seen and walked today. The success of the monasteries was also responsible for the growth of the market towns of Grassington and Kettlewell.[7]

 

When the monasteries were dissolved in 1539, and wool prices fell, many tenant farmers took to cattle and sheep rearing. However, at the end of the 17th century there was still small-scale arable production. By the early nineteenth century there was a demand for food from the growing industrial towns and farmers and many farms began to produce milk from the lower lands and use the higher fells for sheep.[18]

 

The river has had appearances in films. In 1992, the town of Grassington was used as a filming location for Wuthering Heights.[19] The 2003 film, Calendar Girls, was filmed at several locations in the river valley including Buckden, Burnsall, Kettlewell and Kilnsey.[20]

  

Economy

  

During the 1990s there had been an increase in the number of second home ownership, particularly in the Upper Wharfedale area. This had been partly due to subsidised Council Tax rates for a second property. The 1991 census had shown 13% of homes were classified as second properties, which had risen to 18% by late 1998.[21] The 2001 census showed that this figure had dropped to 15%[22] and further still to just 7% by 2011.[23]

 

The Upper Wharfedale area has been traditionally associated with farming, but there has been a change in the numbers and types of employment. Whilst there were declines in the number of people in this industry, farming accounted directly for 9.16%[24] of employment in 2001 but this had increased to 11.27% by 2011.[25]

 

Lead mining was once the main industry in Wharfedale. From the seventeenth century to the late nineteenth it employed hundreds of men and boys, exploiting the veins in the limestone at Greenhow, Hebden, Grassington, Linton and Conistone, Appletreewick and elsewhere. The heaps of mining waste remain, contaminated with lead, and on which little will grow. The few plants that will are known as 'lead plants' such as spring sandwort and alpine penny-cress.[26][27]

 

Tourism is big part of the rural economy in Wharfedale and there are many short, mid and long distance walks, with clear waymarkers. There are also other outdoor activities such as rock climbing, most notably at Kilnsey Crag, and canoeing. Other activities include cycling, mountain biking, horse riding and caving.[28] The following Long Distance Walks pass near or over the river:[29]

Dales Way (follows the river valley from Beckermonds to Ilkley)

Lady Anne's Way (enters the river valley near Hubberholme and leaves to the west of Bolton Abbey)

Inn Way to the Yorkshire Dales (part of walk from Grassington to Buckden)

The Way of the Roses (part of the cycle route from Appletreewick to Thorpe)

  

Lists

  

All lists are from the source of the river:-[30]

  

Tributaries

  

Deepdale Gill

Hagg Gill

Bowther Gill

Strans Gill

Kirk Gill

Cow Close Gill

Buckden Beck

Step Gill

Cam Gill Beck

Falcon Beard Beck

Hush Gutter

Kettlewell Beck

Black Geld

River Skirfane

How Beck

White Beck

Davy Keld

Dib Beck

Robin Hood's Beck

Captain Beck

Brow Well

Isingdale Beck

Howling Beck

Hebden Beck

Sandbed Beck

Barden Beck

The Old Gutter

Hall Wells Dike

Foul Sike

Fir Beck

Bumby Dike

Gill Beck

Hollin Beck

Posforth Gill

Cowpert Gill

Stead Dike

Pickles Beck

Raven's Gill Beck

Kex Beck

Lathehouse Beck

Wine Beck

West Hall Beck

Dean Beck

Mill Stream

West Beck

Mill Dam Beck

Boot's Beck

River Washburn

Weeton Beck

Stank Beck

Collingham Beck

Hay Dike

Cock Beck

Owl Sike

Pailbank Drain

The Fleet

  

Settlements

  

Beckermonds

Deepdale

Yockenthwaite

Hubberholme

Buckden

Starbotton

Kettlewell

Kilnsey

Conistone

Threshfield

Grassington

Linton

Hebden

Burnsall

Appletreewick

Bolton Abbey

Beamsley

Addingham

Nesfield

Ilkley

Burley in Wharfedale

Otley

Pool

Castley

Netherby

Chapel Hill

Collingham

Linton

Wetherby

Boston Spa

Thorp Arch

Newton Kyme

Tadcaster

Kirkby Wharfe

Ulleskelf

Ozendyke

Ryther

  

Crossings

  

New House Farm footbridge

Deepdale Bridge

Yockenthwaite Bridge

Hubberholme Bridge

Buckden Bridge

Starbotton footbridge

B6160 Kettlewell New Bridge

Conistone Bridge

B6265 Grassington Bridge

Tin Bridge (footbridge), Linton Falls

Linton stepping stones

Suspension Bridge (footbridge), Hebden

Burnsall Bridge

Drebley stepping stones

Barden Bridge

Barden Aqueduct and footbridge

Wooden Bridge (at Cavendish Pavilion)

Friars' Steps (stepping stones)

Waterfall Bridge (footbridge)

Bolton Bridge

A59 Bridge

Suspension Bridge (footbridge), Addingham

Old Bridge, Ilkley (footbridge)

New Bridge, Ilkley (New Brook Street)

Ilkley Susupension Bridge (footbridge)

Denton Bridge

Greenholme stepping stones

B6451 Otley Bridge

Footbridge

A658 Pool Bridge

Railway Bridge (Leeds-Harrogate railway line)

A61 Harewood Bridge

Woodhall Bridge (footbridge)

Linton Bridge, Collingham

Footbridge

A661 Wetherby Bridge

A58 bridge, Wetherby

A1(M) bridge, Wetherby

Thorp Arch Bridge, Boston Spa

Wharfe Bridge (dismantled railway)

Viaduct Walk, Tadcaster (footbridge)

A659 Tadcaster Bridge

A64 bridge (Tadcaster By-pass)

Railway Bridge (Dearne Valley Line)

East Coast Main Line Railway Bridge

 

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/River_Wharfe

  

The River Wharfe is a river in Yorkshire, England. For much of its length it is the county boundary between West Yorkshire and North Yorkshire. The name Wharfe is Celtic and means "twisting, winding".

 

The valley of the River Wharfe is known as Wharfedale. The river source is at Beckermonds, Langstrothdale in the Yorkshire Dales National Park and flows through Kettlewell, Grassington, Bolton Abbey, Addingham, Ilkley, Burley-in-Wharfedale, Otley, Wetherby and Tadcaster. It then flows into the River Ouse near Cawood. The section of the river from its source to around Addingham is known as Upper Wharfedale and has a very different character to the river downstream.

 

The river is approximately 97 km long before it joins the River Ouse. It is a public navigation from the weir at Tadcaster to its junction with the River Ouse near Cawood and tidal from Ulleskelf.

  

Course

  

The river source is the confluence of Oughtershaw Beck and Green Field Beck in Langstrothdale near Beckermonds. It flows east and south east taking the flows from many small streams, whose sources are the shake holes from Yockenthwaite Moor on the north bank and Horse Head Moor on the south bank. After Hubberholme, the river flows south past Buckden and Starbotton and then south east past Kettlewell before flowing south again. Near Conistone are the gentle waterfalls of Scar Lash. Near Grassington, the river turns south east over Linton Falls. South of Appletreewick, the river flows south west for a short distance until it reaches Gill Beck and returns southward. To the north of Bolton Bridge, the river narrows and goes over waterfalls in an area known as The Strid. The river winds south and south east towards Ilkley where it heads east through Otley and Collingham. It briefly flows north to Wetherby before turning south and then south east past Ulleskelf to the confluence with the River Ouse.

  

Water levels

  

Monitoring Station[1]

 

Station Elevation

 

Low water level

 

High water level

 

Record high level

 

Kettlewell 212 m (696 ft) 0.17 m (0.56 ft) 2 m (6.6 ft) 2.54 m (8.3 ft)

Grassington 171 m (561 ft) 0 m (0 ft) 1.5 m (4.9 ft) 2.79 m (9.2 ft)

Ilkley 78 m (256 ft) 0.09 m (0.30 ft) 2.9 m (9.5 ft) 3.88 m (12.7 ft)

Otley 56 m (184 ft) 0.36 m (1.2 ft) 1.5 m (4.9 ft) 2.46 m (8.1 ft)

Pool Bridge 46 m (151 ft) 0.09 m (0.30 ft) 2.9 m (9.5 ft) 3.77 m (12.4 ft)

Arthington 46 m (151 ft) 0.32 m (1.0 ft) 3.3 m (11 ft) 4.14 m (13.6 ft)

Collingham 25 m (82 ft) 0.35 m (1.1 ft) 1.59 m (5.2 ft) 4.7 m (15 ft)

Wetherby 25 m (82 ft) 0.4 m (1.3 ft) 1.8 m (5.9 ft) 3.10 m (10.2 ft)

Tadcaster 11 m (36 ft) 0.18 m (0.59 ft) 2.9 m (9.5 ft) 3.79 m (12.4 ft)

Cock Beck Sluices 6 m (20 ft) 3.44 m (11.3 ft) 7.3 m (24 ft) 9.26 m (30.4 ft)

Fleet Pumping Station 6 m (20 ft) 2 m (6.6 ft) 6.5 m (21 ft) 7.35 m (24.1 ft)

Low and High Water Levels are an average figure.

  

Natural history

  

Fauna

  

There are over 230 species of bird observed along the river valley including Eagle-Owl, Red Grouse, Stonechat, Whinchat, Golden Plover, Pied Flycatcher, Redstart, Wood Warbler, Common Sandpiper, Grey Wagtail, Dipper, Tawny Owl, Sparrowhawk, Greater Spotted Woodpecker, Nuthatch, Treecreeper and, in wetter places, Snipe and Woodcock, Chiffchaff, Willow Warbler, Garden Warbler, and Twite.[2]

 

The Wharfe has populations of Signal Crayfish and the few White-clawed Crayfish remaining are at great risk.[2]

 

There are populations of Rabbit, Red Fox, Grey Squirrel, Otter, Water Voles and deer.[2][3][4]

  

Flora

  

Ferns found here include Wall Rue, Maidenhair Spleenwort, Brittle Bladder-fern, Hart's-tongue and Hard Shield-fern. In Upper Wharfedale the scars and screes support a range of plants including the Alpine Cinquefoil and Hoary Whitlowgrass. Also to be found are Lesser Meadow-rue, Goldenrod, Scabious and Bloody Crane's-bill with, to a lesser extent, Mountain Melick, Limestone Fern, Wood Crane's-bill and Melancholy Thistle, Green Spleenwort, Wall Lettuce and Hairy Stonecrop.[2]

 

Lower down the valley, species including Alpine Cinquefoil, Lily-of-the-valley, Mountain Melick and Herb Paris, blue sesleria, Common Valerian and Wild Angelica. The limestone outcrops have uncommon species including Rock Whitebeam and Solomon's Seal as well as Bird's-eye Primrose, Butterwort, Rockrose, Dropwort and Limestone Bedstraw.

 

The limestone pavements of the area are a habitat for several species usually confined to woodlands, such as Dog's Mercury, Wood Anemone and Ramsons. Rarer species to be found in the grikes include Baneberry and Downy Currant. Ferns in the moist grikes include Rigid Buckler-fern. Also to be found are Alternate-leaved Golden Saxifrage, Reed Canary-grass and Stone Bramble.

 

Some of the inaccessible cliffs are home to ledge dwelling flora including mosses and liverworts, such as Red Leskea, Sharp Rock-bristle and the very rare Zygodon gracilis. The ledges also support Woodrush, Polypody and Water Avens, Purple Saxifrage, Yellow Saxifrage, Hoary Whitlowgrass and Roseroot.

 

Blue Moor-grass can also be found, with Sheep's-fescue and herbs such as Thyme, Salad Burnet and Common Rock-rose. There is Wild Thyme, Common Milkwort, Fairy Flax, Bird's-foot Trefoil, Autumn Gentian, Harebell, Eyebright.

 

Species of tree and shrub include Ash, Downy Birch, Hazel, Hawthorn, Yew and Rowan. In the woods shrubs such as Wild Privet and Spindle can be found. More rare is Dark Red Helleborine.[2][5]

  

Geology

  

Upper Wharfedale is an area from the Lower Carboniferous era and lies north-west of Burnsall. Its main features are the Great Scar Limestone which forms a base to the overlying Yoredale Beds, a 300-metre deep strata of hard limestones, sandstones and shale. These have been slightly tilted, toward the east. To the south-east of the area are the Millstone Grit laid down in the Upper Carboniferous era, and is covered by heather moorland, hard crags and tors.[6][7]

 

Weathering of the Yoredale Beds has produced a stepped profile to the valley sides, consisting of a shelf of limestone, sometimes grassy but often displaying such karst features as limestone pavement, gorges and sinkholes. During the last ice age, the local ice cap at the head of the Dales fed glaciers to produce the classic U-shaped profiles seen today.[8]

 

Where the river valley changes course into Lower Wharfedale, the change of underlying rock can be seen in the darker stone in the field walls. The Millstone Grit outcrops at the Cow and Calf Rocks near Ilkley form a rolling dissected plateau. Due to the impermeable nature of the rock, blanket bogs and mires form, and drier areas have wet and dry heaths and acid grasslands.[9]

 

Coarse sandstones in the area are known as Addingham Edge and Bramhope Grits. The Otley Shell Beds become exposed at Otley Chevin. At Great Dib Wood the Otley Shell Bed is sandwiched between two Namurian sandstones.

 

Glacial lakes once filled Lower Wharfedale and deposited sand and gravel. These were quarried and now form the basis of the Otley Wetland Reserve, and Ben Rhydding and Knotford Nook gravel pits.[10]

  

Waterfalls

  

Linton Fall (Grid Reference: SE001633) are located just south of Grassington and can be accessed from the village down Sedber Lane. There is a footbridge straddling the falls for viewing.

 

The Strid (Grid Reference: SE064565) is a series of waterfalls and rapids associated with a deep underwater channel caused by the dramatic narrowing of the River Wharfe from approximately 30 ft (9 m) wide just to the north of the start of the Strid, to the width of a long stride less than 100 yd (91 m) later.[11] It is especially dangerous as both banks are undercut,[12][13] and it has been the scene of a number of fatalities including those of a honeymoon couple.[14] The Strid walk is very popular and is accessed from the car park at Bolton Abbey.[15]

  

History

  

Wharfe is a Celtic river name meaning the winding river.[16][17]

 

Iron Age fields and hut circles can still be seen in outline on the hills above Grassington and Kettlewell.[7] The Romans built a road through Wharfedale that went over Stake Moss into neighboring Wensleydale. The local tribe of Brigantes were subdued by the Romans in AD 74. The Romans mined lead in the hills on Greenhow Hill overlooking Appletreewick until AD 410.[7] After AD 620 the Celtic settlers were joined by Angles and increased the amount of forest clearing to establish fields for crops and animals. These were overrun by Danes initially before they too settled to farming near Burnsall and Thorpe. Vikings then settled the area in the 10th century, lending their language to some of the names of hamlets and landscape features of Upper Wharfedale, especially near the head of the valley.[7] During Anglo-Saxon times, large estates were established and the River Wharfe and its valley came under the protection of Earl Edwin of Bolton-in-Craven. After the Norman invasion, the lands were given to Robert Romilly.[7]

 

In medieval times low intensity methods were used to produce both crops and livestock but the great monasteries of Fountains, Rievaulx and Bolton Priory had large sheep flocks and sold their wool on the European market. In 1155, Alice de Romilly donated land for the establishment of Bolton Priory and land at Kilnsey to Fountains Abbey. The monasteries helped develop vast sheep farms and the founding of drove roads, which can still be seen and walked today. The success of the monasteries was also responsible for the growth of the market towns of Grassington and Kettlewell.[7]

 

When the monasteries were dissolved in 1539, and wool prices fell, many tenant farmers took to cattle and sheep rearing. However, at the end of the 17th century there was still small-scale arable production. By the early nineteenth century there was a demand for food from the growing industrial towns and farmers and many farms began to produce milk from the lower lands and use the higher fells for sheep.[18]

 

The river has had appearances in films. In 1992, the town of Grassington was used as a filming location for Wuthering Heights.[19] The 2003 film, Calendar Girls, was filmed at several locations in the river valley including Buckden, Burnsall, Kettlewell and Kilnsey.[20]

  

Economy

  

During the 1990s there had been an increase in the number of second home ownership, particularly in the Upper Wharfedale area. This had been partly due to subsidised Council Tax rates for a second property. The 1991 census had shown 13% of homes were classified as second properties, which had risen to 18% by late 1998.[21] The 2001 census showed that this figure had dropped to 15%[22] and further still to just 7% by 2011.[23]

 

The Upper Wharfedale area has been traditionally associated with farming, but there has been a change in the numbers and types of employment. Whilst there were declines in the number of people in this industry, farming accounted directly for 9.16%[24] of employment in 2001 but this had increased to 11.27% by 2011.[25]

 

Lead mining was once the main industry in Wharfedale. From the seventeenth century to the late nineteenth it employed hundreds of men and boys, exploiting the veins in the limestone at Greenhow, Hebden, Grassington, Linton and Conistone, Appletreewick and elsewhere. The heaps of mining waste remain, contaminated with lead, and on which little will grow. The few plants that will are known as 'lead plants' such as spring sandwort and alpine penny-cress.[26][27]

 

Tourism is big part of the rural economy in Wharfedale and there are many short, mid and long distance walks, with clear waymarkers. There are also other outdoor activities such as rock climbing, most notably at Kilnsey Crag, and canoeing. Other activities include cycling, mountain biking, horse riding and caving.[28] The following Long Distance Walks pass near or over the river:[29]

Dales Way (follows the river valley from Beckermonds to Ilkley)

Lady Anne's Way (enters the river valley near Hubberholme and leaves to the west of Bolton Abbey)

Inn Way to the Yorkshire Dales (part of walk from Grassington to Buckden)

The Way of the Roses (part of the cycle route from Appletreewick to Thorpe)

  

Lists

  

All lists are from the source of the river:-[30]

  

Tributaries

  

Deepdale Gill

Hagg Gill

Bowther Gill

Strans Gill

Kirk Gill

Cow Close Gill

Buckden Beck

Step Gill

Cam Gill Beck

Falcon Beard Beck

Hush Gutter

Kettlewell Beck

Black Geld

River Skirfane

How Beck

White Beck

Davy Keld

Dib Beck

Robin Hood's Beck

Captain Beck

Brow Well

Isingdale Beck

Howling Beck

Hebden Beck

Sandbed Beck

Barden Beck

The Old Gutter

Hall Wells Dike

Foul Sike

Fir Beck

Bumby Dike

Gill Beck

Hollin Beck

Posforth Gill

Cowpert Gill

Stead Dike

Pickles Beck

Raven's Gill Beck

Kex Beck

Lathehouse Beck

Wine Beck

West Hall Beck

Dean Beck

Mill Stream

West Beck

Mill Dam Beck

Boot's Beck

River Washburn

Weeton Beck

Stank Beck

Collingham Beck

Hay Dike

Cock Beck

Owl Sike

Pailbank Drain

The Fleet

  

Settlements

  

Beckermonds

Deepdale

Yockenthwaite

Hubberholme

Buckden

Starbotton

Kettlewell

Kilnsey

Conistone

Threshfield

Grassington

Linton

Hebden

Burnsall

Appletreewick

Bolton Abbey

Beamsley

Addingham

Nesfield

Ilkley

Burley in Wharfedale

Otley

Pool

Castley

Netherby

Chapel Hill

Collingham

Linton

Wetherby

Boston Spa

Thorp Arch

Newton Kyme

Tadcaster

Kirkby Wharfe

Ulleskelf

Ozendyke

Ryther

  

Crossings

  

New House Farm footbridge

Deepdale Bridge

Yockenthwaite Bridge

Hubberholme Bridge

Buckden Bridge

Starbotton footbridge

B6160 Kettlewell New Bridge

Conistone Bridge

B6265 Grassington Bridge

Tin Bridge (footbridge), Linton Falls

Linton stepping stones

Suspension Bridge (footbridge), Hebden

Burnsall Bridge

Drebley stepping stones

Barden Bridge

Barden Aqueduct and footbridge

Wooden Bridge (at Cavendish Pavilion)

Friars' Steps (stepping stones)

Waterfall Bridge (footbridge)

Bolton Bridge

A59 Bridge

Suspension Bridge (footbridge), Addingham

Old Bridge, Ilkley (footbridge)

New Bridge, Ilkley (New Brook Street)

Ilkley Susupension Bridge (footbridge)

Denton Bridge

Greenholme stepping stones

B6451 Otley Bridge

Footbridge

A658 Pool Bridge

Railway Bridge (Leeds-Harrogate railway line)

A61 Harewood Bridge

Woodhall Bridge (footbridge)

Linton Bridge, Collingham

Footbridge

A661 Wetherby Bridge

A58 bridge, Wetherby

A1(M) bridge, Wetherby

Thorp Arch Bridge, Boston Spa

Wharfe Bridge (dismantled railway)

Viaduct Walk, Tadcaster (footbridge)

A659 Tadcaster Bridge

A64 bridge (Tadcaster By-pass)

Railway Bridge (Dearne Valley Line)

East Coast Main Line Railway Bridge

 

Queensbury

Sanddorn

the 3 arch albert brig, spans the river teviot, between the sandbed, and the upper haugh. carries the traffic on the A7 through the town, with the town hall, millers knowes. in the background, and the orrock halls on the right, the river slitrig joins the main river behind the bridge, flowing into the plum pool. hawick, scotland.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/River_Wharfe

  

The River Wharfe is a river in Yorkshire, England. For much of its length it is the county boundary between West Yorkshire and North Yorkshire. The name Wharfe is Celtic and means "twisting, winding".

 

The valley of the River Wharfe is known as Wharfedale. The river source is at Beckermonds, Langstrothdale in the Yorkshire Dales National Park and flows through Kettlewell, Grassington, Bolton Abbey, Addingham, Ilkley, Burley-in-Wharfedale, Otley, Wetherby and Tadcaster. It then flows into the River Ouse near Cawood. The section of the river from its source to around Addingham is known as Upper Wharfedale and has a very different character to the river downstream.

 

The river is approximately 97 km long before it joins the River Ouse. It is a public navigation from the weir at Tadcaster to its junction with the River Ouse near Cawood and tidal from Ulleskelf.

  

Course

  

The river source is the confluence of Oughtershaw Beck and Green Field Beck in Langstrothdale near Beckermonds. It flows east and south east taking the flows from many small streams, whose sources are the shake holes from Yockenthwaite Moor on the north bank and Horse Head Moor on the south bank. After Hubberholme, the river flows south past Buckden and Starbotton and then south east past Kettlewell before flowing south again. Near Conistone are the gentle waterfalls of Scar Lash. Near Grassington, the river turns south east over Linton Falls. South of Appletreewick, the river flows south west for a short distance until it reaches Gill Beck and returns southward. To the north of Bolton Bridge, the river narrows and goes over waterfalls in an area known as The Strid. The river winds south and south east towards Ilkley where it heads east through Otley and Collingham. It briefly flows north to Wetherby before turning south and then south east past Ulleskelf to the confluence with the River Ouse.

  

Water levels

  

Monitoring Station[1]

 

Station Elevation

 

Low water level

 

High water level

 

Record high level

 

Kettlewell 212 m (696 ft) 0.17 m (0.56 ft) 2 m (6.6 ft) 2.54 m (8.3 ft)

Grassington 171 m (561 ft) 0 m (0 ft) 1.5 m (4.9 ft) 2.79 m (9.2 ft)

Ilkley 78 m (256 ft) 0.09 m (0.30 ft) 2.9 m (9.5 ft) 3.88 m (12.7 ft)

Otley 56 m (184 ft) 0.36 m (1.2 ft) 1.5 m (4.9 ft) 2.46 m (8.1 ft)

Pool Bridge 46 m (151 ft) 0.09 m (0.30 ft) 2.9 m (9.5 ft) 3.77 m (12.4 ft)

Arthington 46 m (151 ft) 0.32 m (1.0 ft) 3.3 m (11 ft) 4.14 m (13.6 ft)

Collingham 25 m (82 ft) 0.35 m (1.1 ft) 1.59 m (5.2 ft) 4.7 m (15 ft)

Wetherby 25 m (82 ft) 0.4 m (1.3 ft) 1.8 m (5.9 ft) 3.10 m (10.2 ft)

Tadcaster 11 m (36 ft) 0.18 m (0.59 ft) 2.9 m (9.5 ft) 3.79 m (12.4 ft)

Cock Beck Sluices 6 m (20 ft) 3.44 m (11.3 ft) 7.3 m (24 ft) 9.26 m (30.4 ft)

Fleet Pumping Station 6 m (20 ft) 2 m (6.6 ft) 6.5 m (21 ft) 7.35 m (24.1 ft)

Low and High Water Levels are an average figure.

  

Natural history

  

Fauna

  

There are over 230 species of bird observed along the river valley including Eagle-Owl, Red Grouse, Stonechat, Whinchat, Golden Plover, Pied Flycatcher, Redstart, Wood Warbler, Common Sandpiper, Grey Wagtail, Dipper, Tawny Owl, Sparrowhawk, Greater Spotted Woodpecker, Nuthatch, Treecreeper and, in wetter places, Snipe and Woodcock, Chiffchaff, Willow Warbler, Garden Warbler, and Twite.[2]

 

The Wharfe has populations of Signal Crayfish and the few White-clawed Crayfish remaining are at great risk.[2]

 

There are populations of Rabbit, Red Fox, Grey Squirrel, Otter, Water Voles and deer.[2][3][4]

  

Flora

  

Ferns found here include Wall Rue, Maidenhair Spleenwort, Brittle Bladder-fern, Hart's-tongue and Hard Shield-fern. In Upper Wharfedale the scars and screes support a range of plants including the Alpine Cinquefoil and Hoary Whitlowgrass. Also to be found are Lesser Meadow-rue, Goldenrod, Scabious and Bloody Crane's-bill with, to a lesser extent, Mountain Melick, Limestone Fern, Wood Crane's-bill and Melancholy Thistle, Green Spleenwort, Wall Lettuce and Hairy Stonecrop.[2]

 

Lower down the valley, species including Alpine Cinquefoil, Lily-of-the-valley, Mountain Melick and Herb Paris, blue sesleria, Common Valerian and Wild Angelica. The limestone outcrops have uncommon species including Rock Whitebeam and Solomon's Seal as well as Bird's-eye Primrose, Butterwort, Rockrose, Dropwort and Limestone Bedstraw.

 

The limestone pavements of the area are a habitat for several species usually confined to woodlands, such as Dog's Mercury, Wood Anemone and Ramsons. Rarer species to be found in the grikes include Baneberry and Downy Currant. Ferns in the moist grikes include Rigid Buckler-fern. Also to be found are Alternate-leaved Golden Saxifrage, Reed Canary-grass and Stone Bramble.

 

Some of the inaccessible cliffs are home to ledge dwelling flora including mosses and liverworts, such as Red Leskea, Sharp Rock-bristle and the very rare Zygodon gracilis. The ledges also support Woodrush, Polypody and Water Avens, Purple Saxifrage, Yellow Saxifrage, Hoary Whitlowgrass and Roseroot.

 

Blue Moor-grass can also be found, with Sheep's-fescue and herbs such as Thyme, Salad Burnet and Common Rock-rose. There is Wild Thyme, Common Milkwort, Fairy Flax, Bird's-foot Trefoil, Autumn Gentian, Harebell, Eyebright.

 

Species of tree and shrub include Ash, Downy Birch, Hazel, Hawthorn, Yew and Rowan. In the woods shrubs such as Wild Privet and Spindle can be found. More rare is Dark Red Helleborine.[2][5]

  

Geology

  

Upper Wharfedale is an area from the Lower Carboniferous era and lies north-west of Burnsall. Its main features are the Great Scar Limestone which forms a base to the overlying Yoredale Beds, a 300-metre deep strata of hard limestones, sandstones and shale. These have been slightly tilted, toward the east. To the south-east of the area are the Millstone Grit laid down in the Upper Carboniferous era, and is covered by heather moorland, hard crags and tors.[6][7]

 

Weathering of the Yoredale Beds has produced a stepped profile to the valley sides, consisting of a shelf of limestone, sometimes grassy but often displaying such karst features as limestone pavement, gorges and sinkholes. During the last ice age, the local ice cap at the head of the Dales fed glaciers to produce the classic U-shaped profiles seen today.[8]

 

Where the river valley changes course into Lower Wharfedale, the change of underlying rock can be seen in the darker stone in the field walls. The Millstone Grit outcrops at the Cow and Calf Rocks near Ilkley form a rolling dissected plateau. Due to the impermeable nature of the rock, blanket bogs and mires form, and drier areas have wet and dry heaths and acid grasslands.[9]

 

Coarse sandstones in the area are known as Addingham Edge and Bramhope Grits. The Otley Shell Beds become exposed at Otley Chevin. At Great Dib Wood the Otley Shell Bed is sandwiched between two Namurian sandstones.

 

Glacial lakes once filled Lower Wharfedale and deposited sand and gravel. These were quarried and now form the basis of the Otley Wetland Reserve, and Ben Rhydding and Knotford Nook gravel pits.[10]

  

Waterfalls

  

Linton Fall (Grid Reference: SE001633) are located just south of Grassington and can be accessed from the village down Sedber Lane. There is a footbridge straddling the falls for viewing.

 

The Strid (Grid Reference: SE064565) is a series of waterfalls and rapids associated with a deep underwater channel caused by the dramatic narrowing of the River Wharfe from approximately 30 ft (9 m) wide just to the north of the start of the Strid, to the width of a long stride less than 100 yd (91 m) later.[11] It is especially dangerous as both banks are undercut,[12][13] and it has been the scene of a number of fatalities including those of a honeymoon couple.[14] The Strid walk is very popular and is accessed from the car park at Bolton Abbey.[15]

  

History

  

Wharfe is a Celtic river name meaning the winding river.[16][17]

 

Iron Age fields and hut circles can still be seen in outline on the hills above Grassington and Kettlewell.[7] The Romans built a road through Wharfedale that went over Stake Moss into neighboring Wensleydale. The local tribe of Brigantes were subdued by the Romans in AD 74. The Romans mined lead in the hills on Greenhow Hill overlooking Appletreewick until AD 410.[7] After AD 620 the Celtic settlers were joined by Angles and increased the amount of forest clearing to establish fields for crops and animals. These were overrun by Danes initially before they too settled to farming near Burnsall and Thorpe. Vikings then settled the area in the 10th century, lending their language to some of the names of hamlets and landscape features of Upper Wharfedale, especially near the head of the valley.[7] During Anglo-Saxon times, large estates were established and the River Wharfe and its valley came under the protection of Earl Edwin of Bolton-in-Craven. After the Norman invasion, the lands were given to Robert Romilly.[7]

 

In medieval times low intensity methods were used to produce both crops and livestock but the great monasteries of Fountains, Rievaulx and Bolton Priory had large sheep flocks and sold their wool on the European market. In 1155, Alice de Romilly donated land for the establishment of Bolton Priory and land at Kilnsey to Fountains Abbey. The monasteries helped develop vast sheep farms and the founding of drove roads, which can still be seen and walked today. The success of the monasteries was also responsible for the growth of the market towns of Grassington and Kettlewell.[7]

 

When the monasteries were dissolved in 1539, and wool prices fell, many tenant farmers took to cattle and sheep rearing. However, at the end of the 17th century there was still small-scale arable production. By the early nineteenth century there was a demand for food from the growing industrial towns and farmers and many farms began to produce milk from the lower lands and use the higher fells for sheep.[18]

 

The river has had appearances in films. In 1992, the town of Grassington was used as a filming location for Wuthering Heights.[19] The 2003 film, Calendar Girls, was filmed at several locations in the river valley including Buckden, Burnsall, Kettlewell and Kilnsey.[20]

  

Economy

  

During the 1990s there had been an increase in the number of second home ownership, particularly in the Upper Wharfedale area. This had been partly due to subsidised Council Tax rates for a second property. The 1991 census had shown 13% of homes were classified as second properties, which had risen to 18% by late 1998.[21] The 2001 census showed that this figure had dropped to 15%[22] and further still to just 7% by 2011.[23]

 

The Upper Wharfedale area has been traditionally associated with farming, but there has been a change in the numbers and types of employment. Whilst there were declines in the number of people in this industry, farming accounted directly for 9.16%[24] of employment in 2001 but this had increased to 11.27% by 2011.[25]

 

Lead mining was once the main industry in Wharfedale. From the seventeenth century to the late nineteenth it employed hundreds of men and boys, exploiting the veins in the limestone at Greenhow, Hebden, Grassington, Linton and Conistone, Appletreewick and elsewhere. The heaps of mining waste remain, contaminated with lead, and on which little will grow. The few plants that will are known as 'lead plants' such as spring sandwort and alpine penny-cress.[26][27]

 

Tourism is big part of the rural economy in Wharfedale and there are many short, mid and long distance walks, with clear waymarkers. There are also other outdoor activities such as rock climbing, most notably at Kilnsey Crag, and canoeing. Other activities include cycling, mountain biking, horse riding and caving.[28] The following Long Distance Walks pass near or over the river:[29]

Dales Way (follows the river valley from Beckermonds to Ilkley)

Lady Anne's Way (enters the river valley near Hubberholme and leaves to the west of Bolton Abbey)

Inn Way to the Yorkshire Dales (part of walk from Grassington to Buckden)

The Way of the Roses (part of the cycle route from Appletreewick to Thorpe)

  

Lists

  

All lists are from the source of the river:-[30]

  

Tributaries

  

Deepdale Gill

Hagg Gill

Bowther Gill

Strans Gill

Kirk Gill

Cow Close Gill

Buckden Beck

Step Gill

Cam Gill Beck

Falcon Beard Beck

Hush Gutter

Kettlewell Beck

Black Geld

River Skirfane

How Beck

White Beck

Davy Keld

Dib Beck

Robin Hood's Beck

Captain Beck

Brow Well

Isingdale Beck

Howling Beck

Hebden Beck

Sandbed Beck

Barden Beck

The Old Gutter

Hall Wells Dike

Foul Sike

Fir Beck

Bumby Dike

Gill Beck

Hollin Beck

Posforth Gill

Cowpert Gill

Stead Dike

Pickles Beck

Raven's Gill Beck

Kex Beck

Lathehouse Beck

Wine Beck

West Hall Beck

Dean Beck

Mill Stream

West Beck

Mill Dam Beck

Boot's Beck

River Washburn

Weeton Beck

Stank Beck

Collingham Beck

Hay Dike

Cock Beck

Owl Sike

Pailbank Drain

The Fleet

  

Settlements

  

Beckermonds

Deepdale

Yockenthwaite

Hubberholme

Buckden

Starbotton

Kettlewell

Kilnsey

Conistone

Threshfield

Grassington

Linton

Hebden

Burnsall

Appletreewick

Bolton Abbey

Beamsley

Addingham

Nesfield

Ilkley

Burley in Wharfedale

Otley

Pool

Castley

Netherby

Chapel Hill

Collingham

Linton

Wetherby

Boston Spa

Thorp Arch

Newton Kyme

Tadcaster

Kirkby Wharfe

Ulleskelf

Ozendyke

Ryther

  

Crossings

  

New House Farm footbridge

Deepdale Bridge

Yockenthwaite Bridge

Hubberholme Bridge

Buckden Bridge

Starbotton footbridge

B6160 Kettlewell New Bridge

Conistone Bridge

B6265 Grassington Bridge

Tin Bridge (footbridge), Linton Falls

Linton stepping stones

Suspension Bridge (footbridge), Hebden

Burnsall Bridge

Drebley stepping stones

Barden Bridge

Barden Aqueduct and footbridge

Wooden Bridge (at Cavendish Pavilion)

Friars' Steps (stepping stones)

Waterfall Bridge (footbridge)

Bolton Bridge

A59 Bridge

Suspension Bridge (footbridge), Addingham

Old Bridge, Ilkley (footbridge)

New Bridge, Ilkley (New Brook Street)

Ilkley Susupension Bridge (footbridge)

Denton Bridge

Greenholme stepping stones

B6451 Otley Bridge

Footbridge

A658 Pool Bridge

Railway Bridge (Leeds-Harrogate railway line)

A61 Harewood Bridge

Woodhall Bridge (footbridge)

Linton Bridge, Collingham

Footbridge

A661 Wetherby Bridge

A58 bridge, Wetherby

A1(M) bridge, Wetherby

Thorp Arch Bridge, Boston Spa

Wharfe Bridge (dismantled railway)

Viaduct Walk, Tadcaster (footbridge)

A659 Tadcaster Bridge

A64 bridge (Tadcaster By-pass)

Railway Bridge (Dearne Valley Line)

East Coast Main Line Railway Bridge

 

At Nieuwsluis I tried to catch the golden hour, it's more of a pink hour I would say. Those ripples create a nice pattern on the freshly untouched sandbed.

the plum pool,at the meetings of the river slitrig, and the river teviot, good salmon sea trout river. with the albert bridge-built in1865, also known as the sandbed brig, burns club brig, and the thrie airch brig. building on the right hawick burns club, building on left the bridge house, building behind brig, the orrock halls, trees mostly lime, ash, sycamore, and willow. hawick,also known as the grey auld toon. scottish borders, scotland.

the albert bridge. spans the river Teviot, between the sandbed, and the burns club. Hawick, roxburgshire, Scotland.

Halifax Joint Committee Ltd (HJC) was an independent bus operator based in Halifax. The company had had been started by up enthusiast and owner Tony Blackman in the mid 1990s. Tony Blackman originally ran a heritage bus service along the Calder Valley to Hebden Bridge using a former Halifax CT AEC Regent III motorbus.

 

Blackman later broke into the commercial bus services market offering stage carriage services in and around Halifax, employing four ex London Routemaster buses. The company was particularly noteworthy because they painted their vehicles into the colours of the former Calderdale/Halifax Corporation Transport.

 

The company's expansion into town services and beyond, saw HJC come into conflict with area's main bus provider Yorkshire Rider. As completion grew between the two rivals, HJC started to standardise on secondhand Metrobus purchases. Several ex London Transport examples were bought and operated, along with a few examples from other operators.

 

GYE408W (M408), was a former London Transport Metrobus and had been pressed into service by HJC still wearing it London colours. The bus was later painted into HJC colours. The photograph was taken on Sandbeds Road in Halifax on the 4th January 2001.

 

From 2010, HJC began to reduce its presence in the area, ceasing to operate some of its commercial stage carriage services. The company continued to operate on local contract services and offer private hire of classic buses, until 2014, when it finally went out of business.

 

On a happier note, some of its former service buses did find further use, with at least two of the Metrobuses going into preservation.

 

A re scan of an earlier posting.

   

It's been 10 years that the Piping Plovers have returned to nest on the shores of Georgian Bay in Wasaga Beach, Ontario. In celebration of this milestone anniversary, I thought I would post a few images of this sweet shorebird this week.

 

This year has not been as successful as years past in Wasaga, however hatching and fledging any chicks would be considered successful for this Endangered bird. Sauble Beach has had more luck this year with 5 nests (fingers crossed that all chicks fledge). Two families have nested in the middle of their volleyball courts. I've heard that their residents are much more tolerant than many of the people of Wasaga.

 

At the moment we have a total of 4 chicks. Three with one family, and one with another. Here's hoping they survive to return and start families of their own. Please remember to share the beach. Thanks for reading.

 

Copyright Barb D'Arpino

 

Canon 1DX, Canon 500, Manual, F9, 1/1600, 700mm (1.4), ISO 500

Sandbed Gill in Dodd Wood just on the western slopes of Skiddaw in the northern Lake District.

 

Roki was in need of a walk and we happened to be at the Dodd Wood carpark so decided to try the shortest of the routes on offer - a couple of miles is more than enough for the pup as yet, but it was a really nice little route with some great views too!

the drumlanrig brig/bridge, built in 1776-1777, and widened in 1900. bridges the river slitrig, which was one of the rivers that used to feed the underground mill lades, that supplied power to the mills, it joins the river teviot a few yards downstream at the plum pool. also known as the douglas brig ,and the towerdykeside brig, leads from the high street to the sandbed and the bottom of the howgate. building on the extreme right with green fence is the office bar, which used to be called the douglas arms-the large building on the 2nd right was an old bank, then clintys bar, and now a wedding shop, building behind used to be the old tower mill, and building on left a cafe - now a hairdressers, off license shop, and houses. behind this bridge is another bridge of such - that it is a wide tunnel bridge with the tower mill and other buildings built on top of it which 200yrs ago it would be known as clinty's brig, which is now long gone but still steeped in hawicks history. hawick, (also known as the grey auld toon) scottish borders, scotland.

The Rochdale Canal in between Hebden Bridge and Todmorden, in Calderdale, West Yorkshire.

 

The Rochdale is a broad canal because its locks are wide enough to allow vessels of 14 feet width. The canal runs for 32 miles (51 km) across the Pennines from the Bridgewater Canal at Castlefield Basin in Manchester to join the Calder and Hebble Navigation at Sowerby Bridge in West Yorkshire. As built, the canal had 92 locks. Whilst the traditional lock numbering has been retained on all restored locks, and on the relocated locks, the canal now has 91. Locks 3 and 4 have been replaced with a single deep lock, Tuel Lane Lock, which is numbered 3/4.

 

The Rochdale Canal was conceived in 1776, when a group of 48 men from Rochdale raised £237 and commissioned James Brindley to conduct a survey of possible routes between Sowerby Bridge and Manchester. Brindley proposed a route similar to the one built, and another more expensive route via Bury. Further progress was not made until 1791, when John Rennie was asked to make a new survey in June, and two months later to make surveys for branches to Rochdale, Oldham and to a limeworks near Todmorden. Rennie at the time had no experience of building canals.

 

The promoters, unsure as to whether to build a wide or a narrow canal, postponed the decision until an Act of Parliament had been obtained. The first attempt to obtain an act was made in 1792, but was opposed by mill owners, concerned about water supply. Rennie proposed using steam pumping engines, three in Yorkshire, eight in Lancashire, and one on the Burnley Branch, but the mill owners argued that 59 mills would be affected by the scheme, resulting in unemployment, and the bill was defeated. In September 1792, William Crosley and John Longbotham surveyed the area in an attempt to find locations for reservoirs which would not affect water supplies to the mills. A second bill was presented to Parliament, for a canal which would have a 3,000-yard (2,700 m) tunnel and 11 reservoirs. Again the bill was defeated, this time by one vote. The promoters, in an attempt to understand the mill owners' position, asked William Jessop to survey the parts of the proposed canal that were causing most concern. Jessop gave evidence to the Parliamentary committee, and on 4 April 1794 an act was obtained which created the Rochdale Canal Company and authorised construction.

 

Rennie's estimated cost in the second bill was £291,000, and the company was empowered to raise the money by issuing shares, with powers to raise a further £100,000 if required. The estimate was for a narrow canal, whereas the act authorised a broad canal, and so the capital was never going to be adequate. The summit tunnel was abandoned in favour of 14 additional locks saving £20,000. Jessop proposed constructing each lock with a drop of 10 feet (3.0 m), resulting in efficient use of water and the need to manufacture only one size of lock gate.

 

The canal opened in stages as sections were completed, with the Rochdale Branch the first in 1798 and further sections in 1799. The bottom nine locks opened in 1800 and boats using the Ashton Canal could reach Manchester. Officially, the canal opened in 1804, but construction work continued for more three years. A 1.5-mile (2.4 km) branch from Heywood to Castleton opened in 1834.

 

Apart from a short profitable section in Manchester linking the Bridgewater and Ashton Canals, most of the length was closed in 1952 when an act of parliament was obtained to ban public navigation. The last complete journey had taken place in 1937, and by the mid 1960s the remainder was almost unusable. Construction of the M62 motorway in the late 1960s took no account of the canal, cutting it in two.

 

When an Act of Parliament was sought in 1965, to authorise the abandonment of the canal, the Inland Waterways Association petitioned against it, and when it was finally passed, it contained a clause that ensured the owners would maintain it until the adjacent Ashton Canal was abandoned. Discussion of the relative merits of restoring the canal or the Huddersfield Narrow Canal in 1973 led the formation of societies to promote both schemes in 1974. The Rochdale Canal Society wanted to see the canal fully re-opened, as part of a proposed Pennine Park

 

The Rochdale Canal Society worked hard both to protect the line of the canal and to begin the process of refurbishing it. A new organisational structure was created in 1984, with the formation of the Rochdale Canal Trust Ltd, who leased the canal from the owning company. The MSC-funded restoration was approaching Sowerby Bridge, where planners were proposing a tunnel and deep lock to negotiate a difficult road junction at Tuel Lane, so that a connection could be made with the Calder and Hebble Navigation. The entire eastern section from Sowerby Bridge to the summit at Longlees was open by 1990, although it remained isolated from the canal network.

 

In 1997, the Rochdale Canal Trust was restructured, in response to announcements that there might be large grants available as part of the millennium celebrations. The canal was still at this point owned by a private company, and the Millennium Commission would not make grants to a scheme which was for private profit, rather than public benefit. The restructuring would allow the Trust to take over responsibility for the canal from the Rochdale Canal Company. However, the plan was rejected by the Commission, and in order to access the grant of £11.3 million, the Waterways Trust took over ownership of the canal. As restoration proceeded, boats could travel further and further west, and the restoration of the sections through Failsworth and Ancoats were a significant part of the re-development of the north Manchester districts. The restored sections joined up with the section in Manchester below the Ashton Canal junction, which had never been closed, and on 1 July 2002 the canal was open for navigation along its entire length.

 

 

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/River_Wharfe

  

The River Wharfe is a river in Yorkshire, England. For much of its length it is the county boundary between West Yorkshire and North Yorkshire. The name Wharfe is Celtic and means "twisting, winding".

 

The valley of the River Wharfe is known as Wharfedale. The river source is at Beckermonds, Langstrothdale in the Yorkshire Dales National Park and flows through Kettlewell, Grassington, Bolton Abbey, Addingham, Ilkley, Burley-in-Wharfedale, Otley, Wetherby and Tadcaster. It then flows into the River Ouse near Cawood. The section of the river from its source to around Addingham is known as Upper Wharfedale and has a very different character to the river downstream.

 

The river is approximately 97 km long before it joins the River Ouse. It is a public navigation from the weir at Tadcaster to its junction with the River Ouse near Cawood and tidal from Ulleskelf.

  

Course

  

The river source is the confluence of Oughtershaw Beck and Green Field Beck in Langstrothdale near Beckermonds. It flows east and south east taking the flows from many small streams, whose sources are the shake holes from Yockenthwaite Moor on the north bank and Horse Head Moor on the south bank. After Hubberholme, the river flows south past Buckden and Starbotton and then south east past Kettlewell before flowing south again. Near Conistone are the gentle waterfalls of Scar Lash. Near Grassington, the river turns south east over Linton Falls. South of Appletreewick, the river flows south west for a short distance until it reaches Gill Beck and returns southward. To the north of Bolton Bridge, the river narrows and goes over waterfalls in an area known as The Strid. The river winds south and south east towards Ilkley where it heads east through Otley and Collingham. It briefly flows north to Wetherby before turning south and then south east past Ulleskelf to the confluence with the River Ouse.

  

Water levels

  

Monitoring Station[1]

 

Station Elevation

 

Low water level

 

High water level

 

Record high level

 

Kettlewell 212 m (696 ft) 0.17 m (0.56 ft) 2 m (6.6 ft) 2.54 m (8.3 ft)

Grassington 171 m (561 ft) 0 m (0 ft) 1.5 m (4.9 ft) 2.79 m (9.2 ft)

Ilkley 78 m (256 ft) 0.09 m (0.30 ft) 2.9 m (9.5 ft) 3.88 m (12.7 ft)

Otley 56 m (184 ft) 0.36 m (1.2 ft) 1.5 m (4.9 ft) 2.46 m (8.1 ft)

Pool Bridge 46 m (151 ft) 0.09 m (0.30 ft) 2.9 m (9.5 ft) 3.77 m (12.4 ft)

Arthington 46 m (151 ft) 0.32 m (1.0 ft) 3.3 m (11 ft) 4.14 m (13.6 ft)

Collingham 25 m (82 ft) 0.35 m (1.1 ft) 1.59 m (5.2 ft) 4.7 m (15 ft)

Wetherby 25 m (82 ft) 0.4 m (1.3 ft) 1.8 m (5.9 ft) 3.10 m (10.2 ft)

Tadcaster 11 m (36 ft) 0.18 m (0.59 ft) 2.9 m (9.5 ft) 3.79 m (12.4 ft)

Cock Beck Sluices 6 m (20 ft) 3.44 m (11.3 ft) 7.3 m (24 ft) 9.26 m (30.4 ft)

Fleet Pumping Station 6 m (20 ft) 2 m (6.6 ft) 6.5 m (21 ft) 7.35 m (24.1 ft)

Low and High Water Levels are an average figure.

  

Natural history

  

Fauna

  

There are over 230 species of bird observed along the river valley including Eagle-Owl, Red Grouse, Stonechat, Whinchat, Golden Plover, Pied Flycatcher, Redstart, Wood Warbler, Common Sandpiper, Grey Wagtail, Dipper, Tawny Owl, Sparrowhawk, Greater Spotted Woodpecker, Nuthatch, Treecreeper and, in wetter places, Snipe and Woodcock, Chiffchaff, Willow Warbler, Garden Warbler, and Twite.[2]

 

The Wharfe has populations of Signal Crayfish and the few White-clawed Crayfish remaining are at great risk.[2]

 

There are populations of Rabbit, Red Fox, Grey Squirrel, Otter, Water Voles and deer.[2][3][4]

  

Flora

  

Ferns found here include Wall Rue, Maidenhair Spleenwort, Brittle Bladder-fern, Hart's-tongue and Hard Shield-fern. In Upper Wharfedale the scars and screes support a range of plants including the Alpine Cinquefoil and Hoary Whitlowgrass. Also to be found are Lesser Meadow-rue, Goldenrod, Scabious and Bloody Crane's-bill with, to a lesser extent, Mountain Melick, Limestone Fern, Wood Crane's-bill and Melancholy Thistle, Green Spleenwort, Wall Lettuce and Hairy Stonecrop.[2]

 

Lower down the valley, species including Alpine Cinquefoil, Lily-of-the-valley, Mountain Melick and Herb Paris, blue sesleria, Common Valerian and Wild Angelica. The limestone outcrops have uncommon species including Rock Whitebeam and Solomon's Seal as well as Bird's-eye Primrose, Butterwort, Rockrose, Dropwort and Limestone Bedstraw.

 

The limestone pavements of the area are a habitat for several species usually confined to woodlands, such as Dog's Mercury, Wood Anemone and Ramsons. Rarer species to be found in the grikes include Baneberry and Downy Currant. Ferns in the moist grikes include Rigid Buckler-fern. Also to be found are Alternate-leaved Golden Saxifrage, Reed Canary-grass and Stone Bramble.

 

Some of the inaccessible cliffs are home to ledge dwelling flora including mosses and liverworts, such as Red Leskea, Sharp Rock-bristle and the very rare Zygodon gracilis. The ledges also support Woodrush, Polypody and Water Avens, Purple Saxifrage, Yellow Saxifrage, Hoary Whitlowgrass and Roseroot.

 

Blue Moor-grass can also be found, with Sheep's-fescue and herbs such as Thyme, Salad Burnet and Common Rock-rose. There is Wild Thyme, Common Milkwort, Fairy Flax, Bird's-foot Trefoil, Autumn Gentian, Harebell, Eyebright.

 

Species of tree and shrub include Ash, Downy Birch, Hazel, Hawthorn, Yew and Rowan. In the woods shrubs such as Wild Privet and Spindle can be found. More rare is Dark Red Helleborine.[2][5]

  

Geology

  

Upper Wharfedale is an area from the Lower Carboniferous era and lies north-west of Burnsall. Its main features are the Great Scar Limestone which forms a base to the overlying Yoredale Beds, a 300-metre deep strata of hard limestones, sandstones and shale. These have been slightly tilted, toward the east. To the south-east of the area are the Millstone Grit laid down in the Upper Carboniferous era, and is covered by heather moorland, hard crags and tors.[6][7]

 

Weathering of the Yoredale Beds has produced a stepped profile to the valley sides, consisting of a shelf of limestone, sometimes grassy but often displaying such karst features as limestone pavement, gorges and sinkholes. During the last ice age, the local ice cap at the head of the Dales fed glaciers to produce the classic U-shaped profiles seen today.[8]

 

Where the river valley changes course into Lower Wharfedale, the change of underlying rock can be seen in the darker stone in the field walls. The Millstone Grit outcrops at the Cow and Calf Rocks near Ilkley form a rolling dissected plateau. Due to the impermeable nature of the rock, blanket bogs and mires form, and drier areas have wet and dry heaths and acid grasslands.[9]

 

Coarse sandstones in the area are known as Addingham Edge and Bramhope Grits. The Otley Shell Beds become exposed at Otley Chevin. At Great Dib Wood the Otley Shell Bed is sandwiched between two Namurian sandstones.

 

Glacial lakes once filled Lower Wharfedale and deposited sand and gravel. These were quarried and now form the basis of the Otley Wetland Reserve, and Ben Rhydding and Knotford Nook gravel pits.[10]

  

Waterfalls

  

Linton Fall (Grid Reference: SE001633) are located just south of Grassington and can be accessed from the village down Sedber Lane. There is a footbridge straddling the falls for viewing.

 

The Strid (Grid Reference: SE064565) is a series of waterfalls and rapids associated with a deep underwater channel caused by the dramatic narrowing of the River Wharfe from approximately 30 ft (9 m) wide just to the north of the start of the Strid, to the width of a long stride less than 100 yd (91 m) later.[11] It is especially dangerous as both banks are undercut,[12][13] and it has been the scene of a number of fatalities including those of a honeymoon couple.[14] The Strid walk is very popular and is accessed from the car park at Bolton Abbey.[15]

  

History

  

Wharfe is a Celtic river name meaning the winding river.[16][17]

 

Iron Age fields and hut circles can still be seen in outline on the hills above Grassington and Kettlewell.[7] The Romans built a road through Wharfedale that went over Stake Moss into neighboring Wensleydale. The local tribe of Brigantes were subdued by the Romans in AD 74. The Romans mined lead in the hills on Greenhow Hill overlooking Appletreewick until AD 410.[7] After AD 620 the Celtic settlers were joined by Angles and increased the amount of forest clearing to establish fields for crops and animals. These were overrun by Danes initially before they too settled to farming near Burnsall and Thorpe. Vikings then settled the area in the 10th century, lending their language to some of the names of hamlets and landscape features of Upper Wharfedale, especially near the head of the valley.[7] During Anglo-Saxon times, large estates were established and the River Wharfe and its valley came under the protection of Earl Edwin of Bolton-in-Craven. After the Norman invasion, the lands were given to Robert Romilly.[7]

 

In medieval times low intensity methods were used to produce both crops and livestock but the great monasteries of Fountains, Rievaulx and Bolton Priory had large sheep flocks and sold their wool on the European market. In 1155, Alice de Romilly donated land for the establishment of Bolton Priory and land at Kilnsey to Fountains Abbey. The monasteries helped develop vast sheep farms and the founding of drove roads, which can still be seen and walked today. The success of the monasteries was also responsible for the growth of the market towns of Grassington and Kettlewell.[7]

 

When the monasteries were dissolved in 1539, and wool prices fell, many tenant farmers took to cattle and sheep rearing. However, at the end of the 17th century there was still small-scale arable production. By the early nineteenth century there was a demand for food from the growing industrial towns and farmers and many farms began to produce milk from the lower lands and use the higher fells for sheep.[18]

 

The river has had appearances in films. In 1992, the town of Grassington was used as a filming location for Wuthering Heights.[19] The 2003 film, Calendar Girls, was filmed at several locations in the river valley including Buckden, Burnsall, Kettlewell and Kilnsey.[20]

  

Economy

  

During the 1990s there had been an increase in the number of second home ownership, particularly in the Upper Wharfedale area. This had been partly due to subsidised Council Tax rates for a second property. The 1991 census had shown 13% of homes were classified as second properties, which had risen to 18% by late 1998.[21] The 2001 census showed that this figure had dropped to 15%[22] and further still to just 7% by 2011.[23]

 

The Upper Wharfedale area has been traditionally associated with farming, but there has been a change in the numbers and types of employment. Whilst there were declines in the number of people in this industry, farming accounted directly for 9.16%[24] of employment in 2001 but this had increased to 11.27% by 2011.[25]

 

Lead mining was once the main industry in Wharfedale. From the seventeenth century to the late nineteenth it employed hundreds of men and boys, exploiting the veins in the limestone at Greenhow, Hebden, Grassington, Linton and Conistone, Appletreewick and elsewhere. The heaps of mining waste remain, contaminated with lead, and on which little will grow. The few plants that will are known as 'lead plants' such as spring sandwort and alpine penny-cress.[26][27]

 

Tourism is big part of the rural economy in Wharfedale and there are many short, mid and long distance walks, with clear waymarkers. There are also other outdoor activities such as rock climbing, most notably at Kilnsey Crag, and canoeing. Other activities include cycling, mountain biking, horse riding and caving.[28] The following Long Distance Walks pass near or over the river:[29]

Dales Way (follows the river valley from Beckermonds to Ilkley)

Lady Anne's Way (enters the river valley near Hubberholme and leaves to the west of Bolton Abbey)

Inn Way to the Yorkshire Dales (part of walk from Grassington to Buckden)

The Way of the Roses (part of the cycle route from Appletreewick to Thorpe)

  

Lists

  

All lists are from the source of the river:-[30]

  

Tributaries

  

Deepdale Gill

Hagg Gill

Bowther Gill

Strans Gill

Kirk Gill

Cow Close Gill

Buckden Beck

Step Gill

Cam Gill Beck

Falcon Beard Beck

Hush Gutter

Kettlewell Beck

Black Geld

River Skirfane

How Beck

White Beck

Davy Keld

Dib Beck

Robin Hood's Beck

Captain Beck

Brow Well

Isingdale Beck

Howling Beck

Hebden Beck

Sandbed Beck

Barden Beck

The Old Gutter

Hall Wells Dike

Foul Sike

Fir Beck

Bumby Dike

Gill Beck

Hollin Beck

Posforth Gill

Cowpert Gill

Stead Dike

Pickles Beck

Raven's Gill Beck

Kex Beck

Lathehouse Beck

Wine Beck

West Hall Beck

Dean Beck

Mill Stream

West Beck

Mill Dam Beck

Boot's Beck

River Washburn

Weeton Beck

Stank Beck

Collingham Beck

Hay Dike

Cock Beck

Owl Sike

Pailbank Drain

The Fleet

  

Settlements

  

Beckermonds

Deepdale

Yockenthwaite

Hubberholme

Buckden

Starbotton

Kettlewell

Kilnsey

Conistone

Threshfield

Grassington

Linton

Hebden

Burnsall

Appletreewick

Bolton Abbey

Beamsley

Addingham

Nesfield

Ilkley

Burley in Wharfedale

Otley

Pool

Castley

Netherby

Chapel Hill

Collingham

Linton

Wetherby

Boston Spa

Thorp Arch

Newton Kyme

Tadcaster

Kirkby Wharfe

Ulleskelf

Ozendyke

Ryther

  

Crossings

  

New House Farm footbridge

Deepdale Bridge

Yockenthwaite Bridge

Hubberholme Bridge

Buckden Bridge

Starbotton footbridge

B6160 Kettlewell New Bridge

Conistone Bridge

B6265 Grassington Bridge

Tin Bridge (footbridge), Linton Falls

Linton stepping stones

Suspension Bridge (footbridge), Hebden

Burnsall Bridge

Drebley stepping stones

Barden Bridge

Barden Aqueduct and footbridge

Wooden Bridge (at Cavendish Pavilion)

Friars' Steps (stepping stones)

Waterfall Bridge (footbridge)

Bolton Bridge

A59 Bridge

Suspension Bridge (footbridge), Addingham

Old Bridge, Ilkley (footbridge)

New Bridge, Ilkley (New Brook Street)

Ilkley Susupension Bridge (footbridge)

Denton Bridge

Greenholme stepping stones

B6451 Otley Bridge

Footbridge

A658 Pool Bridge

Railway Bridge (Leeds-Harrogate railway line)

A61 Harewood Bridge

Woodhall Bridge (footbridge)

Linton Bridge, Collingham

Footbridge

A661 Wetherby Bridge

A58 bridge, Wetherby

A1(M) bridge, Wetherby

Thorp Arch Bridge, Boston Spa

Wharfe Bridge (dismantled railway)

Viaduct Walk, Tadcaster (footbridge)

A659 Tadcaster Bridge

A64 bridge (Tadcaster By-pass)

Railway Bridge (Dearne Valley Line)

East Coast Main Line Railway Bridge

  

the old albert bridge, over the river teviot. at the plum pool, where the river slitrig joins the main river on the left. with the orrock halls, an old church, the burns club, and the sandbed guest house on the left. hawick, scottish borders, scotland.

Fujifilm X-Pro1

XF Fujinon 35mm f/1.4

RAW proceesed in RPP

Retouch in Aperture

  

Taken on a walk in St John's In The Vale near Keswick.

Ex London Transport Metrobus BYX273V in Halifax Joint Committee ownership, is pictured en route to Rye Lane Terminus, Halifax on a rainy day in mid December 2000.

Staring life as London Transport M408, GYE408W was a MCW Metrobus dating from 1980. Still wearing its London colours, the picture shows the bus climbing Sandbeds Road in Halifax on the 4th January 2001.

 

At the time, the Metrobus was one of several in the ownership of Halifax based Independent Halifax JOC, where it would become No8.

 

As with most vehicles acquired by the company, GYE408W would eventually receive the company's evocative orange, green and cream livery, which was based on the original Halifax livery from pre 1974.

 

Sadly, this vehicle, its MCW sisters and the company have passed into history.

Taken from the Old Coach Road. A nightmare to walk over!!

Photo of the brewery from the beer garden flic.kr/p/28ud1yN

Halifax Joint Committee No260 looks resplendent in its newly painted all-cream livery. Under heavy skies, the bus heads down Sandbeds Road, Halifax, enroute for the town centre.

 

The bus was operating the 36 Rye Lane service, the 509 shown on the back of the bus, is not relevant to the route, and maybe left over from its West Midlands days.

 

Re scan of an earlier post.

 

December 2000.

Dean Castle is situated in the Dean Castle Country Park in Kilmarnock, East Ayrshire, Scotland. It was the stronghold for the Boyd Family, who were lords of Kilmarnock for over 400 years.

 

The Castle takes its name from ‘The Dean’ or wooded valley, a common place name in Scotland. However, until about 1700 it was called Kilmarnock Castle. Owned originally by the Boyd family, it has strong historical connections with many people and events famous in Scottish history. Robert the Bruce who gave the Boyds these lands; James III of Scotland whose sister married a Boyd; the Covenanters, some of whom were imprisoned here; Bonnie Prince Charlie, whose rebellion was joined by the 4th Earl of Kilmarnock and Robert Burns who was encouraged to publish his poetry by the Earl of Glencairn who owned the Castle at that time.

 

The Boyd Family came into possession of the grounds of Dean Castle in 1316, when Sir Robert Boyd was rewarded the lands of Kilmarnock and West Kilbride by King Robert I for his services at the Battle of Bannockburn.

 

In 1975 the 9th Lord Howard de Walden gifted the castle, estate, his father's collections of arms and armour, and his grandfather's collection of musical instruments to the people of Kilmarnock.

 

The collections of arms and armour are on display in the Great Hall of the keep and the musical instruments are on display in the Solar of the keep. The banqueting hall displays many items owned by East Ayrshire council including Kilmarnock Edition of Robert Burns poetry and many works of art.

 

The private chamber of the Earls of Kilmarnock has a complete model of the castle. Legend has it that after the 4th Earl of Kilmarnock was beheaded for treason in London on 18 August 1746 his head was carried back to Dean castle and was stored in a large chest which is still present in the Laigh Towe

 

The story of the 4th Earl's head being kept in the castle has attracted many ghost hunters who have studied the castle and believe there is a presence in the palace.

 

A large bust of William Wallace is on display on the ground floor of the palace.

 

Dean castle and Country Park is maintained by East Ayrshire Council and is free to access. There are daily tours of the castle which are also free.

 

The Robert Burns World Federation recently unveiled a plaque to the memory of those who lost their lives in the terrorist attacks on 11 September 2001.

 

The plaque reads:

 

Dedicated to the victims of terrorism in the USA on 11 September 2001

"Man's Inhumanity to man

Makes countless thousands mourn!"

- Robert Burns (1759–1796)

 

From 2020 until late 2022-early 2023, Dean Castle has undergone extensive restoration work to the main castle structure, including pointing work and amending structural issues and defects. East Ayrshire Council, supported by East Ayrshire Leisure, receive an award in the sum of £1.5million from the Heritage Lottery Fund in order for the restoration and modernisation of Dean Castle to commence. The project has a total cost of £5.2million, with funding of £500,000 also secured from Historic Environment Scotland, whilst the remainder costs were to be met from East Ayrshire Council.

 

Kilmarnock is a town and former burgh in East Ayrshire situated in southwest Scotland. The town has served as the administrative centre of East Ayrshire Council since 1996 and is the regions main commercial and industrial centre.

 

The town grew considerably during the 1870s and the towns growth subsumed the village of Bonnyton, and by the 1960s, new purpose built suburbs such as New Farm Loch were constructed to accommodate the increasing population of Kilmarnock. By mid–2020, the population of the town was estimated to be 46,970, making Kilmarnock the 14th most populated settlement in Scotland as well as the largest town in Ayrshire by population.

 

The first passenger conveying railway in Scotland originated in Kilmarnock in 1812 as a horse-drawn 4 ft-gauge plateway and became known as the Kilmarnock and Troon Railway. The first printed collection of works by Scottish poet Robert Burns was published in 1786 in Kilmarnock. Poems, Chiefly in the Scottish Dialect, was published by John Wilson, and became known as the Kilmarnock Edition. The internationally best–selling whisky Johnnie Walker was established in the town in the 19th century and was produced and bottled at the Hill Street plant until closure in 2012, following an announcement by owners Diageo in 2009 that the plant would close as part of company restructuring.

 

History

The town's precise origins are largely unclear, however, it is believed that a community was established between the fifth–seventh centuries at the Laigh Kirk Church by a Saint Marnock. The earliest known mention of the town was in the 14th century, with Clan Boyd coming to prominence in the area during that time, building the Keep of the Dean Castle. The Romans held a "tentative grip" on the area in and around Kilmarnock, with forts nearby at Loudoun Castle as well as possessing costal harbours around Ayrshire. Early references to the town are vague in regards to population numbers and the geographical size of the town, however, it is widely believed that at this time, the town was little more than a small cluster of dwellings situated around the Laigh Kirk church.

 

By the end of the sixteenth century, Kilmarnock had become a burgh of barony, and had a weekly market stall and by the 1600s had grown into a small network of narrow streets, with the population relying on industries such as spinning wool, knitting bonnets and the manufacturing of metal cutlery to make a living. A fire engulfed the town in 1668, following the hunting of Covenanters by government troops.

 

The core of the early town appears to have lain around what is now the Laigh Kirk, Kilmarnock (Low Church), although the oldest parts of the current building are no earlier than the 17th century, extending north and northwest. In 1668 the town was largely destroyed by an accidental fire. About 120 families lost most of their possessions and were forced to live destitute in the fields surrounding the town. These tradespeople had no other way of making a living and had already been driven to the edge of poverty by having troops stationed with them as part of the anti-Covenanter measures. Parish churches throughout Scotland collected money for the relief of these homeless citizens.

 

In 1592, King James VI of Scotland granted a charter to Thomas, Lord Boyd, erecting Kilmarnock into a burgh of barony. The charter confirms that the Boyd family to be in possession of the land of Kilmarnock and assures any future line of succession. At the beginning of the 16th century, Kilmarnock was described as "a large village and of great repair" with nearby Kilmaurs notably larger than Kilmarnock. However, over the course of the next one hundred years, the expansion of Kilmarnock was evident. Its expansion led to Kilmarnock becoming larger than Kilmaurs and becoming Ayrshire's largest inland centre and challenging the supremacy of the royal burghs of Ayr and Irvine. During the 19th century, due to the growing rate of expansion due to the industrial expansion, Kilmarnock's population growth increased significantly from 6,000 in 1800, 21,000 in 1851 and 35,000 by 1901.

 

In the early nineteenth century, Kilmarnock was developed considerably, with the town improvement committee creating plans to improve the road network around the town as they considered the narrow streets that had been in place at the time to be a hindrance for potential trade and development. Plans for new grid-based streets were developed following the consideration of the town improvement committee which resulted in thoroughfares through King Street, Titchfield Street, John Finnie Street and surrounding roadways. The full planned course of the development were never fully completed, resulting in many of the towns older streets and lanes within the new grid-based developments, including Bank Street, Croft Street and Nelson Street not being redeveloped. The refurbished streets were lined with commercial properties, and John Finnie Street is considered one of the most complete examples of Victorian architecture in Scotland.

 

Although never granted the title of royal burgh, largely due to its geography as an inland settlement with no port to enhance trade at sea, Kilmarnock, as a parliamentary burgh was ranked as equal to other nearby royal burghs such as Ayr and Irvine. Its close proximity to Troon and its harbour helped Kilmarnock's trade and economy and its reputation of a strong and important burgh despite its inland position. Goods such as coal were frequently transported from Kilmarnock to Troon for export, and by 1812 a new railway line between Kilmarnock and Troon was constructed to allow trade to flow from the town much easier. The line opened in 1812, and was the first railway in Scotland to obtain an authorising Act of Parliament; it would soon also become the first railway in Scotland to use a steam locomotive; the first to carry passengers; and the River Irvine bridge, Laigh Milton Viaduct, is the earliest railway viaduct in Scotland. It was a plateway, using L-shaped iron plates as rails, to carry wagons with flangeless wheels. In 1841, when more modern railways had developed throughout the West of Scotland, the line was converted from a plateway to a railway and realigned in places. The line became part of the Glasgow and South Western Railway system. Much of the original route is part of the present-day Kilmarnock to Barassie railway line, although the extremities of the original line have been lost.

 

When elected county councils were created in 1890 under the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1889, the burgh of Kilmarnock was deemed capable of running its own affairs and so was excluded from the jurisdiction of Ayrshire County Council. Further local government reform in 1930 brought the burgh within the area controlled by Ayrshire County Council, but classed as a large burgh, which allowed the town to continue to run many local services itself. Kilmarnock Town Council was based at the Town Hall at 28 King Street, which was built in 1805 and demolished in the 1970s.

 

Early growth

The growth of Kilmarnock in population and geographical area swallowed up the old separate village communities of Beansburn, Bonnyton, and Riccarton. This led to such communities and villages around the town losing their identities due to the process of rehousing people who were dispersed to the new housing schemes. These large new housing areas lacked adequate shopping and recreational facilities, and most of them were not within convenient walking distance of the old town centre. Despite the growth in population of Kilmarnock, the town did not grow in terms of proportion, and construction of new building took place mostly on "gap sites", the construction of houses at Robertson Place by the Kilmarnock Building Company, being an exception.

 

This expansion led to the town becoming a major centre in the west of Scotland. By 1856, Kilmarnock was widely regarded as a key railway location when the Glasgow and South Western Railway re-located their workshops from Cook Street in Glasgow to Bonnyton. Homes were constructed for the workers of the Glasgow & South Western Railway Company at Bonnyton Square and at other areas in Bonnyton. These houses were later demolished in 1966 and 1967.

 

Industrial revolution

A comparatively modest settlement until the Industrial Revolution, Kilmarnock extended considerably from around 1800 onwards, requiring the opening of King Street, Portland Street, and Wellington Street. Added later was John Finnie Street, which is regarded as "one of the finest Victorian planned streets in Scotland." The Sandbed Street Bridge is the oldest known surviving bridge in the area.

 

During the 19th century, the traditional cottage crafts in the town which had been "around for generations", expanded and grew into major industries. A number of Kilmarnock industries established both national and international reputations, such as leather makers who were sought to make items such as belts, saddles and other leather goods. Boots and shoes began to dominate the leather making industry in the town, and by 1837, local shoemakers were making in excess of 2,400 pairs of shoes and boots. In 1840, George Clark's shoe making company, established and based in the town, began exporting shoes to Brazil, using the merchant venture system which was created to allow producers to make use of any spare space on cargo ships. It is widely believed that Clark used cargo ships mostly carrying Kilmarnock whisky exports, and as a result, both Kilmarnock whisky and shoe made products became widely popular in Brazil. The shoe production business continued to grow, and by 1900, Clark's shoe business, Saxone, had a total of 40 shop premises in Brazil.

 

Additionally, Kilmarnock gained a reputation of being a location for quality carpet making, following Charlotte Maria Gardiner, half auntie of the 4th Earl of Kilmarnock, bringing a number of carpet makers from Dalkeith to Kilmarnock. BMK Carpets was founded in Kilmarnock in 1908, quickly earning a reputation for the top carpet manufacturer of choice for major venues. It remained Kilmarnock's main employer until closure in 2005. Glenfield and Kennedy became the largest company of hydraulic engineers in the British Empire. All three companies – BMK Carpets, Saxone Shoes and Glenfield and Kennedy, became widely known and trusted in export markets internationally. Johnnie Walker whisky, established as a grocery shop in 1820, was transformed into a global whisky brand, and is the worlds best selling brand of whisky. The Titchfield Street drill hall was completed in 1914.

 

World War efforts

The Kilmarnock War Memorial was constructed in temple style and completed in 1927, becoming dedicated to local men who died "for king and country" during World War I. Following World War II, more plaques were added to the war memorial to commemorate local men who died during World War II, and later, plaques to commemorate those who fought in the Korean War were added.The first post–war housing scheme in Kilmarnock, at Shortlees, was completed by the 1960s, followed by Bellfield by the end of the decade.

 

Following the second World War, many of the towns factories and production sites had to be transformed into meeting civil needs, rather than those needs of the military, as had been expected during the war effort. A considerable effort began to construct "homes for heroes" in Kilmarnock following World War II, taking "years, even decades, to complete". New companies opened in Kilmarnock by the late 1940s and early 1950s, such as Glacier Metal Massey–Harris. The first post–war housing scheme in Kilmarnock, at Shortlees, was completed by the 1960s, followed by Bellfield by the end of the decade.

 

During World War II, a local battalion of the Home Guard was established in the town to protect the area during the war. The Kilmarnock Guard was known as the 4th North Kyle Home Guard, with men from Kilmarnock, Galston, Newmilns, Darvel, Hurlford, Fenwick and Craigie part of the battalion. The battalion was commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel D.M. Wilkie, with F. Richmond Paton as second in command, and Major Hugh B. Farrar as adjutant.

 

Kilmarnock based carpet manufacturing company BMK ceased production of carpets for a time during the second world war to manufacture bomb shells for the war effort. Glenfild & Kennedy, also based in the town, made components for anti-tank guns amongst other war-related engineering projects, including valves for mulberry harbours. Local mansions around the town were requisitioned, such as Bellfield House, with many becoming operational bases for training Special Air Services personnel. Kilmarnock Swimming Baths were also used for this purpose. The town's prominent cooling towers were painted in camouflage in order to prevent them being visible to the German Luftwaffe.

 

The town suffered one air raid attack by the Luftwaffe, which killed four people on 6 May 1943. The Luftwaffe dropped a total of fourteen bombs in a line, from South Dean Farm to Kilmarnock cemetery. A 50 kg bomb landed on a block of four residential houses in the towns Culzean Crescent, killing four residents; Janet MacGeachie, Alice MacGeachie, John Bissett and Dorothy Armour.

 

Post–war

In 1945 an attempt by the Burgh Council of Kilmarnock to cope with increasing traffic was made by removing the statue of Sir James Shaw and re-developing the Cross into a roundabout. In 1976, a one-way traffic system was introduced around the town centre which is still in use today as of December 2023, however, that same month, it was confirmed that studies were being conducted which would see the town centre converted back to a two way street for traffic. Considerable growth of the town occurred in the second half of the 19th century, and following World War I, major efforts began to construct new homes to be "fit for heroes". New residential and commercial streets around the town were created, with large housing schemes being built in the years which followed the end of World War II. The first new housing estate in Kilmarnock following World War II would become Shortlees, followed by the Grange Estate, Bellfield and Onthank during the 1960s. During this period, the priority continued to be on the construction of council housing, however, there was still a demand for houses in the private market, and with that, the construction of the Grange Estate would push the boundary of Kilmarnock's built up area.

 

Despite the new housing estates at Shortlees, Bellfield, Grange and Onthank, housing demand continued to be strong, and the construction of additional housing estates continued through the late 1960s and early 1970s. Mass housing construction to create the New Farm Loch estate aimed to meet the increased demands of the towns population by providing additional space for homes as well as vehicles. More land was allocated than in previous house building projects to meet these demands. A 1923 Act of Parliament granted the construction of new homes at Scott Roads Fulton's Lane, Townholm and Landmark. Additional acts of Parliament in 1924 and 1925 allowed the commencement of construction of additional homes at Annanhill, Ayr Road, Bonnyton, Craigie Road, Granger Road, London Road, Longpark, New Mill Road, New Street, Stoneyhill Avenue and Yorke Place. By 1973, an outer-town bypass was formed to take away the heavy through traffic that had been travelling in and throughout the town. In 1974, the Foregate pedestrianised shopping area was opened, to be followed by a new bus station, a multistorey car park, a civic centre, and a re-shaped central precinct for the town.

 

The textile and manufacturing sectors across Scotland suffered significant decline in the post-war period and in particular from the 1960s, in the face of greater foreign competition. Kilmarnock was no exception, with the closure or significant reduction of many of its traditional large employers: Glenfield and Kennedy, Massey Ferguson, BMK and Saxone. Although significant attempts have been made to halt this decline and attract new employers, Kilmarnock saw a continuing net loss of jobs in the five years to 2005. Although traditionally a main shopping area for most of the surrounding districts, patterns have changed over the last 20 years; traditional centres such as Ayr have been joined by new developments at Braehead and East Kilbride. This difficult economic climate is most visible in the town centre, the eastern part of which has been extensively redeveloped, with important historic buildings such as King Street Church and the town hall being demolished and Duke Street (the link from Kilmarnock Cross to the Palace Theatre and out to the London Road) built over.

 

Kilmarnock is the administrative centre of East Ayrshire Council

In 1996 the two-tier system of regions and districts was abolished and Ayrshire was divided between the unitary council areas of East Ayrshire (covering the area of the former Kilmarnock & Loudoun District and Cumnock & Doon Valley District), North Ayrshire (covering the area of the former Cunninghame District Council) and South Ayrshire (covering the area of the former Kyle and Carrick District).

 

Following this, Kilmarnock now came under East Ayrshire Council which was formed in April 1995 to replace the Kilmarnock and Loudoun and Cumnock and Doon Valley District Councils, and the part of Strathclyde Regional Council which related to the area. The newly formed East Ayrshire Council were granted responsibility for areas such as education, social work, leisure and planning, amongst other services, for Kilmarnock and the wider East Ayrshire geographical area.

 

Kilmarnock became the administrative centre for the newly formed East Ayrshire Council, with the council purchasing the former James Hamilton Academy building on London Road for £1. The building was refurbished and has since been the meeting place for elected councillors, the cabinet of East Ayrshire Council and is the main seat for the Chief Executive of East Ayrshire Council, the provost of East Ayrshire and Depute Provost of East Ayrshire

 

Recent history

The town's Palace Theatre and Grand Hall complex is set to undergo £20 million investment between 2023–2025

 

In 2004, the Rough Guide to Scotland described the town as "shabby and depressed, saddled with some terrible shopping centres and a grim one-way system". In early 2006, an application to Historic Scotland's Conservation Area Regeneration Scheme was successful, and in July 2006 an application under the Heritage Lottery Fund's Townscape Heritage Initiative Scheme was pending, allowing work to be finished on a quality housing development on the site of the former Kilmarnock Infirmary, north of the town centre, which was completed by local property development company The KLIN Group. With a journey time of 20 minutes from Kilmarnock to Glasgow, the M77 motorway received an extensive upgrade in 2005 to accommodate Kilmarnock's emerging status as a commuter town.

As a result, new quality housing has been constructed on the northern fringes of the town for commuters to Glasgow and the central belt of Scotland. Recent house price in and around Kilmarnock have reflected the towns location for commuters to the country's largest city.

 

In 2015, Kilmarnock was named 'Scotland's Most Improved Town' at the Scottish Urban Regeneration Forum awards. The panel recognised the improvements made to the town centre of Kilmarnock due to a £43 million investment, and local authority intervention to restore derelict buildings including the former Johnnie Walker bond building and the Opera House. In April 2018, East Ayrshire Council published a plan to protect and enhance the towns historic and listed buildings. Structures such as the former ABC cinema (previously the King's Theatre) on Titchfield Street has lay derelict since the opening of the Odeon cinema at Queens Drive. Buildings such as this are considered to be irreplaceable listed buildings. East Ayrshire Council has committed to regenerating the town, with buildings such as the former Opera House on John Finnie Street which was destroyed by fire in the late 1980s, being reconstructed with its original facade retained and is now office space for East Ayrshire Council.

 

The end of the 20th century and the beginning of the 21st century is widely regarded as a "boom period" for housing construction in Kilmarnock. Large numbers of farm land was purchased by housing developers, with an "unprecedented" number of houses being completed, notably at Southcraig, Dunsmuir Park and the Johnnie Walker estate. The largest house building projects in Kilmarnock were undertaken at Southcraig and Dunsmuir Park.

Four weeks of exposure to sand together

Beautiful water drop shape and finished a while.

 

모래가 모여 노출된 사주에

물이 들러와 잠시 아름다운 형상을 이루었다..

Approaching Whiteley Arches Railway Bridge on the Rochdale Canal in between Hebden Bridge and Todmorden, in Calderdale, West Yorkshire.

 

The Rochdale is a broad canal because its locks are wide enough to allow vessels of 14 feet width. The canal runs for 32 miles (51 km) across the Pennines from the Bridgewater Canal at Castlefield Basin in Manchester to join the Calder and Hebble Navigation at Sowerby Bridge in West Yorkshire. As built, the canal had 92 locks. Whilst the traditional lock numbering has been retained on all restored locks, and on the relocated locks, the canal now has 91. Locks 3 and 4 have been replaced with a single deep lock, Tuel Lane Lock, which is numbered 3/4.

 

The Rochdale Canal was conceived in 1776, when a group of 48 men from Rochdale raised £237 and commissioned James Brindley to conduct a survey of possible routes between Sowerby Bridge and Manchester. Brindley proposed a route similar to the one built, and another more expensive route via Bury. Further progress was not made until 1791, when John Rennie was asked to make a new survey in June, and two months later to make surveys for branches to Rochdale, Oldham and to a limeworks near Todmorden. Rennie at the time had no experience of building canals.

 

The promoters, unsure as to whether to build a wide or a narrow canal, postponed the decision until an Act of Parliament had been obtained. The first attempt to obtain an act was made in 1792, but was opposed by mill owners, concerned about water supply. Rennie proposed using steam pumping engines, three in Yorkshire, eight in Lancashire, and one on the Burnley Branch, but the mill owners argued that 59 mills would be affected by the scheme, resulting in unemployment, and the bill was defeated. In September 1792, William Crosley and John Longbotham surveyed the area in an attempt to find locations for reservoirs which would not affect water supplies to the mills. A second bill was presented to Parliament, for a canal which would have a 3,000-yard (2,700 m) tunnel and 11 reservoirs. Again the bill was defeated, this time by one vote. The promoters, in an attempt to understand the mill owners' position, asked William Jessop to survey the parts of the proposed canal that were causing most concern. Jessop gave evidence to the Parliamentary committee, and on 4 April 1794 an act was obtained which created the Rochdale Canal Company and authorised construction.

 

Rennie's estimated cost in the second bill was £291,000, and the company was empowered to raise the money by issuing shares, with powers to raise a further £100,000 if required. The estimate was for a narrow canal, whereas the act authorised a broad canal, and so the capital was never going to be adequate. The summit tunnel was abandoned in favour of 14 additional locks saving £20,000. Jessop proposed constructing each lock with a drop of 10 feet (3.0 m), resulting in efficient use of water and the need to manufacture only one size of lock gate.

 

The canal opened in stages as sections were completed, with the Rochdale Branch the first in 1798 and further sections in 1799. The bottom nine locks opened in 1800 and boats using the Ashton Canal could reach Manchester. Officially, the canal opened in 1804, but construction work continued for more three years. A 1.5-mile (2.4 km) branch from Heywood to Castleton opened in 1834.

 

Apart from a short profitable section in Manchester linking the Bridgewater and Ashton Canals, most of the length was closed in 1952 when an act of parliament was obtained to ban public navigation. The last complete journey had taken place in 1937, and by the mid 1960s the remainder was almost unusable. Construction of the M62 motorway in the late 1960s took no account of the canal, cutting it in two.

 

When an Act of Parliament was sought in 1965, to authorise the abandonment of the canal, the Inland Waterways Association petitioned against it, and when it was finally passed, it contained a clause that ensured the owners would maintain it until the adjacent Ashton Canal was abandoned. Discussion of the relative merits of restoring the canal or the Huddersfield Narrow Canal in 1973 led the formation of societies to promote both schemes in 1974. The Rochdale Canal Society wanted to see the canal fully re-opened, as part of a proposed Pennine Park

 

The Rochdale Canal Society worked hard both to protect the line of the canal and to begin the process of refurbishing it. A new organisational structure was created in 1984, with the formation of the Rochdale Canal Trust Ltd, who leased the canal from the owning company. The MSC-funded restoration was approaching Sowerby Bridge, where planners were proposing a tunnel and deep lock to negotiate a difficult road junction at Tuel Lane, so that a connection could be made with the Calder and Hebble Navigation. The entire eastern section from Sowerby Bridge to the summit at Longlees was open by 1990, although it remained isolated from the canal network.

 

In 1997, the Rochdale Canal Trust was restructured, in response to announcements that there might be large grants available as part of the millennium celebrations. The canal was still at this point owned by a private company, and the Millennium Commission would not make grants to a scheme which was for private profit, rather than public benefit. The restructuring would allow the Trust to take over responsibility for the canal from the Rochdale Canal Company. However, the plan was rejected by the Commission, and in order to access the grant of £11.3 million, the Waterways Trust took over ownership of the canal. As restoration proceeded, boats could travel further and further west, and the restoration of the sections through Failsworth and Ancoats were a significant part of the re-development of the north Manchester districts. The restored sections joined up with the section in Manchester below the Ashton Canal junction, which had never been closed, and on 1 July 2002 the canal was open for navigation along its entire length.

 

The Rochdale Canal in between Hebden Bridge and Todmorden, in Calderdale, West Yorkshire.

 

The Rochdale is a broad canal because its locks are wide enough to allow vessels of 14 feet width. The canal runs for 32 miles (51 km) across the Pennines from the Bridgewater Canal at Castlefield Basin in Manchester to join the Calder and Hebble Navigation at Sowerby Bridge in West Yorkshire. As built, the canal had 92 locks. Whilst the traditional lock numbering has been retained on all restored locks, and on the relocated locks, the canal now has 91. Locks 3 and 4 have been replaced with a single deep lock, Tuel Lane Lock, which is numbered 3/4.

 

The Rochdale Canal was conceived in 1776, when a group of 48 men from Rochdale raised £237 and commissioned James Brindley to conduct a survey of possible routes between Sowerby Bridge and Manchester. Brindley proposed a route similar to the one built, and another more expensive route via Bury. Further progress was not made until 1791, when John Rennie was asked to make a new survey in June, and two months later to make surveys for branches to Rochdale, Oldham and to a limeworks near Todmorden. Rennie at the time had no experience of building canals.

 

The promoters, unsure as to whether to build a wide or a narrow canal, postponed the decision until an Act of Parliament had been obtained. The first attempt to obtain an act was made in 1792, but was opposed by mill owners, concerned about water supply. Rennie proposed using steam pumping engines, three in Yorkshire, eight in Lancashire, and one on the Burnley Branch, but the mill owners argued that 59 mills would be affected by the scheme, resulting in unemployment, and the bill was defeated. In September 1792, William Crosley and John Longbotham surveyed the area in an attempt to find locations for reservoirs which would not affect water supplies to the mills. A second bill was presented to Parliament, for a canal which would have a 3,000-yard (2,700 m) tunnel and 11 reservoirs. Again the bill was defeated, this time by one vote. The promoters, in an attempt to understand the mill owners' position, asked William Jessop to survey the parts of the proposed canal that were causing most concern. Jessop gave evidence to the Parliamentary committee, and on 4 April 1794 an act was obtained which created the Rochdale Canal Company and authorised construction.

 

Rennie's estimated cost in the second bill was £291,000, and the company was empowered to raise the money by issuing shares, with powers to raise a further £100,000 if required. The estimate was for a narrow canal, whereas the act authorised a broad canal, and so the capital was never going to be adequate. The summit tunnel was abandoned in favour of 14 additional locks saving £20,000. Jessop proposed constructing each lock with a drop of 10 feet (3.0 m), resulting in efficient use of water and the need to manufacture only one size of lock gate.

 

The canal opened in stages as sections were completed, with the Rochdale Branch the first in 1798 and further sections in 1799. The bottom nine locks opened in 1800 and boats using the Ashton Canal could reach Manchester. Officially, the canal opened in 1804, but construction work continued for more three years. A 1.5-mile (2.4 km) branch from Heywood to Castleton opened in 1834.

 

Apart from a short profitable section in Manchester linking the Bridgewater and Ashton Canals, most of the length was closed in 1952 when an act of parliament was obtained to ban public navigation. The last complete journey had taken place in 1937, and by the mid 1960s the remainder was almost unusable. Construction of the M62 motorway in the late 1960s took no account of the canal, cutting it in two.

 

When an Act of Parliament was sought in 1965, to authorise the abandonment of the canal, the Inland Waterways Association petitioned against it, and when it was finally passed, it contained a clause that ensured the owners would maintain it until the adjacent Ashton Canal was abandoned. Discussion of the relative merits of restoring the canal or the Huddersfield Narrow Canal in 1973 led the formation of societies to promote both schemes in 1974. The Rochdale Canal Society wanted to see the canal fully re-opened, as part of a proposed Pennine Park

 

The Rochdale Canal Society worked hard both to protect the line of the canal and to begin the process of refurbishing it. A new organisational structure was created in 1984, with the formation of the Rochdale Canal Trust Ltd, who leased the canal from the owning company. The MSC-funded restoration was approaching Sowerby Bridge, where planners were proposing a tunnel and deep lock to negotiate a difficult road junction at Tuel Lane, so that a connection could be made with the Calder and Hebble Navigation. The entire eastern section from Sowerby Bridge to the summit at Longlees was open by 1990, although it remained isolated from the canal network.

 

In 1997, the Rochdale Canal Trust was restructured, in response to announcements that there might be large grants available as part of the millennium celebrations. The canal was still at this point owned by a private company, and the Millennium Commission would not make grants to a scheme which was for private profit, rather than public benefit. The restructuring would allow the Trust to take over responsibility for the canal from the Rochdale Canal Company. However, the plan was rejected by the Commission, and in order to access the grant of £11.3 million, the Waterways Trust took over ownership of the canal. As restoration proceeded, boats could travel further and further west, and the restoration of the sections through Failsworth and Ancoats were a significant part of the re-development of the north Manchester districts. The restored sections joined up with the section in Manchester below the Ashton Canal junction, which had never been closed, and on 1 July 2002 the canal was open for navigation along its entire length.

 

Approaching Holmcoat Bridge and behind that Holmcoat Lock, on the Rochdale Canal in between Hebden Bridge and Todmorden, in Calderdale, West Yorkshire.

 

The Rochdale is a broad canal because its locks are wide enough to allow vessels of 14 feet width. The canal runs for 32 miles (51 km) across the Pennines from the Bridgewater Canal at Castlefield Basin in Manchester to join the Calder and Hebble Navigation at Sowerby Bridge in West Yorkshire. As built, the canal had 92 locks. Whilst the traditional lock numbering has been retained on all restored locks, and on the relocated locks, the canal now has 91. Locks 3 and 4 have been replaced with a single deep lock, Tuel Lane Lock, which is numbered 3/4.

 

The Rochdale Canal was conceived in 1776, when a group of 48 men from Rochdale raised £237 and commissioned James Brindley to conduct a survey of possible routes between Sowerby Bridge and Manchester. Brindley proposed a route similar to the one built, and another more expensive route via Bury. Further progress was not made until 1791, when John Rennie was asked to make a new survey in June, and two months later to make surveys for branches to Rochdale, Oldham and to a limeworks near Todmorden. Rennie at the time had no experience of building canals.

 

The promoters, unsure as to whether to build a wide or a narrow canal, postponed the decision until an Act of Parliament had been obtained. The first attempt to obtain an act was made in 1792, but was opposed by mill owners, concerned about water supply. Rennie proposed using steam pumping engines, three in Yorkshire, eight in Lancashire, and one on the Burnley Branch, but the mill owners argued that 59 mills would be affected by the scheme, resulting in unemployment, and the bill was defeated. In September 1792, William Crosley and John Longbotham surveyed the area in an attempt to find locations for reservoirs which would not affect water supplies to the mills. A second bill was presented to Parliament, for a canal which would have a 3,000-yard (2,700 m) tunnel and 11 reservoirs. Again the bill was defeated, this time by one vote. The promoters, in an attempt to understand the mill owners' position, asked William Jessop to survey the parts of the proposed canal that were causing most concern. Jessop gave evidence to the Parliamentary committee, and on 4 April 1794 an act was obtained which created the Rochdale Canal Company and authorised construction.

 

Rennie's estimated cost in the second bill was £291,000, and the company was empowered to raise the money by issuing shares, with powers to raise a further £100,000 if required. The estimate was for a narrow canal, whereas the act authorised a broad canal, and so the capital was never going to be adequate. The summit tunnel was abandoned in favour of 14 additional locks saving £20,000. Jessop proposed constructing each lock with a drop of 10 feet (3.0 m), resulting in efficient use of water and the need to manufacture only one size of lock gate.

 

The canal opened in stages as sections were completed, with the Rochdale Branch the first in 1798 and further sections in 1799. The bottom nine locks opened in 1800 and boats using the Ashton Canal could reach Manchester. Officially, the canal opened in 1804, but construction work continued for more three years. A 1.5-mile (2.4 km) branch from Heywood to Castleton opened in 1834.

 

Apart from a short profitable section in Manchester linking the Bridgewater and Ashton Canals, most of the length was closed in 1952 when an act of parliament was obtained to ban public navigation. The last complete journey had taken place in 1937, and by the mid 1960s the remainder was almost unusable. Construction of the M62 motorway in the late 1960s took no account of the canal, cutting it in two.

 

When an Act of Parliament was sought in 1965, to authorise the abandonment of the canal, the Inland Waterways Association petitioned against it, and when it was finally passed, it contained a clause that ensured the owners would maintain it until the adjacent Ashton Canal was abandoned. Discussion of the relative merits of restoring the canal or the Huddersfield Narrow Canal in 1973 led the formation of societies to promote both schemes in 1974. The Rochdale Canal Society wanted to see the canal fully re-opened, as part of a proposed Pennine Park

 

The Rochdale Canal Society worked hard both to protect the line of the canal and to begin the process of refurbishing it. A new organisational structure was created in 1984, with the formation of the Rochdale Canal Trust Ltd, who leased the canal from the owning company. The MSC-funded restoration was approaching Sowerby Bridge, where planners were proposing a tunnel and deep lock to negotiate a difficult road junction at Tuel Lane, so that a connection could be made with the Calder and Hebble Navigation. The entire eastern section from Sowerby Bridge to the summit at Longlees was open by 1990, although it remained isolated from the canal network.

 

In 1997, the Rochdale Canal Trust was restructured, in response to announcements that there might be large grants available as part of the millennium celebrations. The canal was still at this point owned by a private company, and the Millennium Commission would not make grants to a scheme which was for private profit, rather than public benefit. The restructuring would allow the Trust to take over responsibility for the canal from the Rochdale Canal Company. However, the plan was rejected by the Commission, and in order to access the grant of £11.3 million, the Waterways Trust took over ownership of the canal. As restoration proceeded, boats could travel further and further west, and the restoration of the sections through Failsworth and Ancoats were a significant part of the re-development of the north Manchester districts. The restored sections joined up with the section in Manchester below the Ashton Canal junction, which had never been closed, and on 1 July 2002 the canal was open for navigation along its entire length.

 

SSX607V S607 the Sandbed, Hawick

albert bridge, also known as the burns club brig, and the sandbed brig, over the river teviot, sandbed, hawick, scotland, toon hall clock and tower, and the millers knowes, target hills, with tv and radio mast in the background, burns club on the left behind tree, orrock church hall on the right.

Rawden Mill Lock on the Rochdale Canal in between Hebden Bridge and Todmorden, in Calderdale, West Yorkshire.

 

The Rochdale is a broad canal because its locks are wide enough to allow vessels of 14 feet width. The canal runs for 32 miles (51 km) across the Pennines from the Bridgewater Canal at Castlefield Basin in Manchester to join the Calder and Hebble Navigation at Sowerby Bridge in West Yorkshire. As built, the canal had 92 locks. Whilst the traditional lock numbering has been retained on all restored locks, and on the relocated locks, the canal now has 91. Locks 3 and 4 have been replaced with a single deep lock, Tuel Lane Lock, which is numbered 3/4.

 

The Rochdale Canal was conceived in 1776, when a group of 48 men from Rochdale raised £237 and commissioned James Brindley to conduct a survey of possible routes between Sowerby Bridge and Manchester. Brindley proposed a route similar to the one built, and another more expensive route via Bury. Further progress was not made until 1791, when John Rennie was asked to make a new survey in June, and two months later to make surveys for branches to Rochdale, Oldham and to a limeworks near Todmorden. Rennie at the time had no experience of building canals.

 

The promoters, unsure as to whether to build a wide or a narrow canal, postponed the decision until an Act of Parliament had been obtained. The first attempt to obtain an act was made in 1792, but was opposed by mill owners, concerned about water supply. Rennie proposed using steam pumping engines, three in Yorkshire, eight in Lancashire, and one on the Burnley Branch, but the mill owners argued that 59 mills would be affected by the scheme, resulting in unemployment, and the bill was defeated. In September 1792, William Crosley and John Longbotham surveyed the area in an attempt to find locations for reservoirs which would not affect water supplies to the mills. A second bill was presented to Parliament, for a canal which would have a 3,000-yard (2,700 m) tunnel and 11 reservoirs. Again the bill was defeated, this time by one vote. The promoters, in an attempt to understand the mill owners' position, asked William Jessop to survey the parts of the proposed canal that were causing most concern. Jessop gave evidence to the Parliamentary committee, and on 4 April 1794 an act was obtained which created the Rochdale Canal Company and authorised construction.

 

Rennie's estimated cost in the second bill was £291,000, and the company was empowered to raise the money by issuing shares, with powers to raise a further £100,000 if required. The estimate was for a narrow canal, whereas the act authorised a broad canal, and so the capital was never going to be adequate. The summit tunnel was abandoned in favour of 14 additional locks saving £20,000. Jessop proposed constructing each lock with a drop of 10 feet (3.0 m), resulting in efficient use of water and the need to manufacture only one size of lock gate.

 

The canal opened in stages as sections were completed, with the Rochdale Branch the first in 1798 and further sections in 1799. The bottom nine locks opened in 1800 and boats using the Ashton Canal could reach Manchester. Officially, the canal opened in 1804, but construction work continued for more three years. A 1.5-mile (2.4 km) branch from Heywood to Castleton opened in 1834.

 

Apart from a short profitable section in Manchester linking the Bridgewater and Ashton Canals, most of the length was closed in 1952 when an act of parliament was obtained to ban public navigation. The last complete journey had taken place in 1937, and by the mid 1960s the remainder was almost unusable. Construction of the M62 motorway in the late 1960s took no account of the canal, cutting it in two.

 

When an Act of Parliament was sought in 1965, to authorise the abandonment of the canal, the Inland Waterways Association petitioned against it, and when it was finally passed, it contained a clause that ensured the owners would maintain it until the adjacent Ashton Canal was abandoned. Discussion of the relative merits of restoring the canal or the Huddersfield Narrow Canal in 1973 led the formation of societies to promote both schemes in 1974. The Rochdale Canal Society wanted to see the canal fully re-opened, as part of a proposed Pennine Park

 

The Rochdale Canal Society worked hard both to protect the line of the canal and to begin the process of refurbishing it. A new organisational structure was created in 1984, with the formation of the Rochdale Canal Trust Ltd, who leased the canal from the owning company. The MSC-funded restoration was approaching Sowerby Bridge, where planners were proposing a tunnel and deep lock to negotiate a difficult road junction at Tuel Lane, so that a connection could be made with the Calder and Hebble Navigation. The entire eastern section from Sowerby Bridge to the summit at Longlees was open by 1990, although it remained isolated from the canal network.

 

In 1997, the Rochdale Canal Trust was restructured, in response to announcements that there might be large grants available as part of the millennium celebrations. The canal was still at this point owned by a private company, and the Millennium Commission would not make grants to a scheme which was for private profit, rather than public benefit. The restructuring would allow the Trust to take over responsibility for the canal from the Rochdale Canal Company. However, the plan was rejected by the Commission, and in order to access the grant of £11.3 million, the Waterways Trust took over ownership of the canal. As restoration proceeded, boats could travel further and further west, and the restoration of the sections through Failsworth and Ancoats were a significant part of the re-development of the north Manchester districts. The restored sections joined up with the section in Manchester below the Ashton Canal junction, which had never been closed, and on 1 July 2002 the canal was open for navigation along its entire length.

 

The Rochdale Canal in between Hebden Bridge and Todmorden, in Calderdale, West Yorkshire.

 

The Rochdale is a broad canal because its locks are wide enough to allow vessels of 14 feet width. The canal runs for 32 miles (51 km) across the Pennines from the Bridgewater Canal at Castlefield Basin in Manchester to join the Calder and Hebble Navigation at Sowerby Bridge in West Yorkshire. As built, the canal had 92 locks. Whilst the traditional lock numbering has been retained on all restored locks, and on the relocated locks, the canal now has 91. Locks 3 and 4 have been replaced with a single deep lock, Tuel Lane Lock, which is numbered 3/4.

 

The Rochdale Canal was conceived in 1776, when a group of 48 men from Rochdale raised £237 and commissioned James Brindley to conduct a survey of possible routes between Sowerby Bridge and Manchester. Brindley proposed a route similar to the one built, and another more expensive route via Bury. Further progress was not made until 1791, when John Rennie was asked to make a new survey in June, and two months later to make surveys for branches to Rochdale, Oldham and to a limeworks near Todmorden. Rennie at the time had no experience of building canals.

 

The promoters, unsure as to whether to build a wide or a narrow canal, postponed the decision until an Act of Parliament had been obtained. The first attempt to obtain an act was made in 1792, but was opposed by mill owners, concerned about water supply. Rennie proposed using steam pumping engines, three in Yorkshire, eight in Lancashire, and one on the Burnley Branch, but the mill owners argued that 59 mills would be affected by the scheme, resulting in unemployment, and the bill was defeated. In September 1792, William Crosley and John Longbotham surveyed the area in an attempt to find locations for reservoirs which would not affect water supplies to the mills. A second bill was presented to Parliament, for a canal which would have a 3,000-yard (2,700 m) tunnel and 11 reservoirs. Again the bill was defeated, this time by one vote. The promoters, in an attempt to understand the mill owners' position, asked William Jessop to survey the parts of the proposed canal that were causing most concern. Jessop gave evidence to the Parliamentary committee, and on 4 April 1794 an act was obtained which created the Rochdale Canal Company and authorised construction.

 

Rennie's estimated cost in the second bill was £291,000, and the company was empowered to raise the money by issuing shares, with powers to raise a further £100,000 if required. The estimate was for a narrow canal, whereas the act authorised a broad canal, and so the capital was never going to be adequate. The summit tunnel was abandoned in favour of 14 additional locks saving £20,000. Jessop proposed constructing each lock with a drop of 10 feet (3.0 m), resulting in efficient use of water and the need to manufacture only one size of lock gate.

 

The canal opened in stages as sections were completed, with the Rochdale Branch the first in 1798 and further sections in 1799. The bottom nine locks opened in 1800 and boats using the Ashton Canal could reach Manchester. Officially, the canal opened in 1804, but construction work continued for more three years. A 1.5-mile (2.4 km) branch from Heywood to Castleton opened in 1834.

 

Apart from a short profitable section in Manchester linking the Bridgewater and Ashton Canals, most of the length was closed in 1952 when an act of parliament was obtained to ban public navigation. The last complete journey had taken place in 1937, and by the mid 1960s the remainder was almost unusable. Construction of the M62 motorway in the late 1960s took no account of the canal, cutting it in two.

 

When an Act of Parliament was sought in 1965, to authorise the abandonment of the canal, the Inland Waterways Association petitioned against it, and when it was finally passed, it contained a clause that ensured the owners would maintain it until the adjacent Ashton Canal was abandoned. Discussion of the relative merits of restoring the canal or the Huddersfield Narrow Canal in 1973 led the formation of societies to promote both schemes in 1974. The Rochdale Canal Society wanted to see the canal fully re-opened, as part of a proposed Pennine Park

 

The Rochdale Canal Society worked hard both to protect the line of the canal and to begin the process of refurbishing it. A new organisational structure was created in 1984, with the formation of the Rochdale Canal Trust Ltd, who leased the canal from the owning company. The MSC-funded restoration was approaching Sowerby Bridge, where planners were proposing a tunnel and deep lock to negotiate a difficult road junction at Tuel Lane, so that a connection could be made with the Calder and Hebble Navigation. The entire eastern section from Sowerby Bridge to the summit at Longlees was open by 1990, although it remained isolated from the canal network.

 

In 1997, the Rochdale Canal Trust was restructured, in response to announcements that there might be large grants available as part of the millennium celebrations. The canal was still at this point owned by a private company, and the Millennium Commission would not make grants to a scheme which was for private profit, rather than public benefit. The restructuring would allow the Trust to take over responsibility for the canal from the Rochdale Canal Company. However, the plan was rejected by the Commission, and in order to access the grant of £11.3 million, the Waterways Trust took over ownership of the canal. As restoration proceeded, boats could travel further and further west, and the restoration of the sections through Failsworth and Ancoats were a significant part of the re-development of the north Manchester districts. The restored sections joined up with the section in Manchester below the Ashton Canal junction, which had never been closed, and on 1 July 2002 the canal was open for navigation along its entire length.

 

"Clough Head ( /klʌf hɛd/) (meaning: hill-top above the ravine) is a fell, or hill, in the English Lake District. It marks the northern end of the main ridge of the Helvellyn range and is often walked as part of the ridge walk. The fell stands south of the village of Threlkeld and the A66 road, and it forms the steep eastern side of the tranquil valley of St John's in the Vale.

 

On its western side the fell displays a dark mass of rocky crags and a deep-set rocky ravine. On the other side it has smooth grassy slopes. Beneath the north face is the steep valley or clough from which Clough Head gets its name. Also beneath the steep northern face lies the lower hill of Threlkeld Knotts, a granite hill which has been much quarried round its margin.

 

A number of different types of rock are found on and around Clough Head, which were formed in very different circumstances. These include deep-sea sedimentation, effusive volcanic lava flows, explosive volcanism, an intrusion of granite, mineralisation and finally glacial sculpting. To understand the geology of Clough Head is to understand much of the geology of the Lake District.

 

An old route known as the Old Coach Road passes beneath Clough Head. Most of the fell is Open Access land, which walkers can enter from either end of the Old Coach Road, or from a lane south of the village of Threlkeld. Four main routes lead to the summit.

 

With a height of 726 m, Clough Head is the lowest summit of the Helvellyn range.

 

Gentle grass-covered slopes on the south and east sides of the fell drop to a broad col and to Mosedale, both of which separate Clough Head from Great Dodd, its neighbour to the south. To the north of the summit the ground drops abruptly down a steep scree-covered and craggy slope which marks the northern end of the Helvellyn range. This face is called Red Screes from the colour of the rock.

 

Beneath Red Screes is the lower, rounded, grassy hill of Threlkeld Knotts. This hill rises gently from the valley of the River Glenderamackin, which separates the Helvellyn range of fells from Blencathra and the northern Lakeland fells. A steep valley to the east of Threlkeld Knotts, which begins immediately below Red Screes, is the clough from which Clough Head is named. In the bottom of this valley there is a sheepfold known as Clough Fold.

 

Steep rocky crags guard the whole western side of the fell, rising abruptly from the green valley of St John's in the Vale. This western face of Clough Head, is steep, rough and rocky. The principal rock features are, from north to south: Buck Castle, Wanthwaite Crags and Bram Crag. South of Wanthwaite Crags is the very steep Fisher's Wife's Rake, a grassy break in the cliffs (though with scree) which allows determined fell-walkers to ascend the fell on this side. North of Bram Crag is a deep-seated rocky ravine called Sandbed Gill. This gill contains a considerable flow of water in its rocky gorge, but it often has only a dry bed by the time it gets down to valley level.

 

North-east of the summit of Clough Head is the lesser top of White Pike. From here the ridge descends and gradually broadens into the rough expanse of Thelkeld Common.

 

The western slopes of Clough Head drain into St John's Beck, which flows north into the River Greta, and which in turn joins the River Derwent at Keswick. The southern and eastern slopes drain into Mosedale and Mosedale Beck, which also joins the River Greta, via the River Glenderamackin." - info from Wikipedia.

 

Summer 2019 I did a solo cycling tour across Europe through 12 countries over the course of 3 months. I began my adventure in Edinburgh, Scotland and finished in Florence, Italy cycling 8,816 km. During my trip I took 47,000 photos.

 

Now on Instagram.

 

Become a patron to my photography on Patreon.

Best viewed in the Large size to get the glory of the sandy beds.

* The ones that got away, and away again. A 9min 50 sec 152Mby MP4 video, with 12 sections from various locations with pictures selected which haven't made it to Flickr and which have been 'hanging about' for a good many months, in their respective directories, awaiting something to be 'done'... this video I hope will be of interest in the current crisis with the Covid-19 virus. An appropriate and very suitable piece of music, by 'Epicuros', accompanies the 146 shots.

 

** NB: As this is longer than the fixed 3 minute viewing in the Flickr interface, the Video must be downloaded to the desktop to see the full length.

** Right-click on the down-arrow option, the last of the three options to the lower right of the video frame. Select 'Save-As' and view...

 

** It has just come to my notice (10/12/23) that the Download option below and to the right of the media _does not_ allow you to download the full version, only the 3 minutes available here. So, I am going to try and 'fix' this for all videos lasting more than 3 minutes, this is the link to obtain the full version shown here-

www.flickr.tightfitz.com/Video/Lock-Down_2020_A_Landscap...

 

1. Aldwarke Burngreave Templeborough Wath Dropping Well. First stop Aldwarke and a very great contrast in technology here. For around 18 months I owned a Nissan 380Z, high performance sports car with just enough room for two. The 'boot' had a sign on the lid, instructing the user on how to load their golf clubs! a suitcase was out of the question, just about. At 22-25 m.p.g, the tank cost just over £100 to fill, around 80 gallons and the road tax was the highest at over £500/year. Interestingly this, my next car a Honda CRV and the present Suzuki, were all around the same insurance, £250 ish/year fully comprehensive. Obviously 'old gits' weren't deemed a risk when driving a car which had a top speed of 250m.p.h on the clock. Behind, shunting wagons in the Aldwarke U.E.S. steel yard is then, Sept 17th 2012, a TATA Steel shunter, No.53, with a haul of coiled wire ready to make up a working out of the works later. Next in sequence but 3 years later, a shot of the new Tesco site at Wicker, looking towards the Spittal Hill Tunnel area and the awnings along the side of the site and the derelict buildings in the background being 'attended too', well, some of them. Back 2 years in time and at the site, in Rotherham, of the almost complete New York Stadium, the new home of the Rotherham United Football Club. The River Don is just at left and the building, now being demolished is the old 'Guest & Chrimes' building, replete with much asbestos and once, Grade II listed. Moving on 5 years and driving past the new development at Templeborough, this is the form of the 2nd Biomass Power Station being built right next to the GCR and Midland line through the area where they intersect at Ickles; the new River Don bridge can be seen on the right, replacing a long-standing, single carriageway, blue structure which succumbed during the development. The next pair of shots were taken in July 2012 on a jaunt to discover remnants of artifacts in the Wath Yard area and in fact these two shots were taken at the old GCR's Wath Central Station site, with now very little to show the huge hive of activity which once existed here. The Station was opened in 1851 and closed as long ago as 1959. The final location, another old GC line trackbed, this time from the Dropping Well Colliery to the north of Rotherham, near Kimberworth Park. The area of the colliery is now, not surprisingly, a housing estate and the on the opposite side of Dropping Well Road is its namesake's Golf Course. The steeply-graded line ran from the colliery at the junctions of Wortley and Dropping Well Road, south to join the GCR's Blackburn Valley line at a north-facing junction, at Grange Lane; the track-bed would have gone under the M1 motorway to achieve this and the formation can still be seen on the OS map. These last 3 pictures in this section show the diminutive railway bridge carrying the single track mineral line, which crossed a footpath onto what is now the golf course and the view along the bridge looking north with the colliery area over at top right, with its 1970s housing estate peeking through the trees in these early April shots from 2012. The last shot, now looks south towards the M1 in the distance through the trees, and it is clear what the grade would have looked like to a coal-train driver as the land fell away from around 120m here, down to 50m at the junction at Grange Lane, around 1km away.

 

2. Oughtibridge Paper Mill site - cleared. The large site of the Oughtibridge Paper Mill was cleared by last July, 2019, and as part of the proposal to build upto 300 new houses, within a few metres in height from the course of the River Don, a new road-bridge was put in, the second such in the Upper Don Vally here, in the last year. The other bridge is at a similar development at Deepcar, below the GCR's old Deepcar Station building and it too is to receive a large number of new housing types covering that derelict land and the land released by the move of the old Sewage Works facility from there, to the new one at Morehall. The Don Valley has thus received two new road bridges in the last 18 months or so based on new housing requiring access to old derelict, and now cleared, industrial land. As these 5 pictures show, the Oughtibridge site is clear, the old bridge is still extant a little to the south if the old one and the contractors have left and the site is fenced off. I can not see, in these times in early 2020 with the spread of the Corona Virus and this country and many others, in total 'Lock-Down', and the economic down-turn which is forecast due to this, that this site will be developed in anywhere like the near future. And, I may ask, what about the River Don flooding, there appears no concession to prevention of this, as it did dramatically in July, 2007, as later, the Global Climate Crisis will have to be addressed and this after the Global Covid-19 pandemic crisis is over, which is currently affecting, globally, 2,267,744 people with 155,175 deaths...

 

3. Moorgate Cemetery & Janet's Grave & Boston Castle Views. Sadly, I once had two sisters, one who died in tragic circumstances before I was born and the second, in 1990 from ovarian cancer. The first shot in this short sequence shows her commemorative marble stone in Moorgate Cemetery, adorned with some flowers on the day I visited in July last year. The old Victorian Moorgate Cemetery, was opened in 1842 by business men for the sum of £499, see-

moorgatecemetery.org.uk/19th-century/

and consisted of 3 acres of land at the side of Boston Castle, another prominent Rotherham landmark. Walking through the grounds and to the hill overlooking the Rother Valley, the following scenes reveal themselves. The four next shots show the views directly to the west with the Templeborough Biomass works prominent to the upper left of centre. To the right in the next shot, a view towards Centenary Park and the GCR's line through it with the old Millmoor football stadium at the left edge of the picture and Kepples Column standing on the horizon above it to the left. The 3rd shot swings round to the south-west and towards the Scandinavian Steelworks along the Rother Valley and the centre of Sheffield in the distance. The 4th shot, zooms in to the railway interest surrounding the Masbrough Freight Depot area where various pieces of freight hardware can be seen- a set of 'Hoods' or 'Pig Pens' on the left and stacked containers occupying almost the whole of the central section of the shot. In the background the Tinsley Viaduct with the M1 on top and to to the right, the orange/black building is the Tinsley Biomass Works with the Magna Science Adventure Centre in front of it. And finally in this section, a shot of the newly refurbished 'Boston Castle' which apparently was thought to have something to do with the 'Boston Tea PArty' but in fact although being built around the same time, it has nothing to do with it at all. Well worth a visit, see-

bostoncastle-rotherham.co.uk/

 

4. Fraisthorpe Beach WWII Relics & 'She Sells Sea Shells' at Bridlington. The east coast in Yorkshire has much to commend itself and the beaches around Bridlington are now some of the cleanest in the country and with much to see, including of course, relics from World War II in the form of various section of defence installations, now slowly being dismantled by the relentless tides. In the the background, the 'new kids on the block', wind turbines are springing up everywhere and if this subsequently means no more Nuclear Power Stations, so much the better. There are however, mixed views about the impact they have on the Landscape, but at least you can visit the surrounding areas close by, something I wouldn't recommend trying at a Nuclear Power installation. On the day of this walk, 10th October, 2019, there was a large presence of crab claws with elastic bands around them, dozens of them, presumably washed back in from the shell fishing boats which now work out of Bridlington; there was even a dinosaur in the haul!

 

5. Tinsley Shepcote Lane & Canal views. Ten days later and I was back in the local area photographing the scene around Tinsley South Junction whilst awaiting the arrival of a GBRf light engine working which, from what we could gather, was a prelude to using Tinsley Yard as a Newell & Wright Container Port, whilst rail replacement work was underway at their depot at Masbrough. The first 13 of the 21 shots shows the 'secluded' area between the Shepcote Lane curve up to Tinsley Yard, from line line running along the Lower Don Valley from Tinsley East Junction. Hidden away at this time of year, amongst the slightly yellowing leaves, the sign board for Tinsley South Junction can be seen, the main line behind it running to Woodburn Junction and the line in front, up-grade, to the north-west corner of Tinsley Yard. The large Sheffield Road over-bridge stands prominent in the background. The small building at the side of the track is a remnant from better days when the area on this side was a Goods Yard, full of sidings and with a small goods shed at the end, this is what can be seen in the pictures, though all signs of connection with the running line, has long gone. From the 1955 OS map there looks also to have been a 'Ramp' beyond the Goods Shed, possibly for pushing wagons up to off-load cargo/coal etc onto the back of trucks; there is no sign anywhere of a road connection here though and this are is completely cut-off from access by vehicles, something which may have ensured its lack of development! Woodburn Junction's Signal W0208 can be seen for the approach back onto the main line and this is very useful to see operating on the track diagram, as a means of indicating where workings have got to when exiting the Yard; the state of the vegetation, even in late October, leaves much of the infra-structure hidden from view, though hopefully, not for the drivers. The Shepcote Lane canal over-bridge can be seen at the very end of this section of the Tinsley flight of locks and there are videos on Flickr showing this bridge being crossed, here, related to the GBRf moves on this day-

www.flickr.com/photos/daohaiku/48957284737/

and from December, 2014, a real treat, here-

www.flickr.com/photos/daohaiku/15790328909/

On the banks of the Sheffield & South Yorkshire Navigation, the two small buildings, now graffiti'd were once part of the old Tinsley Station, the area looking rather sylvan in its settings this, just before the next 4 shots showing some of the colourful freight traffic, on the motorway in this instance, although a loco, the one in the video above, does pass by to provide 'proper interest'. The H.G.V.'s were amongst about 20 I took shots of, just due to the colourful nature of the Container sides. The ones shown here are 'Truswell Haulage', 'GreenFlag', 'Emsley Crane Hire', 'Marks & Spencer', 'Sky Blue Trucks?', 'Smeets', & 'DHL'. Adding rail traction interest, here and in the video above was GBRf, class 66, 66777, 'Annette' on the 0Z23, Thrybergh Junction (not Roberts Road) to Tinsley Yard(GBRf), light engine route learner in preparation for using the south-east section of Tinsley Yard as a Container Terminal. Under the lower deck of the Tinsley Viaduct, the Sheffield Tram/Train line from Parkgate may be seen as it approaches heads towards the main part of the Supertram network at Tinsley Meadowhall tram stop; beyond, between the two decks of the viaduct, is the Tinsley Biomass Works. The last four shots show the locale in the are of the Tinsley Station site with a Sheffield Supertram heading towards the camera whilst heading away, is one of the Tram/trains heading for the terminus at Sheffield Cathedral; this land once occupied by GCR metals. In the foreground, another signal in the area, Woodburn's W0205 signal and also useful on the track diagram for spotting moves along into the Yard, or along the main-line to Woodburn Junction; the deciding element being the 'feather', unlit here, atop the signal for the divergence, up-grade, into the Yard at Shepcote Lane Junction. In the same location, the end of Sheffield Road from Rotherham, as it approaches the large Tinsley roundabout at the southern end of Junction 34, and the usual mess associated with derelict land. A row of houses once stood here but they were demolished in the years since I photographed them on 10th June, 2008; now its advertising awnings attempting to hide the mess some folk feel in the need to just dump anywhere...

 

6. Tinsley Yard refurbishment for container traffic & DMU & Toyon Berry at Woolley Wood. The height of the activity at what turned out to be a temporary Container Terminal for Newell & Wright, though I was told in the middle of operations it was to be permanent.. Here its 30th October after the light engine moves ran a week ago with GBRf 66777 and now the place is received around 4 in-bound and 4 out-bound services a day, freeing up Masbrough whilst long-overdue track-relaying is taking place on the main and into the terminal. Even is these shots its clear what a muddy place this is for this type of operation and the 7 pictures show the state of the ground looking to the south, in the first shot and then the north in the second. The entry for off and on-loading is the dirt road on the right, passing the N&W office which has been equipped with generator and telephone and some floodlighting. The exit road was to be the old dive-under at far left but it didn't take long for this to collapse and which meant some remedial work had to be undertaken to make it more robust; the large pile of dirt was part of this and the depth of lorry tracks in the mud is easy to see. In the second shot, the concrete blocks mark the line of the in-bound road on the left and on the right, the Container wagons access right of centre, with a long rake of parked up redundant flat-bed wagons which have been shunted up the stub of the Yard' through line. The 3rd shots shows the in-filling has begun but it looks like they have their work cut-out for them and .. in a very short time, the rains began and flooded the whole area around Rotherham and as far as here... the worse rain for a long time, though, it turned out not to be the last! The 4th shot shows the remnant of Tinsley Yard at right with one of the two large M&S aircraft hangar-type buildings dominant at centre. The last shots show the work on-going to try and provide a better road surface for the out-bound traffic and a road-roller is busy compacting material to establish a good surface with following, on the same day, the pile of muck awaiting laying into the soft ground of the exit road under Wood Lane bridge. Autumn is underway as evidenced in the last shot with the road-roller doing its best, Autumn colours are evident and the heavy rain isn't far off! Last shot was on the following day when the sun managed to illuminate the Toyon Berries at the side of the Blackburn Valley line at Woolley Wood where a Northern DMU class 153, 153332, heads south towards Sheffield on the 1Y17 service to Nottingham via Sheffield.

 

7. Miscel. shots, Masbrough, Orgreave and Class 20s, 20312 & 20302, at Neepsend on the RHTT in early November, 2013. Some 'stuff' which was going on in 2016 with two views from the area near Masbrough once occupied by the 'Tivoli' cinema, one of a handful which were once available in Rotherham, the others being the 'Essoldo', the 'Odeon' and 'Hippodrome'; the 'Tivoli' was finally demolished in 1989 after closing as a cinema on 31st January 1959 with the final films being Alan Ladd in 'The Proud Rebel' and Dean Jones in 'Handle With Care', see-

cinematreasures.org/theaters/25863

The intervening shots between these two, were taken on the the old Orgreave Coking plant site, a large part of which, on the northern side was being redeveloped for the Waverley Housing Estate of around 4000 houses of one sort or another, the shots here being from March, 2016. Finally, over at Parkwood Springs in 2013, and 3 years before this working was finally withdrawn from the Stocksbridge branch line, the final operation being in October/November 2016, the RHTT set can be seen heading up-grade through the old Neepsend Station site. This is the Rail Head Treatment Train, with Direct Rail Services, class 20s, 20312 & 20302 at the rear on the 3S13, Sheffield to Stocksbridge Works and in about 40 minutes it will have reversed and return as 3S14, Stocksbridge Works to York Thrall Europa with 20302 then leading. The last shot is of the set motoring up-grade towards Owlerton, Wadsley Bridge, Wharncliffe Wood and finally Deepcar for the reversal just outside the MS&LR's Deepcar Station, now a private residence of course.; the terrain speaks for itself. By 2017, the 'Citrus LandRover' had taken over these duties, see-

www.flickr.com/photos/daohaiku/43893626960/

taken on 31st October in the same location and-

www.flickr.com/photos/daohaiku/43893627790/

taken in Wharncliffe Wood about 40 minutes after the first one during the 2nd year of operation. I had no inkling in 2017, how this set was running and on what days... that information was obtained at the Wadsley branch of Sainsburys the following year, when I happened on two track-workers buying some lunch and quizzed them about the 'SandRover'. They were most obliging and obtained the details from the appropriate person at Blast Lane at the Wicker, the centre for Network Rail Track operations in the area.!

 

8. Flooding at Morehall & Oughtibridge. As mentioned above, in the section on the Container Terminal operations at Tinsley, although conditions there weren't perfect in late October 2019, about 10 days later, they got a whole lot worse. These 9 shots show the vast amount of rain which fell just after the 1st week in November, with all the local reservoirs now full and over-brimming, the first shot showing the over-flow at Morehall. This like Broomhead, its feeder water, and just to the north at Stocksbridge, Underbank, Midhope and Langsett with Scout Dyke, Royd Moor and Ingbirchworth further north still, but which all flow into the River Don when they are full; and there's Winscar at the Don's head at Dunford Bridge! So one can imagine the calamity which can happen during prolonged heavy rain which occured during the British Summer, July, of 2007. At this time it was not nearly as bad but the increase in reservoir water levels caused the Don to flood in certain places and unfortunately one of the worst areas hit locally, was that around Rotherham Central Station. This is significant due to the fact that the diverted container traffic into and out of Tinsley Yard, from the temporary Newell & Wright operation, ran along the Lower Don Vally line, though Kilnhurst, Rotherham Central and Tinsley and into the Yard. After suspending operations at the Yard due to the problems with the road mentioned earlier, workings recommenced on 6th November with the 1st container load from the London Gateway, see video here-

www.flickr.com/photos/daohaiku/49024523378/

but this only lasted two days, as the heavy flooding which ensued after the 6th November, resulted in the weekend working on the 9th November, getting stuck at Kilnhurst, as Rotherham Central reverted back to its old function, a canal bed, and the station was flooded up to the platforms, stopping all moves from the north along the GCR line though Tinsley and into the Yard... These next pictures show some of the local mayhem cause near where I live, on the north-west side of Sheffield, close to Oughtibridge. A flooded road with 'Satsuma' Ford doing a three-point turn, the water coming out of a local care home and flowing straight down hill to the River at the bridge crossing. Subsequent pictures show the impact of the water as it flows down-hill towards the river, with local residents sand-bagging entrances to keep the water at bay. The 'spate' of the river can be seen in at the Oughtibridge bridge with a golden labrador dog at the side of the river whose chances I wouldn't fancy if it fell in... Doncaster wouldn't be that far away the speed the river was flowing...Oughtibridge Park, right next to the river was flooded and at right, a sign for the French Folk who once raced through here, this is 'Cote d'Oughtibridge' for the Tour-de-France which occured in 2014, see-

www.flickr.com/photos/imarch1/49525415943/

The final shot shows water flowing downhill out of the premises of a local care home, lets hope the residents had boats and water-wings...

 

9. Flickr 2019 - Best Shots. I prepared last years entries over a few weeks and ended up with a selection of around 50, narrowing them finally to these 10 shots. Unfortunately, I had miss-read the date for the last day for the entries and missed it by just a few hours... the ten are,

* the Bridlington 'Pepper Pot', now long out-of-use and not open to the public,

* 'Tornado' crossing the Norfolk Bridge over the River Don at Attercliffe in Sheffield,

* Puffins & Kittiwakes at the Bempton Cliff Bird Sanctuary to the north of Bridlington,

* Kite Flying Extravaganza on the cliffs at Sewerby Park, Bridlington,

* 'Graffiti artist 'Mufasa' on an awning board at a redevelopment site on Egerton Street, Broomfield, Sheffield

* Same location and more development work proceeding with the remnant of the old buildings in the area which haven't been protected ...

* The 'Old Park Rolling Mill' on Club Mill Road. The business rolled Sheffield Plate and silver for other manufacturers and closed in the 1950s. The site, although derelict is still worth a visit, if only for the colourful graffiti...

* Colourful Fibre Optic data cabinets near the River Don on Ball Street, Neepsend.

* 'Ancient Wisdom' now prevails on Parkwood Road, this was taken at a point just north of its junction with Sandbed Road and looks a little out-of-place, though interesting to see...

* This interesting character, with dog, and earphones, passed by opposite the large Station Hotel next to where the Midland's Parkgate Station used to be, just behind the pub; long gone of course. Crossing over the road bridge in the background, a lunchtime convoy of 5 DBS locos, 66117, 67020, 66140, 66112, & 66086 on the lunchtime, 0F54, Belmont Down Yard to Toton North Yard light engines return working.

 

10. Re-visiting Club Mill Road, Sandbed Rd., following once more the foot-steps of Adrian Wynn and to finish this section, the on-going redevelopment in the Netherthorpe and Shalesmoor areas. By the start of the year, with some fine weather in late January and not much else going on before making extensive changes to how my Flickr presence was represented, another visit was undertaken to chart the shots taken by Adrian Wynn, over the last decade or so. The subsequent changes to the Flickr material was to entail moving almost 1800 pictures from the standard account to two Archive sites, leaving the newest 995 shots on the old 'Views in Camera' site-

www.flickr.com/photos/daohaiku

and then starting out anew with 'Views in Camera, 2020', this one, which now has 60 images so far, starting from the 1st January. Much of the very oldest and little viewed material, around a 1000 shots, was removed altogether, there has been some casualties I have noticed but I now feel I am more in control of the state of matters, than what was a amounting to almost 6000 pictures and videos, all sat in the same contiguous place. So, from the path which takes the walker up to Wardsend Cemetery at Owlerton, and close to the old site of Coopers Scrapyard, still in use as such though not owned by Coopers anymore, the path extends along the side of the River Don, all the way along to Neepsend. Some of this material has been seen before, see 'The Adrian Wynn Landscape Collection, Re-Visit, Part I', here-

www.flickr.com/photos/daohaiku/49182445076/

and, Part II', here-

www.flickr.com/photos/daohaiku/49187093212/

The first 20, taken on January 22nd this year, in this set of 37 shots show much more detailed aspects of this area and right along to and inside of, the old 'Sheffield Ski Slop', itself now planned for massive renovation after a tragic few years after a fire which left the site derelict and used, in some part, as a refuse dumping space; no surprise there! The latter 17, taken on the following day, the day before the big Flickr presence changes commenced, show new development in the area surrounding the 'Daniel Doncaster & Sons', Cementation Furnace, some information relating to this-

'...This is the last remaining intact example which was built in 1848 and was last fired in 1951', further 'it is the only example of its type and was built by Daniel Doncaster & Sons and used a process developed by the Germans in the 1600s and used a technique of placing wrought iron with charcoal in large stone chests sealed with 'piecrust' or 'wheelswarf', a sludge of sandstone & steel dust, and firing the whole lot up to red heat for a total period of around two weeks. The wrought iron would absorb the carbon and be turned into steel; the iron never becoming molten but just soft. The impurities would form bubbles of gas and created blisters on the surface and it is for this reason that the material was called 'Blister Steel'...

The area is replete with well executed Graffiti of one sort or another and there are 'spooky' pieces inside buildings which have been fenced off due to the presence of Asbestos in the building's structure. The 4th shot in this sequence shows the Furnace now being dwarfed by surrounding development with an old chimney stack at Kelham Island over on the far left and standing on the hill in the right background, the 'Seventh-Day Adventist' church at 67, Andover Street in Burngreave; quite an impressive looking building. A further shot with the furnace on the right and a university building on the left has the area of the Ski Slope in the background, the Stocksbridge branch line to the steelworks also passes through this picture behind all the buildings at the foot of the hill. The derelict looking land in the foreground is under significant redevelopment and when finished the whole of the area around the Doncaster Cementation Furnace will be full of buildings which dwarf the last intact Blister Steel relics in the country.. hope its safe! Once the derelict industrial buildings have gone, sone have been kept and refurbished I hasten to add, this whole area will take on a completely different fell, one which I am sure Adrian will almost certainly not have approved of!

 

11. Carnaby Airfield History. The old airfield at Carnaby was used in the 2nd World War to accommodate crippled aircraft which were having to make an emergency landing. The small 'park' on the main Bridlington to Driffield road, at Carnaby, tells an amazing story of one such operation where a member of the crew fell through a hole in the aircraft after it had been shot at when flying back from a bombing raid off the coast of Norway in April, 1945. He was saved by his parachute harness D-Ring which got snagged under the aircraft, the D-Rind was found to have elongated by 50% when they finally touched down at Carnaby, out-of-fuel but with the help of the 'FIDO' lighting system at the airfield; their own HS2 Navigation system having been destroyed by the flack. The story of Sgt. Smith is shown in the 4th picture here. The airfield has long been-redeveloped into a very linear, and long, industrial estate.

Some information from Wikipedia-

'...RAF Carnaby opened in March 1944 under the control of No. 4 Group Royal Air Force. Unlike most RAF airfields, there was a single runway, five times the width of a standard runway and 9,000ft (2,700m) long, lying approximately east-west to enable bombers crossing the coast an easier landing. Two similar airfields were either constructed or further developed along the east coast of England, at Manston and Woodbridge, all three providing an emergency option for wartime bomber crews. The three airfields were developed to the same pattern, Woodbridge being the first to open in November 1943. The runway at Manston was brought into operation in April 1944...

Full article-

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RAF_Carnaby

The last shot shows what the main Carnaby Village shopping centre looked like, in the 1940s and 1950s, all facilities provided.

 

12. Canal Basin refurbishment of bed at the Wicker. I had over-looked doing anything with the 18 shots in this last section, all taken on a walk back along the canal, from Attercliffe to the Victoria Quays Canal Basin, on 2nd March this year, just 3 weeks before all hell broke loose due to the CoronaVirus-19 country-wide 'Lock-Down'; it was extended a further 3 weeks at the beginning of this week, though there appears to have been no formal government announcement to this effect; another cock-up. Major work, at the end of the Sheffield & South Yorkshire Navigation, was in progress in the Canal BAsin at Victoria Quays with only the end section full of water and being used as a 'boat-park', which for the duration of the work, were stranded there. The first shot shows the extent of the work with it commencing just before the A61 ring-road connecting the town centre to the Sheffield Parkway; the A61 bridge prominent in this shot. The canal water are lapping at the barrier in the right-hand corner and the barrier isn't keeping all the water out, heavy duty pumps being in action as well, pumping the seepage back to the canal, see later. The whole of the, presumably, 'puddle-clay', bed is being replaced, a fortified roadway has been installed from the bank and the stranded barges can be seen in the distance. The other 8 shots in the first part of this section show-

 

* The fortified dirt road-way onto the site from the Wharf building side. The Sheffield Victoria Hotel is in the right background and St. Pauls Tower is at left

 

* Looking back along the canal formation under the A61 ring-road bridge with the last boat on the canal formation at the barrier being the blue, 'L.B. Hardfeet' passenger cruiser and seen in action here-

www.flickr.com/photos/imarch2/49564493088/

The tall, square chimney is at the side of the old Sheffield Victoria Station railway formation, whose single line to Stocksbridge passes over the canal on the bridge just under the blue-fenced, A61 ring-road bridge.

 

* The extent of the dirt-road fortification can be seen, taking the excavator traffic on and off the site to the Wharf Street area of the Quays. A large floating blue-platform has been moored to its left; now at rest on the old canal bed.

 

* The other end of the business shows the blockage with the pound behind it for the temporarily marooned barges and boats next to the Wharf at the far end. This pound is also leaking somewhat and pumps are keeping the water flowing back to the pound behind the wall of thick liner and aggregate topping. A classic blue Morris 1000 van stands next to the show on the right and behind, the 'Best Western Hotel with the refurbished Wharf building to its left.

 

* In the background, the railway formation on the old Sheffield Victoria site, in front, the square chimney stack still extant from 'the olden days' and right in front of that, the blue-fenced A61 ring-road bridge. This view looks directly east over the nearer pound with its barrier, to beyond the fortified dirt-road access and in the distance, just under the road-bridge, the other wall holding back the full might of the canal water. The yellow-topped barge on the left has a 'NO RUBBISH' sign on its deck and just behind it in the 'hold', is a pile of rubbish! The square chimney may well have been part of the old Effingham Stree Iron & Steel works which were close to it on the left.

 

* Looking over the site towards the 'Capita' building at the end of the Sheffield Parkway, the 'Veolia' recycling centre & chimney is next to that on the left and the two blue-brick pillars at the side of the canal are adorned with water birds and the years, '1819' on the nearer one and '2019' on the one behind, so a 200 year celebration, re-doing the 'Tinsley Canal, S&SYN, bed.

 

* The final shot in this first part of the last section shows the boats moored up at the Wharf-end of the canal. Some information about the local businesses in the Victoria Quays area-

'...As well as local businesses including CMS (International Law Firm) and Servelec (UK headquartered technology group) there is Victoria Junction Café and sandwich shop, Livingwell gym, Hilton hotel, Narrowboat moorings, a brokerage and chandlery service (C.V. Marine) & two wide beam hotel boats (Houseboathotels, Sheffield) providing hotel accommodation on the water. Newcomers include; Born & Raise who joined the premises in 2015 as a Marketing Agency and most recently Ovo Spaces an award-winning specialist interior design and fit-out company, who now own both Terminal 1 for their offices and Terminal 2 as a unique event space, available to hire for conferences, meetings and more. In early 2015 Sheffield Creative Agency 'We Are' purchased 3,500 sq.ft of office space on the ground floor of the Grade II-listed Grain and Terminal Building which had been vacant for 20 years...'

The canal-bed refurbishment work was set to complete by the 31st March, having begun on the 6th January.

 

The second set of shots in this section show the canal, walking back towards Attercliffe, just a short way, and some of the local 'features' which make this an endearing place to be. Some more barges are moored up along the canal bank and a boat is in the dry dock at the 'Finesse Boatyard. Another sky-blur craft lies to the left, 'Salty' and the narrow Cadman Street bridge is just around the corner and in the next picture it is seen with some canal-side colourful artistry. Some trains at last, this,here, in the form of a Northern Rail class 150, on the 1Y15, Leeds to Nottingham service seen passing a few old canal-side derelict, on the left, buildings. The next shot shows some more artistry on the wall of the building just under Cadman Street. I scanned the bar-code and got the word 'Affix' which is the word appearing above in large letters, still no the wiser. A few minutes later and the next traction delight comes rattling along, this time in the form of the more brightly coloured livery of a class 185 TPE unit, this one, number readable miraculously, is 185109 and its the 1B75, Cleethorpes to Manchester Airport service, about to pull into Sheffield Midland. On the left a building with a more striking gable-end than is normal in these parts, this artistry something to do with Sheffield United as both the name 'Bramall Lane' and the club's insignia are present in the artwork; I know nothing... Up in the real word of roads and works, right next to the CAdman Street canal bridge is the well known, 'Sipelia Works', now in the hands of 'Emmaus' who are very active in supporting homeless people well, they were, until the whole operation shut on March 23rd due to the Covid-19 'Lock-Down'; what do the homeless do now. Some information about its past history-

'...Sipelia Works on Cadman Street is closely tied to the history of steel making and the cutlery trade of the 19th and 20th centuries. Built for Eyre, Ward & Co. between 1850 and 1855 it represents not only the industrialisation of Sheffield , but also the development of a city, the growth of the nations in North and South America and the movement from rural to urban life....', Further-

'...B & J SIPPEL LTD, Sheffield. Sipelia Cutlery Works, Cadman Street/Blast Lane, Sheffield. Founded in the 1930s by Benno (died 1946) and J. Sippel, two Jewish brothers relocated from Germany to Sheffield in 1931. The factory was still active in the 1950s (closed c. 1960/1970)...'

See also the Emmaus website which provides some further information about the building-

www.emmaus-sheffield.org.uk/sipelia-works

It was Grade II listed on 13th June, 1988 and, quite rightly so. The final traction shot, taken at the same bridge, now in gathering dark cloud, with sun lighting up the yellow front panel, is a Northern class 144, also heading into Sheffield on the 2R25 service from Adwick, the low mid-day sun is helping with the colourful surrounds again, particularly on that football club related gable-end. The blue gable-ends of the building showing in front of the D.M.U. on the left-hand canal bank, are those of 'Taylor Forgings Canalloy Steels Ltd', on Bernard Road and the building on the right now looks to be derelict and unused. With heavy clouds rolling in and a shot from the Cadman Street bridge looking directly east with the 'Veolia Recycling Centre' and its tall white chimney standing prominent on the right and all the other elements mentioned in the last few shots, now darkly visible, its time to depart the area and, show one last shot.

This was taken in an ad-hoc way on the way back home and shows an advertising awning I had seen a few days before and took a quick snap on the phone as a reminder, but now, with the proper camera to hand, with focus and exposure set, I had only to hope that the traffic lights at the BnQ store on Penistone Road would be at red so I could compose the shot calmly without being a traffic hazard. Fortunately, the tail-back of stationary traffic was just long enough to place me right in front of the hoarding and with a Mercedes Smart Car at the left, adding that bit extra Va-va-voom!! I still think the poster is amusing and well designed.. and seems to fit right in, in this environment, maybe you had to be there !!!